News & Past Hot Tips

We recently shared best practices on setting up and editing criteria for a property search in the Collaboration Center (click here to read). The Collaboration Center also provides your clients the ability to share properties they found when doing their own searches with you.

It’s important to educate clients on how to share listings that they may be interested in to ensure a smooth, efficient sharing process. While it’s easy to reflexively copy and paste a URL address from the browser address bar and send it off in an email, that approach does not work from the Collaboration Center. It results in a URL that cannot be accessed.

​Clients should always use the share function within the Collaboration Center to send a clickable link quickly and effectively. Here’s is the step-by-step process for sharing from the property detail view and the map view (click to enlarge):

Finding the perfect home for those with specific accessibility needs can be difficult. Whether seeking a step-free entry, wide doorways, or grab bars in the bathroom, there are ways to make finding accessible properties in the MLS easier.

When listing a property with accessibility features, please consider completing & uploading the WRA’s Basic (2 page) or Standard (5 page) Accessibility Features Report to the MLS. These reports provide information that is helpful to buyers who may have disabilities or are planning to age in place.

Additionally, please utilize the Accessibility Features category in the MLS to highlight these features and make them easily searchable for buyers. Doing so helps ensure that accessible listings stand out to those who need the features most.

Automatic search notifications  in Paragon have an expiration date, typically one year after you create the notification. 20 days before that date, when you log in to Paragon you will get a popup that notifies you that you have a search or searches that are going to be expiring soon. In the popup window you have two choices:

1. Click the Extend link – this will extend the expiration date an extra year.
2. Click the slider under Notifications to turn off the notification.

​​If you do nothing, the notifications will turn off on the Expire Date.

On behalf of Tom Weber, SCWMLS President, and Ben Oblizajek, RASCW President, we are pleased to announce Lisa Marshall has been selected as the new CEO of the Realtors Association of South Central Wisconsin and the South Central Wisconsin MLS. Ms. Marshall comes to us from the Central Wisconsin Board of REALTORS® headquartered in Wausau, WI.

“I’m thrilled to be given this opportunity and to build upon the organizations’ commitment to excellence, innovation, and inclusivity,” said Marshall. “We have great members, great staff, and great communities here and I’m eager to get started.”

Lisa will begin her new duties as CEO on September 30, 2024. RASCW and SCWMLS members should watch for an invitation to an open house reception to meet Lisa in the near future.

Click here for the full press release.

In addition to removing the Buyer Agent and Subagent Commission fields, the following changes were made to the MLS database on August 16th. Click here for updated profile sheets.

• Barrier Free feature category now called Accessibility Features
• Accessibility Features now specify minimum door opening & minimum hallway width
  • Only select if all doors/halls in the home meet the minimum width(s). Please remove the features from current listings if they no longer apply.
• Other Room picklist includes the following new rooms: Indoor Pool Room, Indoor Hot Tub Room, Covered Porch, Deck, and Patio
  • Spaces that are not rooms were added so you can highlight their dimensions.  Please do not include these spaces in total sqft calculations.​
• Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) – new Exterior Feature in Single Family
  • Do not include detached living space in the finished square footage totals (can note in the remarks). See updated Square Footage Guide for more information.
• Walkout Lower Level Possible – new Miscellaneous feature in Lots & Acreage
• Building Plan w/Lot – new Type feature in Multi Family
• Whole House Backup Generator – new Exterior Feature in SF & CD
• Engineered Wood – new Exterior feature in Bus/Comm

The Buyer Agent and Subagent commission fields will be removed from the MLS around noon this Friday, August 16th.

If you are currently working on a transaction, and have an accepted offer on or before Friday, the commission in the MLS will be required to be paid under current rules. Please print out a full detail report showing the commission before noon on Friday so you can demonstrate, if needed, the commission offered at the time of the accepted offer.

If you are currently working on a transaction and do not have an accepted offer by Friday, you should enter into a written commission agreement. Your office may have a form for you to use. If not, the WRA’s Compensation Agreement can be used. You can find this agreement in the WRA’s Forms Library and via ZipForms.

We’re excited to share our new animated short, MLS Changes as a Result of the NAR Settlement (A Walk in the Park). This brief video presents MLS-specific adjustments that take effect on August 16th.

To comply with the terms of the NAR settlement agreement, any reference to commission or compensation has been removed from the following fields of current listings:

• Public Remarks
• Broker to Broker Remarks
• Wisconsinhomes.com Remarks
• Showing Instructions

If you notice any remaining commission/compensation references in these fields, please let us know by clicking the “Correction” button when viewing a listing in Paragon.

Any special commission notes that were previously included in these fields will now need to be communicated outside of the MLS (ex: via agent/firm website, for sale sign, social media, flyer at property, calling/emailing agents directly, etc.). The subagent & buyer agent commission fields can continue to be used until they are removed on Friday, August 16th.

Visit our NAR Settlement News & Updates page for more information.

Updated WB forms (optional use date 7/1; mandatory use date 8/15) and WRA forms are now live via ZipForms.

Updated listing profile sheets which reflect upcoming database changes can be found here.

Communicating seller concessions within the MLS is allowed and remains a valuable marketing tool following the NAR settlement changes that will be implemented on August 16th.  Here are the directives to follow to maximize transparency and correctly communicate seller concessions within the MLS:

• Concessions vs. Compensation: Concessions are not a replacement for communicating offers of compensation or commission. Concessions cannot be included in the MLS if they are limited to or conditioned on payment to a cooperating/buyer broker. Concessions are a separate line item under the Marketing section of the listing contract. Anything identified under the Commission or Compensation to Others sections is not a concession, and may not be referenced in the MLS.
• MLS Remarks Fields: Concessions can be offered in the public or private MLS remarks fields. We recommend including any concessions within the public MLS remarks to maximize visibility and transparency.
• Provide Clarity & Conciseness: Specify what the concession is for (i.e. roof repair, carpet allowance, buyer closing costs, etc.).
• Use Dollar Amounts: When entering a concession amount, it must be a dollar amount. Percentages are not allowed in the MLS.

As SCWMLS is responsible for ensuring compliance with the NAR settlement, we reserve the right to add further direction on concessions, including “zero-tolerance” policy adjustments for misuse or creative interpretations. Anyone, including individual agents, can be sued if the settlement requirements are not followed. Remember: We are all in this together! 😊

Visit the NAR Settlement News & Updates page for Q&As on concessions and more.

We’re excited to introduce two new Market Snapshot Infographic resources that provide concise, at-a-glance market insights to help members maintain a competitive edge and offer up-to-date advice to clients.

These new resources can be found at our MLS Listing Statistics Page.

​Additionally, we invite you to leverage all our market statistics resources to get the market data you need, how and when you need it.

• Our monthly statistical reports provide a comprehensive market overview and year-over-year market performance.
• The SCWMLS DataPortal via Greenlight is a dynamic platform that gives you access to real-time data and tools that make it easy to grab the data you need to support your transaction and communicate it in a simple, visual way for your client.

​Quick links to market statistics resources can be found on the SCWMLS homepage in the box labeled Other SCWMLS Products.

Within Paragon, there is an easy way to see the number of potential buyers (Paragon contacts with saved searches) at the current list price, and if the price were changed.  This functionality is available for partial listings and subject properties, as well as live listings.  When maintaining a listing click the Price Analysis button at the top:

Check out this short video demonstrating this cool feature:

To set up a buyer with auto notifications about new properties you need two things: a contact, and a saved search. The quickest way to set this up:

1. ​​ Create a contact – Click the Contacts icon and choose Create Contact. Enter a first name, last name, and email address, then click the Save button at the top left.

2.  Build the search – On the left panel click Buyer Activity, then click the green plus sign Add Search. Then to the right, click the green plus sign Add New Saved Search.

Put in your criteria and then Save. It will suggest a search name for you which you can change if you like. Click Save.

​3.  Send the Welcome Message – Click the blue Send Welcome Message button to send them the link to access their Collab center site.

​​That’s it! The search is now running and will send them new matches and price changes.

If you were on the buyer side of a listing that was imported from another MLS, and you weren’t credited with the sale, MLS staff can help! Simply forward the closing statement & page of the offer that shows you drafted it to listings@wisre.com. We can credit you with the sale so it counts toward your statistics & displays in your sold inventory within the SCWMLS.

Our new NAR Settlement News & Updates page is a “one-stop” resource where members can stay informed about the latest updates and essential details regarding the recent NAR settlement. Bookmark the link & check back often for important MLS practice changes, forms updates, and links to many other helpful resources.

If you have a search running for a buyer and they want to change some criteria, you need to edit the search that is attached to their contact in Paragon. Let’s say they aren’t getting very many matches so they want to increase the maximum price they are searching for.

Click the Contacts icon, find their contact and click the name. On the next screen click the name of the search you want to edit.

Make the changes to your criteria, then hover over the Save button and choose Save Search, then click the Save button at the top right.

​If there are now more matches for their criteria it will not send an auto email. You will need to resend the welcome message to let them know there are more matches to see. To do that, click Buyer Activity on the left panel, then click the search name that appears under it. Then click the Resend Invitation button.

Customize the subject line and/or message body and click Send.

Did you know you can text listings from Paragon? The text option can be found within the Share link when viewing a listing. The Share link is located within the blue menu bar, to the right of the Email button.

Listings can be sent via text to any contact you have saved within Paragon. There is an option to set up a contact on the fly after selecting to text. If you receive an alert stating your mobile number is not configured, simply click on the option given to Configure Settings, and enter your mobile phone number. You need to configure your mobile number just once. You also have the option to add a custom message. Once the text is sent, it will be recorded in the contact’s Message History.

The security of clients’ properties is a top priority for all of us. If an agent accesses a keybox without a confirmed appointment, even if it is a vacant home, the agent and their broker may be assessed a fine of $500 each. These fines double, and Supra eKEY access may be suspended for a second offense. These penalties are guidelines, and may be more severe depending on the circumstances. A seller can also bring trespass charges against any agent without a confirmed appointment. Before accessing a property, please double check the address, as well as date & time of your showing confirmation to ensure you have permission.