Home Discovery founder starts new (ad)venture
Tampa's Steve Johnston, founder of Home Discovery of "2-percent-commission" fame, has launched a new business call ActiveAvenue.com.
It's a centralized Web site where neighbors can hold discussions and post information. After signing up for free, you're directed to your specific neighborhood.
It's now in its beta testing phase, going through a trial run to work out any bugs. About 1,500 have signed up so far. Johnston created the site with two partners from Home Discovery, Rich Heruska and Zavier Rodriguez .
Home Discovery is pretty much in the dumps. After reaching high orbit during the housing boom, Home Discovery's business has crashed back to earth during the housing slump.
The 2-percent-commission model made sense when homes were selling themselves. Johnston paid many of his people salaries instead of traditional commissions. But discount brokerages were less appealing when you needed more pyrotechnics to move your house.
Johnston made a belated attempt to introduce a full-service option, but the competition was too well established with the likes of Prudential, RE/Max, Keller-Williams and the like.
(Un)Real Estate offers a peek at the housing market usually reserved for insiders. While it focuses on the Tampa Bay area, it won't neglect dipping
into the rest of Florida and beyond. Its goal? Simple: To help you keep a roof over your head without losing your shirt.
Does anyone know how to reach anyone at home discovery. Web site is down and haven't been able to get through via phone , voice mail is always full.
Posted by: V Jackson | July 25, 2008 at 06:11 PM
http://www.homediscovery.com
Posted by: Linh Nguyen | July 31, 2008 at 01:25 PM