by G. Sax, Director of Growth Management, RESO
Welcome to “Three Questions,” an interview series that introduces you to real estate industry professionals, their businesses and how they interact with real estate standards with a goal of humanizing the tech side of the industry, fun included.
This week’s interview is with Kevin Tranby, RESO Compliance Manager at FBS. We talked about having a RESO-specific job title, printing (remember that?) and what follows the dusk of an excellent career. Enjoy!
Q1: You are one of the only people I know that has “RESO” in your title (RESO Compliance Manager). If we had our way, there would be one of you in every organization. Do you find being attached to RESO in this manner to be rewarding?
Kevin: It’s rewarding, because I help people understand what RESO is all about and the importance of standards. So many things in life have standards, and if standards were not in place, it would be chaos.
In printing, for example, there is an agreed-upon letter size of 8.5 inches by 11 inches. We also have #10 envelopes, which perfectly fit letter size paper folded in thirds. Hot water is always on the left, cold water on the right.
Standards are all around us, and there are people who feel very strongly that standards have to be a certain way, even in our industry. In Indianapolis, for example, single-select fields are very important.
Q2: You mentioned printing. Your route to the MLS industry is an interesting one in that you were a pressman prior to entering the real estate fray. In fact, your first title at FBS was Pressman. Do you miss the smell of ink in today’s digital-first landscape, or are you thankful to have joined the future?
Kevin: I miss the smell of ink.
After we got to the point where we went digital, there were things we still needed to have printed on a press, so we outsourced it. When I would go to the printer and pick it up, I’d stand in the print room and just say, “Give me a moment.” I would just stand there and savor the smell.
It’s not for everyone – the whir of machinery, the completion of precision products, the familiar chemical aromas. But it can kind of get into your blood.
I used to have a t-shirt that said “Printing is the Original Text Message.”
Q3: You have not been shy about discussing retirement. In an industry where some of us tend to hang on…and on…and on, it’s refreshing. What do you imagine will be the first thing you do after you finally leave your colleagues behind, and how much will it involve standards?
Kevin: It’s travel. We already have a camper; she’s just anxious to see the country. We’re going to pull her around the U.S.
We’ll also spend some time with our grandkids, all of which live in the Minneapolis area. We want to be close – but not too close, so we’ll land in a ‘burb like Chaska or something.
Like I said before, there are standards all around us, so we’ll inevitably have them in our lives. State park passes, trailer hitch size, speed limits and plenty more.
But I’ll be able to leave real estate standards in the good hands of my FBS colleagues and the greater RESO membership at large.
