News & Past Hot Tips

In response to a mandate from the National Association of REALTORS, we will be incorporating a warning during listing input to check for words within the public remarks that may, in a certain context, violate fair housing laws. The warning will appear when saving a listing. If you are comfortable with the context the word is being used in, simply click to Accept and resave. A good rule of thumb is to avoid words that describe the buyer or neighborhood, and stick to words to describe the property. Click here for a full list of words that will trigger a warning. This new warning will be put in place on Wednesday, February 10.

ShowingTime allows you to set the maximum showing duration for your listings. If you feel, for instance, that your listing can easily be shown in 30 minutes, you could set the maximum showing duration to 30 minutes to allow for more showings. You can find this setting from within Paragon. Click on Preferences -> ShowingAssist -> Listings. Select the listing and scroll down to Appointment Restrictions. Look for the Maximum Appointment Length drop down.

If you list a single wide manufactured home, you are now required to include the words single wide in the public remarks. In addition to the associated document, this requirement will ensure agents and buyers know up front the home is a single wide, as financing may be more difficult.

For agents working with a buyer looking for a manufactured home, who does not want to consider a single wide, you can eliminate single wides by doing a “Does Not Contain” remarks search. You will find the Remarks search prompt under the Advanced Criteria section of the search parameters. Simply type in the words single wide, and select Does not Contain from the drop down to the right of the Remarks search field. This criteria can be stored just as any other for automatic searches.

It is against MLS rules to advertise a property listed by another agent/broker without first obtaining permission from that agent/broker. The only exception to this rule is advertising done via an approved IDX site that has been registered with the MLS. IDX sites are only approved if they are controlled by the registered MLS agent/broker, and are clearly identified as being provided by the registered MLS agent/broker. Sites such as Facebook do not qualify as approved IDX platforms. A generic link on Facebook directing viewers to listings on an approved IDX site is allowed. The link should contain no information about, or photos of specific listings. A generic statement such as “Click to see homes in Waunakee” would be allowed.

All Paragon users have been flagged for a forced password change. If you need help saving your new password in your internet browser, here is a resource that will help. If you need further assistance, please call 608-240-2800 (press 2 for Paragon support).

When entering an unlisted FSBO sale for which your office represented the buyer, we have added new functionality that will automatically change the list side to FSBO Comp to eliminate the need for you to contact MLS staff to make that change. The trigger is to select the new option of FSBO Comp – Not Listed under the Sale Factor pick list. Please make sure you have added a 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 automatically changed. A primary photo can be added on the left panel of the add listing screen.

If you receive an email alerting you that a client has opted out of receiving emails from you via Paragon, this may be because they accidently clicked on the opt out link within an email, or because Paragon received a bounce back from your clients email provider. To opt them back in, email them the following link or open the link and type in their email address: https://scwmls.paragonrels.com/CCR/paragonsubscriptions?action=optin. Your client will be sent a confirmation email containing an opt-in option they will need to click on within 72 hours to opt back in. This opt in link can always be found within the links in the orange banner on the top of the Paragon home page. You can proactively check for clients that have been opted out by clicking on Contacts and View/Manage Contacts within Paragon. Look at the Email column. Clients should have an orange envelope indicating a valid email address. If you see a white envelope with a red exclamation point, this client is opted out and is not receiving emails.

Click here for a copy of the 2021 Gregorian Calendar.

The garage feature pick list should identify the number of stalls per garage. For example, if a listing has a 2 car attached garage and a 3 car detached garage, you would select the 2 car, 3 car, attached & detached features. The total full garage stalls field would be entered as 5. If a buyer is looking for a certain number of garage stalls, you can search using a min and/or max in the total garage stalls field. The 4+ car feature within the pick list is used to reflect that a single garage has 4 or more stalls.

The following changes/additions were made to listing data we collect. If you have an active listing with any of these features, please add them within Paragon.

• • The feature for High Speed Internet has been removed, and in its place is a list of the various high speed internet options: Cable, DSL, Fiber, Fixed Wireless, and Satellite/Dish. If you have a listing with high speed internet, you will need to modify that listing to include the type of internet currently installed.
  • The feature for Manufactured homes has been modified to selections of Manufactured – With Land and Manufactured – No Land. The MLS Committee has created an Associated Document for manufactured homes with land, to provide important information to aid in the selling of manufactured homes. This document is now required for all manufactured homes with land.
  • Within the Condo Available Common Amenities feature a new selection for Fire Sprinkler System has been added.
  • Within the Condo Fee Includes feature, a new selection for High Speed Internet has been added.
  • Within the Multi Family Unit 1 – Unit 4 features, two new selections have been added for Private Basement and Shared Basement.

Updated profile sheets can be found on the Profile Sheet Portal.

The 4-day grace period allowed to gather information before entering a new listing on the MLS, is not a barrier to showings. All MLS eligible properties must be made available for showings on the effective date of the contract, unless the seller has indicated that no showings are allowed for a specific time. Any no showing stipulation would apply to showings for all prospective buyers, including those working with the listing agent.

Within Paragon Connect, the new Paragon Mobile product, when looking at a listing in detail, click the three dots on the right side of the top banner to access Associated Docs, ShowingTime, TrustFunds, and Community Reports.

Upgrade your mobile access to Paragon Connect. Currently, your options for mobile access to Paragon include Paragon Mobile and Homes.com. Paragon Mobile will soon be replaced with the next generation of mobile access. Paragon Connect is a web application that utilizes the same database as Paragon Online, which allows real-time access to your listings, contacts, saved searches and customized search defaults. Within Paragon Connect you have full search capability with links to not only full property data, but also history, associated documents, public records, and access to schedule a showing via ShowingTime. Paragon Connect has a very tight integration with Collaboration Center for those who have converted their contacts from legacy email notifications.

Click here to learn more about Paragon Connect in 15 minutes from our very own SCWMLS trainer, Dave Bass.

Access Paragon Connect from the Paragon login page or directly at https://scwmls.paragonrels.com/ParagonConnect/scwmls/Account/Login.

Please note that Paragon Connect is a web app accessible from your browser, and is not available in the app stores.

If you have blocked out dates or times for showings via the ShowingTime calendar, no showings are allowed during those times…..not even for the listing agent.

On October 1, the show date will again be required, and the maximum number of days a listing can be in Delayed, or Active with no showings will again be 45 days. As you know, show date was changed to optional, and the 45-day limit was removed at the onset of COVID-19. As there has been adequate time to employ best practices in safe selling, we feel reverting to the requirement of the show date, and the 45-day maximum is now warranted. All listings entered or modified on or after October 1 will trigger the requirement for show date.

If a listing agent has a personal interest in a property they have listed, they must disclose this by flagging the property with a “yes” under Licensee Interest. A real estate agent may not act in a transaction on their own behalf, on behalf of their immediate family, or on behalf of any other organization or business entity in which they have an interest, without the prior written consent of all parties to the transaction. The purpose of flagging the property with a “yes”, is to alert the agent working with the buyer that the listing agent has a personal interest in the transaction, so that further disclosure can be included should an offer to purchase be written.

If you want to pull up multiple CRS tax records for a list of properties from Paragon, pull up the list of properties in Paragon via a search or lookup and select the listings. Once selected, click on the Actions drop down and select View in CRS Data. The selected listings will be imported into CRS, and all CRS functions, such as reviewing the assessment/tax info, viewing on the CRS map, and creating mailing labels will be available for this group of listings.

Within Paragon, you can change the fields that display on the spreadsheet of properties that come up after a search. Click Customize from the closest toolbar above the spreadsheet, and select Fields. The box on the right lists the fields that currently display on your spreadsheet. If you want to remove a field, simply click on the field and click Remove. If you want to add a field from the left box, click on the field and then on Add. If you do not see the field you would like to add, click on the Group box at the top to display different types of fields (i.e. Feature Categories). You can also use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to change the order the fields appear on your spreadsheet. Click Save to apply your changes. Your customized spreadsheet will now come up each time you display the spreadsheet. There is a Revert to Default button on the bottom if you mess up.

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 or email us at listings@wisre.com. We would much rather talk to you ahead of time, than follow up on a report that you have strayed outside MLS rules.