Another One-Stop Shop Concept: Renting Space to Affiliates

PLANO, Texas--In pursuit of one-stop shopping, Chet Wilke has opened a sort of real estate mall filled with home-related businesses.

In the 2,500-square-foot office that houses Wilke's real estate network and brokerage are also housed an insurance company, an interior designer, a carpet company, a home inspector, a mortgage company, an appraiser, a document delivery service, a title company, a homebuilder, and a home contractor.

Wilke is CEO of the PRO Network, a marketing service company for real estate brokerages, and AmeriStar Realty, the only brokerage to so far become a member of the PRO Network.

''Most companies that have offered one-stop shopping have gone to controlled business arrangements, or they have formed another company and have stock ownership in that company,'' Wilke says. ''Our arrangement is strictly a landlord-tenant relationship. Affiliated businesses pay the network a fixed monthly fee for the rental space--period.''

The network has avoided common problems with the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act by ensuring that affiliated services are independently owned and operated, by not taking referral fees, and by informing consumers that use of the services is not required.

Even with those precautions, however, James Beach, director of marketing, real estate division, Homeowners Marketing Services Inc., sees a limitation in such a concept. ''I'm in favor of giving consumers convenience, but if a network is restricted to one of each type of service provider, how do consumers know they're getting the best choice of service providers?'' HMS is a network that provides real-estate-related services to independent and franchised real estate companies and consumers.