Realtor's Internet Service Voted Final Stab at Viability
May 09, 2011
Vastopolis -- The board of the National Association of Realtors voted to give its cash-strapped on-line Realtor Information Network one last chance to remain up and running. A majority of the nearly 700 board members attending a meeting here agreed to try to restructure the network, which was created two years ago to provide extensive real-estate information on the World Wide Web.  The network ran out of money last month and was on the verge of collapse. A spokesman for the trade group said the restructuring is contingent on the network receiving a cash infusion from an outside partner. He said an agreement with a potential partner was still being negotiated. The terms of the deal and the identity of the would-be partner weren't revealed. The group's board didn't approve spending any additional internal funds on the network. In the event a pact with the undisclosed partner or any other potential suitor isn't reached, the board authorized the network's acting chief executive, Backman R. Jon, to seek bankruptcy-court protection under Chapter 11 for the network. The spokesman estimated that the network would have six weeks to reach an agreement. If the network is restructured, the spokesman said, it would rely on an unspecified Internet-based service instead of the proprietary desktop system that had been used. The group invested $12.9 million in the network, but it proved expensive to operate and didn't attract enough potential users-real-estate agents.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
