What’s Does “MilitarybyOwner” Have To Do With Military Homes?
May 15th, 2008 categories: Military Installations, Real Estate News, Relocating
Earlier this year, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), adopted a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), 12-12. It stipulates that Realtors shall not:
Use URLs or domain names that present less than a true picture, or register URLs or domain names which, if used, would present less than a true picture.
In a recent case involving the use of a Realtor’s website name, or URL, NAR already exercised its enforcement of the new restrictions. In this partciular case, a Realtor was using the URL northwoodsandlakesmls.com for his website. While the website did contain information about the area, the use of “mls” in the URL was deemed to be in violation of the intent of the new SOP. Why? The letters “MLS”, in real estate jargon, are understood to stand for Multiple Listing Service. The Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, is the information sharing and cooperative marketing network or platform used by realtors for the buying and selling of homes. The northwoodsandlakesmls.com was a Realtor’s website that did feature homes for sale, but not those of the entire MLS. In other words, it was not in any way, operated by or with a Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Obviously, this Realtor was attempting to take advantage of the of the letters “MLS”. An acronym, or initials that the realtor world, and those familiar with its use, recognized as relating to home sales. In his defense, the Realtor explained, “If I used MLS in the name of my firm, I could see how that might be perceived as something less than a true picture,” he argued, “but by simply using MLS in my URL I am telling consumers that they can get MLS-provided information about properties in the north woods from me. What could be truer than that?” Unfortunately, the Board, and NAR didn’t see it that way. So, what is in a name, or URL, and what does “presenting less than a true picture mean”?
For may military personnel, one of the first places they go to on the web to look for homes is militarybyowner.com, or MBO.
According to the owner and author, its Mission is:
“MilitaryByOwner.com will provide a comprehensive low cost means for military members and their families to advertise on the world wide web. The service will be provided throughout the entire year and will encompass all locations where military members may be stationed to include overseas assignments. MilitaryByOwner.com will aggressively advertise in base newspapers and other military periodicals as well as leverage web based search engine postings in order to attract military personnel and the general public to this site to ensure success”.
True to their word, MilitaryByOwner has done a respectable job of advertising in publications targeting military families, and has taken advantage of similar advertising online. As a matter of fact, it is one of the first places military members turn when it is time to sell or buy a home. During its first few years of existence, MBO’s popularity mimicked its counterpart, “For Sale By Owner”, which, in a hot market was an easy way for home sellers or buyers, to go it on their own, and try to save a few dollars. Additionally, the military community is one built on trust, among other things, and that, too was an attraction of the site for military members, and an intent of the marketing effort. Seemingly, buyers and sellers were dealing with other military members. It was almost like family.
But, as far as their efforts to ”encompass all locations where military members may be stationed to include overseas assignments”. Is that really true? And what about that name “MilitaryByOwner”? As we look a little deeper into what MBO has to offer, we see that many of their listings aren’t military at all. After a careful examination, one finds many of the listings are Realtor listings, regardless of the client’s profession. As far as the listings ecompassing locations where military members may be stationed, we’ll, let’s just say that that depends on one’s perspective. Don’t all online Homes for Sale sites do the same? Simply put, with MBO, one listing criteria they include is the distance the property is from a military base/installation. For home listings, the proximity to military base choices are:
<10miles
<20 miles
<30 miles
<40 miles
<50 miles
>50 miles
As you can see, just about anywhere in the U.S is more than 50 miles from a selected military installation, or anywhere else for that matter. Unless, of course, it is less than 50 miles. In other words, are the homes advertised necessarily close to a military base? No. Some are, and some aren’t, just like other sites. Secondly, does MilitarybyOwner mean owned by military? Of course not. And, perhaps it was never meant to be.
It needs to be pointed out that MilitaryByOwner.com, unlike northwoodsandlakesmls.com, is not bound by the restrictions of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The latter is owned by a Realtor, and in NAR’s estimation, his website was a bit misleading. MilitarybyOwner.com may not mean exactly what it says either, but its owner is not a Realtor. However, the owner’s spouse is. Does that count?
Don’t get me wrong, MilitarybyOwner is another resource for military home buyers and sellers. Does it provide something more than Zillow.com, Trulia.com, the local MLS, or similar sites? While each of these provide various helpful tools for those active in the housing market, a look at some of their additional features may provide military members with a more comprehensive marketing package for sellers, and much more capability for buyers. With state of the art mapping tools, finding available homes near military bases has become much easier for those being reassigned.
Buying and selling homes for Department of Defense (DoD) personnel, whether civilian or military, can be challenging. Due to the brief duty assignments, most sellers are simply happy to “break even” with the transaction. Buyers, on the other hand, are looking to get the most out of their transaction, realizing they’ll probably be turning around and selling two or three years down the road. In today’s tough home market, making the most of the tools the internet has to offer is vital in maximizing the value of your transaction. Especially for military members, take the time to ensure the platform or service you use is one you get the most out of. And, sometimes, believe it or not, less ISN’T more.
Jim,
I saw your post and decided to comment. I guess the biggest difference between an agent site and MBO is that MBO is strictly and advertising company much like a newspaper classifed section. Over the years we have continued to fine tune (and increase) our advertising to the military community. This, along with significant positive word of mouth among military families, has helped our advertisers succeed.
A big part of the site in addition to advertised properties for sale are the properties for rent. As you know, many families choose to rent their homes in hopes of PCS’ing back to the same area. MBO has also been a great venue for advertising homes for rent.
For our advertisers we stive to improve their ads exposure to increase their opportunity for success. For home searchers we hope to provide them with as many choices as possible. Using your area as an example by searching on various Fredericksburg, Quantico, or Stafford terms reveals a wide variety of results. MBO is just one of many places to advertise to increase your opportunity to find that sometimes elusive buyer or tenent (we think one of the best).
Our main office is on Caroline Street next to the library. Stop by and I’ll buy you a cup of coffee at Hyperian. I would enjoy trying to talk you into advertising your services on the site.
Semper Fi, (we retired the same year 2004)
Dave Gran