News & Past Hot Tips

In an effort to promote the highest level of professionalism and cooperation, we strongly recommend the following best practices regarding setting a future date for presentation of, review of, or response to an offer:

Buyer Agents:

• It is best to submit offers in a timely manner, and not wait until the deadline. The seller is free to change their mind, and the date set for presentation/review/response could change at any time.
• Open communication with the listing agent is key. If you will be writing an offer, let the listing agent know, and ask to be notified if the date changes.

Listing Agents:

• Under Wis. Admin. Code § REEB 24.13(3)(c) and the Realtor® Code of Ethics, listing agents are required to promptly present all written offers to their sellers. Holding offers, even at the request of a seller, creates potential risks for the listing agent. If a seller insists on setting a specific date for presentation of, review of, or response to offers, this should be documented in writing, preferably in the listing contract.  Language should be clear as to the terms and conditions under which an offer should not be promptly presented.
• Terminology such as “presentation”, “review”, or “response” date is sometimes misused, making it difficult for cooperating agents & buyers to understand the seller’s timeframe & intent. Instead, a statement like “Seller requests binding acceptance through ______(date)” may help avoid ambiguity and confusion.
• Discuss with your seller how to handle offers written with binding acceptance dates prior to the set date for presentation/review/response.
• To promote fairness & equal opportunity to all interested parties, the listing agent should communicate with all agents who have shown the property, have upcoming showing appointments, and who have expressed interest if the originally stated date changes.  This can easily be done via ShowingTime Appointment Center (select listing and select Send Notifications). The change should be documented in writing, and the MLS remarks should be updated as soon as possible.
• Listing agents should not make the decision that one offer warrants presentation before the deadline, while others do not. In order to fulfill their obligation to be fair and honest to all parties, the listing agent should present all offers if the decision is made to present one. The seller and the listing agent should recognize that reviewing/accepting an offer before the originally stated date puts cooperating agents in an unfavorable position because other buyers may become angry if they rely on the MLS information only to discover another offer has been accepted.

When adding an associated document to a listing in Paragon, it will automatically be set as a private document unless the “Public” box is checked. Public documents are visible to the public via Collab Center & e-mailed listing links, and are also sent to WIREX, where agents in other MLSs can view them. Private documents are not included when listings are emailed from Paragon, but SCWMLS members have access to them via the Documents link on a listing.

Please remember that documents may not be marked public if they contain agent or company names, contact information, or branding/logos. Public documents that are contractual in nature (ex: RECR, addenda) may contain the name of the listing firm, but it must be in typeface no larger than the median typeface of the document. There has been an increase in the number of reports of contact information on public documents, so please double check this before marking a document as public. Thank you!

Did you know the MLS remarks section of a listing is searchable?   Within the Advanced Criteria section of your search options (at the bottom under Search), you will find the Remarks search prompt.  Simply type in the word or words you are looking for.

For example, if your buyer would like a property that has a large garden space, type large garden and your search results will include properties for which the listing agent has included the words large garden in the remarks. You can also string together multiple words. For example, if your buyer would like a home on a secluded lot, you could type secluded (tab) private (tab) isolated.

Your search will bring back properties for which the listing agent has included any of these words in the remarks. Give it a try the next time you are looking for something there is not a specific search feature for.  Also, when composing your remarks, make sure to mention special features not covered elsewhere in the listing features.

We generally see two reasons a new listing is not available for showings right away.

In the first situation, the property is ready for public marketing, but the seller and listing agent decide to pick a launch date, often starting with an open house. It makes sense to enter these listings as Active, as the seller and agent usually want them to be visible to the public.  The listings in Active must include the date showings will be allowed in the first line of the public remarks.

In the second situation, the property is not ready to be marketed due to needed clean up, timing for professional photos, desired staging, etc.  It makes sense to enter these listings as Delayed, as the listing is not ready to be exposed to the public yet.

Our rules regarding listings not ready to be shown take both situations into account allowing agents the flexibility to market these listings as either Active or Delayed.   Click here for more information.

If you find yourself in a situation where your new seller directs you not to include their listing on the MLS, your options for marketing their property are very limited. If an office exclusive listing is not handled correctly, it can result in a large fine. If you are at all unsure about the rules pertaining to office exclusive listings, please call 608-240-2800 and ask for Heather or Patty. We would much rather talk to you ahead of time, than follow up on a report that you have strayed outside MLS rules.

When changing a listing to an offer status, you are asked if there were competing offers. Answer YES only if more than one written offer was considered at the time an offer was accepted. This field is optional at the time of acceptance and required when a listing is marked as Sold.

With the increased instances of showing overlaps, it is tempting, and even seems friendly to just hand the key over to the next agent who shows up for a showing.  Remember, the Supra system records when you open a keybox, and when you close it.   If the next agent forgets to turn lights off, lets the cat out, or fails to shut/lock doors, you may be held responsible as you would have been the last agent recorded as entering.

Please take extra care to make sure lights are off and doors are locked.  If there is not another showing happening when you leave, please double check all doors and lights.  Doors may have been opened or lights may have been turned on by an agent before you, so please be attentive and do a double check before you leave.

A while back, the Supra eKey app was updated to make it easier for agents to issue one-time codes to non-members.    With this upgrade, the ability for office staff to assist agents with this via SupraWEB was removed.    As several staff reported they missed this tool, we expressed this to Supra.   We are happy to report that the option for office staff to create one-day codes (Managed Access) for their agents has been restored within SupraWEB.   This option can again be found under the Broker Quick Links.

We are excited to announce the integration of the GreenLight Statistical Program within our MLS.   GreenLight tools empower agents to more easily find answers, make informed decisions, and leverage real-time access to discover insights within our MLS data.  GreenLight can be accessed from within Paragon.  Click on Resources and GreenLight Statistics.

Check out this 16 minute video for an overview of GreenLight.

Supra keyboxes come from the factory preset to open between the hours of 6:00 a.m – 9:00 p.m. Central Standard Time, and shift to the hours of 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. during Daylight Saving Time.

If you would like to change the access hours, or remove all time restrictions, you can do this for keyboxes you have added to your inventory.  Once added, select the keybox and then select Program Keybox.  Change the start or end time by clicking or tapping on the time.  When done, you will need to select to Program the keybox.  You will need to be near the keybox and have the shackle code to do this.

Set your Default County for Searching:  From within CRS, open Settings at the top right. Select Default County Search, select up to 4 counties, click to Save.

Customize your Results List: When viewing search results, you can toggle between Simple Results or Custom Results.  You can customize what displays under Custom Results.  Open Settings at the top right and select Custom Results List.  From here you can select up to 10 columns and even set your desired display order by dragging and dropping.  Click Save before closing.

Personally Brand CRS Tax Reports: Within the Branding option under Settings you have the option to upload a photo, logo, and other information you want to include on CRS reports. At this time, agent information does not flow from Paragon so you will need to keep this data updated manually.

Recent Violation: A listing that was to be entered in Delayed status was shown by the listing firm prior to MLS entry.

Discipline: A $500 fine to both the listing agent and their broker was assessed. This was the first time the agent and broker were found to have violated this MLS rule. Subsequent violations will result in accelerated fines and potential suspension of MLS services.

Please remember that if a new listing is to be entered as Delayed, or as Active with restrictions to show at a later date, nobody, including the listing firm, can show the property during the period between the effective date and entry into the MLS. The grace period for MLS entry allows time to gather information. It does not provide an opportunity to show the property if it will not be available for showings when it hits the MLS. More information on Delayed status can be found here.

Agents with standard Realtor level access can now edit all fields of data within their listing(s) with the exception of those fields that are contractual in nature (status, price, Y/N questions, and address). These contractual fields can be modified by someone with a higher security level (ex: office admin or broker).

The Exclusive Right to Sell listing is the form of listing where the seller provides exclusive authorization to the listing broker to cooperate with other brokers in the sale of their property. By default, all WB listing contracts are Exclusive Right to Sell.

The Exclusive Agency listing also authorizes the listing broker, as exclusive agent, to cooperate with other brokers in the sale of the property, but also reserves to the seller the general right to sell the property on an unlimited or restrictive basis.

An explanation of each of the “Yes/No” fields in Paragon can be found here. Within the Add/Maintain Listing screen, there are also helpful question mark “hint” icons to the right of many of the fields. When clicked, the icon will display an explanation of how to complete that field.

If you have a listing that 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 as assigned by Paragon is not correct, you can adjust it under Listing Maintain –> Change GeoCode.

When the map displays under maintain, click on the red map placement marker and move it as needed. Switching to a bird’s eye view (click the down arrow next to the word Road in the upper left corner) and using the zoom feature helps to pinpoint the exact location. There is also an option to enter the latitude and longitude. Before clicking Save, you may want to zoom out a bit as the zoom level will also be saved.

If you are not familiar with the location of a property, the CRS tax program can help you pinpoint it exactly using the latitude and longitude. Click on the red T from the listing to pull the property up within the CRS tax program.  The Latitude/Longitude are the last field within the Location section. Copy and paste into the Change GeoCode option within listing maintain.

As that was a lot of words, here is a helpful video to visually demonstrate:

The status of Withdrawn by Seller should be used when a seller changes their mind about selling, but the listing agent does not release them from their listing contract. Properties in Withdrawn by Seller may not be marketed or shown. Just like with Delayed properties, if the listing agent allows a showing, or a potential co-broke agent shows a property in Withdrawn by Seller status, both agents would be subject to fines by the MLS.

Once a listing is moved to the status of Withdrawn by Seller, the listing firm will not be able to move it back to Active. Before marketing & showings can resume, one of the following must be done:

1. Execute a new listing contract, expire the previous listing in the MLS, and add a new MLS #. This option will cause the days on market (DOM) count to reset. The cumulative days on market (CDOM) will only reset if the property has been off the market for at least 31 days.
2. Execute an amendment with the direction to reactivate the listing and submit it to listings@wisre.com. MLS Staff will change the listing back to Active status. This may only be done once per listing. With this option, the days on market will continue to accrue.

If you have a situation where the seller wants to temporarily suspend showings, you should leave the listing as Active, indicate in the first line of the public remarks that there are no showings allowed and provide the date showings will resume. You can change this date if needed.

If the listing agent releases the seller from their listing contract, the status should be changed to Expired.

After closing, you have the option to enter FSBO sales for which you represented the buyer.  When entering an unlisted FSBO sale, please:

• Add the listing in Sold status instead of Active.
• For list date, use a verifiable date the owner began marketing.  This will create a valid days on market, which in turn will help appraisers. The 4-day input rule does not apply for listings entered as Sold.
• For expiration date, use the closing date.
• All required fields, with the exception of room dimensions, are required.
• Select FSBO Comp – Not Listed under the Sale Factor pick list within the Sold information.  This will automatically change the list side to FSBO Comp.
• Add at least 1 front exterior photo before saving the listing, as you will not have an option to edit the listing or add a photo after the list side is changed. A primary photo can be added on the left panel of the add listing screen.
• When entering a comp sale, instead of just entering “sold comp” in the remarks, please include features of the property that are not addressed in our pick lists, especially if there is something unique.

All prior hot tips can be accessed by clicking the blue Past Home Page Hot Tips button on the bottom of the Paragon homepage.  The tips are kept by month, and there is a search feature to help you find past tips.