News & Past Hot Tips

June 2012

-Photo Maintenance Hot Tip: When maintaining photos, if you end up with a blank box between photos, you can simply drag that blank photo graphic to the end instead of moving each photo ahead by one space. If you leave a blank box, Paragon is smart enough to ignore it in the slideshow, but reports with multiple photos and some data exports are not as smart. Bottom line — don’t leave blank spots between photos.

-If you make a mistake entering the list price of a new listing, and then do a price change to fix it, please call the MLS office to request an adjustment to the hidden original list price field. The original list price is what is used to calculate the list to sale price ratio on various statistical reports.

-Paragon always remembers the last search you did. During your current Paragon session, the last search criteria automatically appears. If you logout and log back in, the search criteria does not automatically appear, but you can reload it by selecting Load Search and then Load Last Search from the buttons directly above the search prompts.

-The Supra Key renewal date is June 1st of each year. Next month offices will be billed $150 for each agent currently leasing a key, whether it is an ActiveKey™ or eKey™. If you wish to “cancel” your Key lease, return your Key and charging cord to the MLS office prior to June 1st (eKey users can call to cancel). Call the MLS office (608-240-2800 then press 3) with any questions or email: keys@wisre.com.

May 2012

-Regarding Showings of Properties with Accepted Offers: The SCWMLS has again been receiving an increasing number of complaints from members stating that they are not being informed of the existence of an accepted offer to purchase until after they have submitted an offer. Under Standard of Practice 3-6 to Article 3 of the Code of Ethics, Wisconsin REALTORS must disclose the existence of accepted offers to brokers and agents calling for showing appointments or otherwise seeking cooperation. The only exception to this disclosure is where the seller has indicated that this information is confidential per Wis. Stat. 452.133(1)(d). Any such confidentiality directive should be in writing in the listing contract (or an addendum or amendment thereto) or on a copy of an agency disclosure form, per the WRA Legal Hotline.

-New Sold Data Required: When closing out a property, you now must identify if the sale was court approved, a short sale, or if the property was bank owned/REO. You will identify this by selecting from a required drop down pick list. A choice for N/A will be available if none of the above applies. If you use the MLS change form, you can find an updated copy here: SCWMLS  – Rock-Green

April 2012

-Key Reminder: Please do not write, carve, stick, or in any other way affix your personal PIN onto your Activekey. This can result in a fine of $100 for the first offense and $500 if you are silly enough to do it a second time.

-Lot dimensions from the old DciMap program have been restored on the maps provided via AccessDane. Dimensions are not available on newer lots, however, the county will be installing new software this summer which they hope will allow them to display all lot dimensions.

-The map that comes up when you click to search by map defaults to your office address. If you would rather the default be another location, you can set that under Preferences. Click Preferences from the top Paragon toolbar, then System, then Search Options. Under Custom Map Address click the link to Establish Default Address for Mapping Search. Once the map loads click on the brown power poll looking icon at the top, enter your desired default address and click Get Address. Once the map loads with your new default location, click Save to close.

-Attention ListHub Users: ListHub now syndicates listings to websites operated by real estate franchisors. Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Realty Executives, and RE/MAX were the first national franchise channels to be included. You have the option to include or exclude your listings on these franchise channels. When setting up ListHub, if you selected “Subscribe to all” on your ListHub dashboard, your listings have automatically been sent to these national franchise sites. You can modify your channel choices on the ListHub dashboard found at www.listhub.com.

March 2012

-Is Your Listing Being Missed? When entering a new listing into Paragon, please select all the features that apply. If you select just 2 car garage, for instance, and do not indicate attached, your listing will not come up as a match if a search is done for homes with a 2-car attached garage. Also, please do not use Call School District in place of school names unless the school district cannot provide you with specific schools. Again, if a search is done including a specific school, and you have Call School District entered instead of the actual school name, your listing will be missed. If you have not done so already, you may want to bookmark this helpful link to find school district phone numbers.

-Enhancement/Bug Fixes: – You can now switch to a birds eye view when setting the geocode for a listing. This allows you to by very accurate, as you can place the marker right on top of the roof.

-When viewing listings on a map, you can now click on the MLS number of a listing within the list to the left and it will set that listing as the center and recalculate the distance to that listing for all the other listings on the map.

-Load last search now works as it should within the HotSheet program.

-Using MLS Statistics in Marketing: If you use MLS statistics in your marketing, you must include the following to describe the data your representations are based on: A description of the type of property included (single family, condo, multi-family, waterfront, etc.),
The geography of the listings included (Dane County, City of Madison, All South Central WI MLS), The period of time covered (February 2012, 2011, 4th Quarter of 2011), and notice that the source of the data is the South Central WI MLS.

-The most recent updates to our listing profile sheets have been loaded to ZipForms. The current revision date is 3/2012.

– All members of the South Central Wisconsin MLS have access to MLS listings from eight other MLSs in Wisconsin via WIREX. There is no additional charge for WIREX. Currently, there are 83,000+ active listings in the WIREX database. WIREX covers all counties in Wisconsin with the exception of Florence, Forest, Iron, Langlade, Lincoln, Oneida, and Vilas Counties. Click here for a coverage map. To access WIREX, simply select WIREX on the drop down during Paragon login; or when in Paragon, click on the MLS Switcher link at the top of the screen. The search screens in WIREX have been set up to look very similar to the search screens in SCW Paragon, so you should feel very comfortable using WIREX.

-Listing Feature Changes
4+ Car has been added as a Garage feature selection within Single Family, and 3+ Car has been changed to 3 Car. If you have a listing with a 4+ car garage, you will need to modify that listing from 3 Car to 4+ Car.

Selections for 1 Fireplace, 2 Fireplaces, and 3+ Fireplaces have been added within the Fireplace feature for Single Family and Condo. Please modify your listings to include the number of fireplaces. If you have a double-sided fireplace, this counts as just one fireplace….not two.

Click here for updated profile sheets.

February 2012

-Map Search Changes: Paragon map search has been upgraded with the latest Bing Map Controls. The only thing that might cause a bit of confusion is how to enter a starting address on the map. Click on the brown power pole looking icon at the top to enter an address.

-Picture Administration Change: You now have the ability to delete multiple photos at one time. Simply check the photos you want to delete and click the new Delete button at the top.

-Market Conditions Addendum Enhancement: You now have the option to include a summary of the search criteria used, and a list of the properties contained in the Market Conditions Addendum Report. Watch for this new option within the Generate Report window.

-2011 Tax Mill Rate charts are now available for 18 area counties. They can be found under Resources on www.scwmls.com or click here.

-Photo Reminder: It is against MLS rules and copyright law to copy another agent’s photos for use on your listing without permission. Those submitting photos with the knowledge that they do not have the right to use said photos will be subject to a fine of $25 per photo in addition to any legal remedies available to the owner of the photos.

-Change to Realtor.com for Basic Listings: Realtor.com is currently in the process of loading all photos from Paragon for display on not only upgraded Showcase Listings, but also non-upgraded Basic Listings. This is an update from just the first four photos. In addition, a new electronic “inquiry form” is being added to Basic Listings to allow the consumer to direct inquiries to local brokers and agents who have subscribed to receive these inquires. You will not receive these inquiries on your own listings unless you have purchased this service. This applies to just the free Basic Listings. There have been no changes to the Upgraded Showcase Listings. If you do not subscribe to Showcase Listings on Realtor.com, we recommend you review the changes to your free Basic Listings on Realtor.com. If you do not see all photos or the inquiry form on your listings yet, it is because that zip code has not yet been purchased. To see a sample of an inquiry form, search for properties in Madison. Brokers have the option to opt out of these changes by calling Realtor.com Customer Care at 1-877-799-2863.

-For Appraisers: When calculating the days between events, you can calculate based on the Gregorian Calendar, or if you have Excel, there is a formula that will do the calculation for you. Enter the dates of the changes (i.e. listing date, price change date, accepted offer date, back on market date) down column A. In column B (starting in cell B2), use the formula =A2-A1 (copy and paste from row to row to switch cell addresses) to calculate the days between the dates. If you save this worksheet you can simply plug in new dates for the next appraisal.

January 2012

-Regarding Showings of Properties with Accepted Offers: The SCWMLS has been receiving an increasing number of complaints from members stating that they are not being informed of the existence of an accepted offer to purchase until after they have submitted an offer. Under Standard of Practice 3-6 to Article 3 of the Code of Ethics, Wisconsin REALTORS® must disclose the existence of accepted offers to brokers and agents calling for showing appointments or otherwise seeking cooperation. Please think about how that buyer, who is obviously excited about the prospect of a new home, feels when their agent tells them there is already an accepted offer on what they thought was going to be their new home. The only exception to this disclosure is where the seller has indicated that this information is confidential per Wis. Stat. § 452.133(1)(d). Any such confidentiality directive should be in writing in the listing contract (or an addendum or amendment thereto) or on a copy of an agency disclosure form, per the WRA Legal Hotline.

-Giving the Selling Office Credit: We have been receiving an increasing number of reports that listing companies are recording either themselves or the wrong selling office as the selling side of a transaction. When changing a property to sold, please double check that the correct selling agent and selling office are selected. If you select a selling agent and the wrong office autofills, this is probably because the agent has transferred to a new office since the closing. In this case, please select the broker of the actual selling office as it is important that the correct office be listed.

-When entering data for a new listing, please do not abbreviate fields like Condo Project Name, Subdivision Name, or Lake/River Name as these fields are often used in searches. If a Realtor is including one of these fields in their search and they type in the complete name, and you have abbreviated it, your listing may get missed. We have set these fields up as “contains search” fields to help alleviate this problem, but even a contains search will miss certain abbreviations. For example, if you have entered Metropolitan or Metropolitan Pl instead of Metropolitan Place, and a Realtor searching for these condos spells out Metropolitan Place, your listing will be missed. On the flipside, if you are searching using these non-pick list fields, please keep in mind that the listing agent may have abbreviated. In the case of Metropolitan Place, you may want to search just Metropolitan.

-If you assign a keybox to a listing within SupraWEB (http://supraweb.suprakim.com/), you can view showing activity for that listing. If you have never logged on to SupraWEB before, you will need to set up an account – click on “How to get access”. Once you have logged on, select Listings (at top). Administrators can maintain all keyboxes for their entire office. Call the MLS for instruction (608.240.2800 – press 3 for Supra).

December 2011

-Do you or a client have a property to rent? Do you have a client that needs a place to rent? Paragon includes a rental add and search program. Residential rentals can be added by clicking on Listings – Rental. To search for rentals click on Search – Rental. All Paragon users have access to add rentals. Access to the add rental module is not restricted in the same fashion as adding a property for sale. Rentals can be added for 6 months at a time. Click here for a copy of the Rental Profile Sheet.

-We received this email from a fellow Realtor looking for help in finding a property for her buyer:
“Relocation referred a client to me who needs a home to move into following a leg amputation. I am so frustrated by the number of agents who don’t bother to note if there is a walk in shower, level entry, open floor plan, etc. I am doing my best to help these clients find a home in a short period of time under extremely stressful conditions that I cannot even begin to imagine. Please check your listings to make sure you have checked the appropriate boxes regarding barrier free and accessibility. Even the simple things like first floor bedroom and bath would be so helpful. Thank you. “

–New Listing Feature: Access to Basement has been added as a new feature choice under Garage within Single Family. Please add this feature if your listing has it.

–Is the Map Correct on your Listings? – If your listing is not mapped correctly, it may be missed if an agent is searching by map. Please make it part of your routine to always check the map placement when adding a new listing. If the map placement is not correct, you can adjust it under Listing Maintain – Change GeoCode. When the map displays under maintain, click on the green Set Location button in the lower left corner and then click once on the map where the property should be located. Switching to an aerial view and using the zoom feature helps to pinpoint the exact location. Click Save to save your changes.

November 2011

-Realtors Property Resource (RPR) is Live in our Market – The National Association of Realtors® exclusive online real estate library is now available free to members in the South Central and Rock Green MLS markets. This resource can be accessed at www.narrpr.com. Click here for more information and web-based training links.

-If you are still seeing the User Preferences Wizard when you login, and do not want to complete the wizard, click on the “Don’t show again” option in the lower left corner of the window then click close in the upper right.

October 2011

Click here for P5 system requirements.
Click here for instruction on adding a Paragon 5 desktop shortcut
Click here for a list of what is different/new in P5.

New Listing Features: Boat Slip and Pond have been added as new feature choices under Waterfront. Boatslip/Pier was already available for condos under Condo Common Amenities.

August 2011

-Recent Keycard Violations: We have had two recent complaints from sellers that Realtors have shown property without waiting for confirmation. In addition to being a violation of the SCWMLS Rules and your keycard agreement, entering a property without permission is trespassing and is against the law. MLS sanctions for this offense include fines to both the agent and to their broker, and may result in loss of keycard privileges. MLS sanctions may be the least of your worries if a seller decides to press criminal charges. PLEASE, call for an appointment and WAIT for confirmation before showing properties.

-Single Family Zoned Multi Family – A recent rule change now allows single unit properties that are zoned multi-family to be listed within the Multi-Family class within Paragon. A new pick list item, Single Unit Zoned Multi-Family, has been added under the Type feature pick list for these types of property. If a single unit property that is zoned multi family is entered under the Multi-Family class, it cannot also be entered under the Single Family class.

Next Version of Paragon – Paragon 5

For the last year, a group of your fellow Realtors have been busy testing the next version of Paragon. We are now at a point where most of the bugs have been worked out and we are comfortable opening up access to all. Paragon 5 is compatible with  Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Edge and the iPad. Paragon 5 shares the same database as Paragon 4, which allows members to bounce back and forth between the old and the new while they get comfortable with the new. Paragon 5 supports multi-tasking via tabs which allows you to be more efficient.

A tentative date of October 10 has been set for the sunset of Paragon 4. You are welcome to begin using Paragon 5 at your convenience. The url for Paragon 5 is http://scwmls.paragonrels.com. Use the same login name and password you use for Paragon 4.

Within the red section at the top of the home page you will find links to training videos, quick start guides and webinars. Hands-on classes at the MLS office have been scheduled starting the week of August 1. A link to the training schedule can be found on the Paragon 5 homepage. Paragon 5 is quite similar to Paragon 4, and you may find you need no additional training.

Please don’t wait until the last minute to familiarize yourself with Paragon 5. Allowing yourself some time will make for a much easier transition.

Photo Reminders:

-At least one photo is required for all listings except vacant land, commercial property, and new construction. A photo must be loaded within 7 days of listing input. Offices will be billed $50 if the MLS has to send its photographer out to take a photo.

-No photos of bodies of water are allowed unless the view is visible from the property, or from deeded access.

-Photos should not contain office/agent names, logos, or contact information. If it is not possible to take a photo without including the for sale sign, the contact information on the sign must be edited out.

-It is against MLS rules and copyright law to copy another agent’s photos for use on your listing without permission. Those submitting photos with the knowledge that they do not have the right to use said photos will be subject to a fine of $25 per photo in addition to any legal remedies available to the owner of the photos.

June 2011

New Green Features Added:
Under Heating/Cooling for Single Family and Condo
-In floor radiant heat
-Geothermal
-Whole house fan
Under Interior Features for Single Family and Condo
-Tankless Water Heater
Under Energy Efficient/Green Features for Single Family and Condo
-Low E Windows
-Recycled/Reclaimed content
-Low VOC materials
Under Energy Efficient/Green Features for Multi Family
-Low E Windows
-Recycled/Reclaimed content
-Low VOC materials
-In floor radiant heat
-Geothermal
-Whole house fan
-Tankless water heater

If you select any features under the Energy Efficient/Green Features section, please complete the Energy Efficient/Green Associated Document which can be found here.

-Electronic Consent Y/N: A new optional Yes/No field has been added to the MLS Profile Sheets and to the add listings screens in Paragon for Electronic Consent. Indicate Yes if your seller has consented to the use of email as a means to deliver documents and written notices related to their transaction. This new Yes/No field can be found in the section with the other Yes/No questions such as Named Exceptions. The preferred email address for this delivery should be included in the Broker-to-Broker Remarks. For a copy of what needs to be sent to the seller to authorize electronic consent, click here. Updated profile sheets can be found here.

May 2011

-Agent Access to Update Assessments/Taxes: Users with standard agent level security can now update the assessment and tax fields on their listings within Paragon. In addition to assessments and taxes, agents can maintain photos, virtual tours, associated documents, map location, public remarks, showing instructions, open house date/time, and broker open date/time/comments for all their listings.

-Marinette County Listings added to WIREX: Listings from the Marinette County MLS have recently been added to WIREX. Some of the communities covered include Crivitz, Marinette, Peshtigo, and Menomonie, MI. 1,300 active listings and 4,000+ sales were added. Select WIREX at login or click the MLS Switcher at the top of the Paragon screen to search the WIREX database. Click here for an updated WIREX coverage map.

-Do you WIREX? There are currently 96,000+ active listings in the WIREX database from 7 separate MLSs as follows: Metro Milwaukee 33,400, South Central WI 21,800, Northeast WI 17,400, Northwest WI 11,000, Western WI 5,600, Central WI 5,500, Marinette 1,300.

-eKey (Blackberry, Droid, IPhone) Hot Tip: To avoid functionality issues out in the field, be sure to update your eKEY software before you start your day.
Blackberry users – Open the application – press your menu button – choose Update Key.
Droid/iPhone users – Open the application – choose the Update icon.
The software will then update automatically and let you know that your key has been updated.

April 2011

-MLS Billing Statements E-Mailed: MLS billing statements were sent via e-mail last week to offices that did not request to receive a mailed copy. This is a new process being done to cut expenses. If you did not receive your March MLS billing statement (which includes second quarter dues) via e-mail or postal mail, please contact Kristine at kristine@wisre.com or 608.240.2800 x 303.

-Updated 2011 Madison Area/Subarea Map: The 2011 version of the MLS Madison Area/Subarea Wall Map is now available. Each MLS office and branch office is entitled to one free copy of this map. There were no Area/Subarea reassignments for this update, but streets added within the City of Madison since the last printing (2008) have been added. If you would like an updated copy of this map, please stop by the MLS office Monday-Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The cost for additional maps is $15 each.

-Using MLS Statistics in Marketing: If you use MLS statistics in your marketing, you must include the following to describe the data your representations are based on:
-A description of the type of property included (single family, condo, multi-family, waterfront, etc.)
-The geography of the listings included (Dane County, City of Madison, All South Central WI MLS)
-The period of time covered (December of 2010, 2010, First Quarter of 2011)
-Notice that the source of the data is the South Central WI MLS

March 2011

-New Listing Feature Options Added: The following selections have been added to the feature lists within Paragon. If you have a listing that has one of these features, please add it. These additions will be added to the profile sheets the next time they are modified.

-Condo – FHA/VA Approved under Terms/Misc.
-Lots & Acreage – Farm under Type (Farm Associated Doc required)
-Lots & Acreage – In Existing Condo Plat under Type
-Rural/USDA has been added as a new type of financing for sold properties.

-MLS Remarks: The MLS Public Remarks are reserved for information about the property. Verbiage that includes the directive to contact someone, or the inclusion of contact information for the listing agent/office or anyone else is not allowed. This restriction also applies to photos, virtual tours, and public associated documents include on the MLS. Contact information can be included in the Broker-to-Broker Remarks and the Wisconsinhomes.com Remarks.

February 2011

-Disclosing Limited Service – Please remember that a Limited Service listing is an agreement under which the listing broker will not provide one or more of the services listed below. Even if just one of these is not being offered, you must answer the Limited Service question as Yes, and attach the required Limited Service Disclosure Form as an Associated Document.

– Arrange showings
-Accept and present offers
-Advise on the merits of the offer
-Assist with counter offers
-Participate in negotiations on the seller’s behalf
-Schedule and coordinate the closing
-Order title insurance
-Hold earnest money

-Disclosing Licensee Interest: If you, as the listing agent, have a personal interest in a property you have listed on the MLS, you must answer “yes” to the Licensee Interest Y/N question. Licensee interest would apply if you are acting on your own behalf, on behalf of your immediate family, on behalf of your firm, or on behalf of any other organization or business entity in which you have an interest. Answering “yes” alerts the agent working with the buyer that you have a personal interest in the transaction, so that further disclosure, as required by license law, can be included should an offer to purchase be written. In addition, it is helpful if you include the nature of your interest in the private broker-to-broker remarks so that the agent writing the offer can include the appropriate disclosure language.

January 2011

-The MLS Committee makes decisions about changes to Paragon, the keycard system, and MLS rules. If you would like to discuss an item you feel would make our MLS better, please feel free to contact a member of the MLS Committee. Contact information for the 2011 MLS Committee can be found here. MLS staff is also available to discuss MLS services with you, but we recognize that sometimes it is easier to talk to a fellow Realtor.

-WIREX Update: We have recently loaded listings for Western Wisconsin MLS into WIREX. This includes 57,000+ listings (5,200 actives plus off markets back to July of 2005) located north and west of Eau Claire up to Hayward and over to the Minnesota border. Click the MLS Switcher above or select WIREX at login to search statewide MLS listings.

December 2010

-Checking for Listings not Mapped – Searching by map has become very popular. If your listing is not mapped correctly, it may be missed if an agent is searching by map. Please make it part of your routine to always check the map placement when adding a new listing. You can either select the blue M from an agent full or select one of the views with a map. If the map placement is not correct, you can adjust it under Listing Maintain. For a list of all your properties (or all properties in your office if you have administrative access) that are currently not mapped at all, click on Listings and Missing Geocode Search. From the list that displays, you can only fix one listing at a time via the Change Geocode link at the top. Click the grey Map It button next to the address that most closely matches the listing. When the map displays you can fine tune the placement by clicking once on the map where the property should be located. Note there is a Zoom feature that will help in your placement. Click Save & Close above the map to save your changes. There are currently over 2800 active listings that do not have a map associated with them in Paragon. That means over 2800 active listings do not come up as matches when searching by map. Please check your listings.

-Is Your Listing Being Missed? When entering a new listing into Paragon, please select all the features that apply. If you select just 2 car garage, for instance, and do not indicate attached, your listing will not come up as a match if a search is done for homes with a 2-car attached garage. Also, please do not use Call School District in place of school names unless the school district cannot provide you with specific schools. Again, if a search is done including a specific school, and you have Call School District entered instead of the actual school name, your listing will be missed.

November 2010

– Unsure about whether the home you just listed is a bi-level or raised ranch? Do you want to know what the difference is between a bungalow and a Cape Cod? How about condos- what is a garden and how is it different from a townhouse style? Check out the Home Style Guide on the MLS website under Resources for answers to these and many other questions, including how to measure square footage the right way .