Have you been looking for a way to better promote an upcoming “REALTOR® Luncheon” or “Tour of Homes”? Did you know that Paragon 5 offers a quick and easy way to promote said luncheons and/or tours? Well it does and it is perhaps one of the more underutilized features within our MLS system. The process is actually quite easy as outlined below:

To enter your REALTOR® luncheon as a tour of homes into Paragon you must first click on the large “listings” button at the top of your screen and then under “Listings,” choose “Maintain Listings.”

Once you are at the Listings Maintenance screen you will then want to choose “Select an Action” at the end of the row of the listing for which you want to create a REALTOR® luncheon or tour.

The next step is to choose the option for “Tour Listing.”

The next step you will want to take is to click “Add New.”

Now add the appropriate information about your Open House or Tour including any comments and click “Save.”

You will now see the tour home listed.  If you would like to enter more REALTOR® tour homes, just repeat the process beginning with “Add New.”  A broker or agent may only enter tour listings for homes under their own inventory.

That’s it!  It really is just that simple.  Don’t forget to call any other agents that you might be working in conjunction with and advise them to follow these same easy steps.  You might also wish to further promote your REALTOR® tour by calling Christy O’Connell at the Tallahassee Board of REALTORS® at 850.224.7713 and asking that your Thursday tours be listed in the latest edition of eBoard Briefs.

Now that you have entered your REALTOR® tour, don’t you want to know how to search for it?  Of course you do!  Just click on the big Search button at the top of the screen in Paragon, and under “Specialty Search” choose “Tour and Open House.”

Now enter the dates you want to search for and choose the “Tour/Open House Status” as “Tour,” enter any other pertinent information, and hit Search.

You should now see the REALTOR® tour that you just entered!  Remember that you can also email this information to anyone you like.

So that’s it!  You have now successfully created and searched for your REALTOR® tour!  WELL DONE!!!  Of course if you have any trouble along the way you can always rely on your trusted CATRS Helpdesk at 850.224.7713.  I am always happy to assist you, so please just give me a call any time Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and I will do my best to serve your needs.

Technically speaking,

Will

Adding to the clutter in your Inbox:

• Several emails from TBR REALTORS® about new listings and/or open houses
• An email from a member office welcoming a new agent
• Emails from TBR announcing a socials/events/classes
• An email from TBR informing you about a county commission meeting
• And TBR’s weekly eBoard Briefs newsletter.

Whew! That’s a lot of email in the course of one week, generated from your TBR membership. But is it spam?

If you’re reading this (and you’re a TBR member), you’re a REALTOR® or an Affiliate. You’ve likely become a member for at least one or maybe a variety of reasons—which are benefits exclusive to TBR members:

(1) Networking;

(2) Marketing;

(3) MLS;

(4) Education;

(5) Advocacy

…etc.

As a TBR member, you’ve paid yearly dues for these membership benefits. You’ve paid for access to other members—networking opportunities and contact lists—that the public cannot receive. You’ve paid for access to TBR’s MLS (if you’re a REALTOR® member), and for education and advocacy—and to be kept informed about any changes or updates to any of these services as they happen.    

My point? Each of the emails mentioned in the first paragraph falls under the “membership benefits” categories listed in the second:

• Several emails from TBR REALTORS® about new listings and/or open houses = Networking. Marketing. MLS.
• An email from a member office welcoming a new agent = Networking. Marketing.
• Emails from TBR announcing socials/events/classes = Networking. Education.
• An email from TBR informing you about a county commission meeting = Advocacy.
• And TBR’s weekly eBoard Briefs newsletter = Networking. Marketing. MLS. Education. Advocacy.

TBR strives to provide you with great member benefits and opportunities, and to keep you informed—that’s why we exist as an association, and why you joined! We respect your time and certainly understand if you don’t want to be included on the TBR roster that’s distributed to other members, and if you want to unsubscribe from TBR communications like advocacy messages and eBoard Briefs. But I urge you to reconsider. Sure, your Inbox can get pretty cluttered. I love my BlackBerry because I can “delete” before I ever sit at my desktop, so it’s not so overwhelming once I sit down to work. “Delete” is an option, short of “unsubscribe,” that’s easy for me to take advantage of—but I won’t miss messages that are important to me.

So I’ve tried to explain the why’s of what we do—including sending out email blasts and rosters. If you unsubscribe from a TBR list, or ask to be removed from the roster, we honor your request. We do try to limit the messages we send to you from the association, beyond the weekly eBoard Briefs newsletter. When we send an email from TBR, the subject line will always reflect what’s in the message—so you can easily see if it pertains to you; if not, “delete.” After all, we don’t want to bother you or for the message to get lost in your Inbox (but we do want to keep you informed—a delicate balance, I can assure you).

Members, if you use the TBR roster to send out emails, and someone asks to be removed from your list, honor their request—it’s the law (CAN-SPAM) and common courtesy (the Golden Rule). When you do send out emails, clearly identify your message in the subject line, thoughtfully consider your email marketing strategy, and limit the amount of emails you’re sending so as not to dilute your message (or annoy others to the point that they unsubscribe).

I’d like to hear what you think about mass email communications from members and association: Is it spam?

Susan

I read an interesting study done by MRIS, a regional MLS that serves the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, including Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia. MRIS is the largest MLS in the country, with close to 50,000 subscribers.

According to the report, which I found on www.MRIS.com, today’s consumers recognize this is not the time to complete a real estate transaction on their own, and are placing a stronger emphasis on the agent’s professional skills. The following are the traits that the participants in this study found to be the most important (in order of highest rank):

1. Trustworthiness
2. Experience
3. Willingness to look out for a client’s interest
4. Expertise in negotiating contracts
5. Responsiveness
6. Familiarity with contracts
7. Knowledge of the local community

These requirements are evidence that consumers are seeking more than simple guidance; they are looking for an expert they can trust to execute a step-by-step process throughout the entire transaction.

Although this study was done with consumers in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, I would argue that these findings are equally applicable in our little corner of the world. Today’s buyers and sellers have more information about real estate than in any other time. Buyers can research neighborhoods for school information, crime statistics, demographics, and much more. Sellers can look at recently sold properties in their area, current listings (potential competition) and even get pricing help from the many AVMs that are available. Yet, despite all of the tools and resources available, when it comes time to actually buy or sell a home, there is nothing more valuable than the industry knowledge, expertise, and guidance a real estate professional brings to the table.

Other findings in the study were:

The take away for me is that the abundance of information available to consumers with regard to real estate does not minimize the role of the REALTOR^®; on the contrary, it magnifies the need for a real estate professional to guide buyers, sellers, renters, and landlords through this complicated transaction. 

Are you positioning yourself to meet the needs of today’s buyers? Do you exhibit the top seven traits buyers and sellers are looking for in their real estate professional? Do you bring the skills to the table that buyers and sellers value?

Being a successful REALTOR^® is not easy; it takes discipline, hard work, and a willingness to learn and change. To quote Tom Hanks in the movie, A League of their Own, “It’s supposed to be hard! If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great!”

I want you to be great at your chosen profession!

Special note: I want to acknowledge and thank MRIS for allowing me to reprint this information from their report.

~Steven

Have you ever hit the correction button on a listing and wondered what happens next? Well for starters I think I should point out that we can receive dozens of these corrections every day. Sometimes, albeit rarely, we can receive 100 or more. As you can imagine, there are obviously not enough resources (i.e., staff) to fully investigate and follow up on every one, and thus it can often take a while between when the correction notice is generated and when (and if) any action is taken on the listing. In fact, depending on the issue, it is not always possible to know if the complaint is even valid!

After investigating the issue and determining if it is the type of issue we believe we can or should pursue, a notice is sent to the agent that says something along the likes of either “Invalid (fill in the blank)” or “It has been reported to CATRS/TBE that (fill in the blank).” If the listing agent confirms the information is accurate and we have no other proof it is not, the listing agent gets the benefit of the doubt and the listing will remain as it is. For example: if an agent sends in a correction for the square feet, the listing says 2250 sq ft and the source is other (we can’t look to the Property Appraiser’s site), the listing agent says its 2000 sq ft. We would send the message, “It has been reported to CATRS/TBR that the square footage in listing 123456 is incorrect…” If the listing agent says, “No, the square footage is right,” we do not take any further action.

The other side of this coin is an instance whereby a valid and fully vetted correction notice has been sent to the listing agent and the three days grace period (as well as three different emails have been sent to both the agent and the broker) has passed and no correction has been made. In this scenario, the offending agent is suspended from the MLS and a $100 fine is levied against their account. That agent would then need to pay the fine and correct the error in order to re-access the MLS. They would then have the option of enrolling in our Fine Forgiveness Program, and after taking two classes within the next four months (MLS & Your Liability and MLS: Listings) they can apply to have their $100 fine refunded in full. An agent may take advantage of this option once per year.

As you can see there is an enormous amount of time and energy involved in these procedures as well as a large number of corrections on any given day. Thusly, we always recommend that  brokers and agents contact the listing agent first (peer to peer) and give the agent an opportunity to correct for whatever errors are perceived and only then use the correction button as a last resort. Of course if there is a very serious issue that demands immediate attention you can always call the Helpdesk at 850-224-7713 and request the issue be addressed right away! 

If you would like any further explanation or just have any questions about what is and is not valid, please do not hesitate to call the Helpdesk for further guidance.

Technically speaking,

Will

We have had success with the following steps if your BlackBerry Curve 9330 displays “No Network Coverage”:

• Find the Options application (sometimes represented by a tool/wrench icon) on your phone’s main page.
• In the “Search” field, type Host Routing Table.
• Find Host Routing Table— when you click it, hit your BlackBerry key (the key with the cluster of dots on it) and click Register Now, then hit OK.
• Go back to the “Search” field and start typing Application.
• Next, scroll down and select “Application Management.”
• Again, in the “Search” field type eKEY— highlight it and push your BlackBerry key, then scroll down and select Edit Permissions.
• Make sure that all the icons display Allow.
• You can change Custom to Allow by highlighting Custom, pushing Enter, and scrolling up to select Allow. Save this change by hitting your return button.
• Finally, you will need to take your battery out for a few seconds and then put it back in.
• Go to your eKEY and it should start updating; you may have to click on Obtain Key first, then select Wireless.

If you’re having other technical  issues with your device, contact your cell phone provider or the manufacturer. If you’re having other eKEY issues, contact us at 224-7713, or Supra at 1-877-699-6787.

Becca

You are at a client’s house and you go to Obtain a KEY (located in your eKEY application), but your phone seems to be stuck showing the message “communicating with the lockbox.” It really doesn’t seem to be doing anything but making an annoying beeping sound.

This is a common problem that the iPhone has—failure to recognize the Supra Adapter. If you follow these instructions, your iPhone eKEY will be up and running once more:

• Step 1: End the program by pushing your iPhone center button.
• Step 2: Push and hold down (3 seconds) the power button, which is located on the top right-hand corner of your iPhone. Release your finger and slide to power off.
• Step 3: Take the battery out of your iPhone for at least 10 seconds, then put the battery back in and power your phone back on.
• Step 4: Go to your eKEY application and try to use your key again . . . this time it should work perfectly.

If you have any questions please, contact your Board office at (850) 224-7713.

Becca

For agents who have one of the many Droid phones—this article is just for you.

If you receive an error code #9BFF “unexpected error,” this is how you fix it:

• Step 1: Select your “settings” icon
• Step 2: Select – Application
• Step 3: Select – Manage Application
• Step 4: Select – eKEY
• Step 5: Press “Force Stop” while in eKEY
• Step 6: Clear Data, this is located on the same page  
• Step 7: Return to your home page and find your “eKEY” icon.
• Step 8: You will need to put in a new Authorization Code; you can call the Tallahassee Board of REALTORS® at 850-224-7713 or Supra at (877) 699-6787) to get an Authorization Code.

After completing these steps, you shouldn’t have this problem again—but, if this does happen again to your phone we will need to take the eKEY application off your phone and start over; you will need to come in to the Board office to have this procedure done.

** A good rule of thumb to remember, is if at any time your Droid is having difficulty communicating with your eKEY or fob (which is the little black device used for obtaining a key and releasing the shackle of a lockbox) then power your phone down and take the battery out for 10 seconds—then put your battery back in your phone and power it on again . . . this should take care of any issues.

If you have any questions, please call the Board Office at (850) 224-7713.

Becca

I hear the debate has been raging between our members on which device has the best app support. That depends on how you define “best apps.” Here is a list of what some of your criteria could be in determining which marketplace rules:

• # of free apps
• # of total apps available
• Amount of memory space the app will need on my device
• How fast does the app run?
• Does the app slow down my device?
• Does the app run all of the time, draining my device’s battery?
• Is the app a supported, verified app from Apple or Google? (keep this one in mind)
• Does the app require more security privileges to my device than necessary?

Ok, back to the debate. I have used both devices and here are my unbiased thoughts on each platform and its app marketplace:

Apple’s process for approving apps and allowing them into its app store is, in a word, difficult. Almost everything they do is proprietary, which makes it hard for developers to create apps at times. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Apple prides itself on knowing that when users go to its app store to download an app, the end user can be sure that the app has been thoroughly vetted and I mean thoroughly. It really puts the responsibility on developers and app creators to create feature rich, secure apps Apple’s customers base. Sure the process is not super-fast and that great app may take some time getting to the app store, but when it does you have a very nice app. However no app is totally secure, and even apps in the Apple app store have been compromised and caused issues for their owners.

Google, on the other hand, believes in an open architecture in which developers have access to the Android code and are encouraged to develop a plethora of apps. I mean really, if you can think of something you want on your phone, the Android marketplace probably has an app for it. While this method creates competition and innovation among developers it certainly has its drawbacks. Because it is so easy to get an app into the Android marketplace, apps for Android phones ARE far less secure and more vulnerable to security threats than iPhone apps.

Just the other day a massive amount of Android users (over 200,000) were hit with a Trojan virus that stole data and otherwise compromised the security of their devices. If you would like to check out the details of the story, it’s reported here at Android Police.com. More and more malicious apps are sneaking into the Android marketplace that are not verified and certainly would not be supported. To its credit, Google did have the rogue app pulled within 5 minutes, but look at the damage that was done.

So there you have it; does this post mean it’s a slam dunk for the iPhone? Not necessarily, as I mentioned, all smartphones are at risk for having their security compromised. It’s in your best interest to purchase security app software for your device. Check out our latest Technology Resource Guide for some suggestions.

In conclusion, the war is far from over, but this round or battle has been won by Apple.

Paul

We appreciate all that our Affiliate members do for us and we hope that you use and enjoy all the benefits that Affiliate membership provides.

I wanted to remind you that your company’s Affiliate membership provides the opportunity to add as many additional members as you wish for only $35 each. Each additional member would be able to take part in all the benefits that Affiliate membership offers. Everyone in your office could have their individual information listed in the Affiliate Services Directory to get their name out there to the general public. Everyone could network at marketing meetings, business meetings and socials, and take advantage of the many technology and education opportunities the Board offers.

We hope you will encourage everyone in your office to take advantage of all the benefits Affiliate membership with the Tallahassee Board of REALTORS® offers and join us for 2011.

You can find an Affiliate Application on our website, for use in adding additional members to your company, by clicking on Members/Membership/Affiliate Application (or just Click Here). Please contact me if you have any questions or need any additional information, at 224-7713 or Jo-Anna@TBRnet.org.

Jo-Anna

There are many reasons why you might be having issues with using Form Simplicity. Perhaps the one most likely culprit as of late is your unintentional (or perhaps intentional) upgrade to “Adobe Reader X.” As of this writing, Forms Simplicity is not yet compatible with Adobe Reader X.

At present, Florida REALTORS® is in the process of attempting to correct for this deficiency and it is our understanding that a fix is eventually forthcoming. Until then, what’s a REALTOR® to do? Well, if you go to the Adobe website you will likely see the only option as “Upgrade to Adobe Reader X.” Well you probably DON’T want to do that since that is what got you in trouble in the first place ,so where do you go from here?

Florida REALTORS® currently recommends the following advice: The first thing you will want to do is remove Adobe Reader X. After that, simply Click Here and then determine if you want the full download version or just an upgrade.

Still confused or just need a little “hand-holding” along the way? No problem! Just Call the Tallahassee Board of REALTORS® Helpdesk at 850.224.7713 and we will be more than happy to assist you. If you are interested in why it is a good idea to keep your Adobe software updated, read this previous post on updates.

Technically Speaking,

Will