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Joined 01/20/2008

Brian Larson

Attorney and consultant

Larson/Sobotka PLLC, attorneys at law; Larson/Sobotka Business Advisors, LLC

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(612) 424-8660

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As a lawyer, I focus much of my work on e-commerce, databases, web branding issues, and rule-making for online communities. As a consultant, I provide strategy, operations, and marketing consulting in the residential real estate vertical (particularly to MLSs, associations, and brokers). The majority of my clients are real estate multiple listing services (MLSs), REALTOR associations (local and state), and large real estate brokerage firms. I advise them regarding policies, business strategies, licensing agreements, agency laws, and more.

My Comments

  • "[T]he relevance of buyer's
    By Brian LarsonDecember 5, 2008 - 5:00am

    "[T]he relevance of buyer's brokerage will dwindle away over time within the brokerage business." Too bad, if it's true. As a consumer (and thinker about the industry) I value real estate brokers for their professional judgment; that is, my broker applies her many years of experience to facts she's obtained (from MLS and other sources) to form a professional judgment about the value of a propery or a seller's willingness to accept less than listing price or our ability to market a property successfully at a given price. I want to know she's looking out for me, not wonder if she's intent on selling me her own listing. -Brian Larson www.mlstesseract.com

  • This article did a nice job
    By Brian LarsonDecember 3, 2008 - 4:37am

    This article did a nice job of covering a complicated issue. Congrats!

  • I have no problem with gay
    By Brian LarsonJune 25, 2008 - 4:09am

    I have no problem with gay marriage (if you're opposed to gay marriage, don't have one), and I strongly support fair housing laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. I don't know if California is one of the states that has prohibited discrimination on that basis, but if it is, I suspect a brokerage promotion directed at gay newlyweds would violate it. For example, under Minnesota fair housing law, it is unlawful to offer different terms in a real estate or brokerage transaction to customers based upon their sexual orientation. That law cuts both ways; i.e., it is unlawful to favor either gays or straights - which is exactly how it should be. How is this promotion any different than saying that black newlyweds or Latino newlyweds, or indeed, Anglo-Saxon, heterosexual newlyweds get a deal? I'd take my brokerage and marriage business elsewhere, thanks.