Ken Trepeta isn’t trying to win a popularity contest. That’s not his job. As President and Executive Director of the Real Estate Services Providers Council (RESPRO®), he walks the tightrope between some of the most powerful, and most controversial, forces in the real estate industry: the affiliated business arrangements (AfBAs) and joint ventures (JVs) that tie real estate brokers, title companies, mortgage lenders, and tech firms into one-stop shops.
To some, he’s the guy standing up for the big players. To others, he’s the only adult in the room trying to keep everyone honest.
“I’m not here to advocate for people who don’t follow the rules,” Ken says, eyes narrowing behind his grin. “I want a fair fight. The people who cut corners on RESPA ruin it for everyone else.”
It’s the kind of conviction that doesn’t always make him friends, but it’s earned him respect. Ken calls himself the industry’s “chief protector,” but don’t let the polished title fool you. He’s more like a regulator’s shadow and an enforcer’s conscience, working behind the scenes to keep the peace, hold the line, and make sure nobody burns the house down.
Born into real estate, Ken had the business in his blood before he ever held a job. His mom was a loan officer. His stepdad, a builder. By 11, he was sweeping job sites. His sister’s a realtor. Both parents once sold homes. But Ken took a different route: law school, Wall Street, policy work. Before RESPRO®, he was rubbing shoulders with titans at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase, then later lobbying for the National Association of Realtors®. By 2015, RESPRO® came calling.
What he walked into was a minefield.
RESPRO® represents a model that’s often misunderstood, or outright mistrusted, by much of the independent title industry: affiliated business arrangements, or AfBAs. JVs. The mash-up of brokerage, mortgage, and title services that critics claim muddy the water and create unfair advantages. Ken sees the landscape differently.
“If an affiliate title company screws up, the consumer calls their REALTOR® immediately,” he says. “Affiliates raise the stakes for real estate brokers and builders. It’s not easier, it’s riskier because the whole affiliate team has to perform.”
To Ken, accountability is baked into the affiliate model. If you own a piece of the whole chain, the whole chain has to work. He points to data showing consumers want one-stop shops. What he wants, though, is to make sure those shops are real. Real offices. Real capital. Real operations.
He keeps a one-pager on the RESPA 10-point test handy. “This isn’t a loophole,” he says. “We want people following the law. That levels the field.”
That nuance - standing up for affiliated businesses without giving them a free pass - puts Ken in a rare category. He’s the guy independents might not love, but many quietly respect. Because he’s not out there defending bad actors. He’s hunting them.
When the NAR settlement dropped a bomb on the commission model, Ken was already working on the fallout. Then came the lawsuits about MLS access and mandatory association memberships. In Utah, a 30% cap on affiliated business arrangements nearly choked the market. Ken built a coalition, got it raised to 70%, and included language to keep shady players out. In Illinois, regulatory threats were met with the same strategy: bring people together, fight smart, don’t back down.
“If I do my job too well, members forget they need us,” he says with a shrug. “Then a state issue hits, and we’re the fire department.”
It’s not just politics and policy, though. Ken wants RESPRO® to be about innovation, too. His member list now includes firms like CloseSimple and SoftPro, companies pushing the title industry forward. “We’re not just about compliance,” he says. “We’re about doing the job better.”
Still, the pressure never fully lifts. Lawsuits keep coming. Markets keep shifting. And Ken keeps showing up, not for applause, but because he sees the cracks forming,and knows how fast they can break everything.
Off the clock, “Recreational Ken” is a whirlwind. He gardens. He fishes. He’s a die-hard model train guy. He plays a Gibson doubleneck guitar—yes, the same one Jimmy Page used on “Stairway to Heaven.” He bought it in 1986 for $1,126.78 with money he earned shoveling out dog kennels. Today, it’s worth over $8,000, but he still plays it like it’s brand new.
His hobbies are more than quirks—they’re echoes of the way he works. Nothing is half-hearted. If he’s into it, he’s in. Whether it’s plotting a new net to fend off birds attacking the strawberries or navigating the labyrinth of real estate regulation, Ken goes all in, sleeves rolled, focused on the details.
He knows he’ll never please everyone. He knows there are independents who think JVs tilt the board. But he also knows this: someone has to make sure the rules are followed. Someone has to stand in the middle and say, “This is how we keep it fair.”
That someone is Ken Trepeta. And whether you agree with him or not, the industry’s better with him in the room.