News & Past Hot Tips

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 .

October 2010

-The Agent Full report includes all the information and links to additional info needed for a showing agent. What it does not include is the listing side information such as marketing information (i.e. other market area & internet Y/N) and showing instructions for those using the MLS-sponsored ShowingTime Appointment Center. We have created a new report called All Fields-For Office to combine the Agent Full report and listing side information. This new two-page report can be found under the Detail Report section of Available Reports. We hope this new report will be a helpful tool for listing office staff.

-Under the Type feature for Single Family and the Style feature for Condo, a new choice has been added for Building Plans with Lot. Please use this feature if you are marketing a building contract with a lot. The MLS does not allow building contracts to be marketed unless a lot is included. In addition, only one building plan can be marketed per lot.

-If your office uses the MLS-sponsored ShowingTime Appointment Center, you may now enter your showing instructions at the same time you enter your listings in Paragon. This information will be automatically sent to the ShowingTime Appointment Center software. Revised MLS Profile Sheets can be found here. If you do not currently subscribe to the ShowingTime Appointment Center, please skip over the MLS/ShowingTime Appointment Center information on the profile sheet and within that section during the add listing process.

-If your property is an REO (Real Estate Owned, which is how banks carry a property acquired through foreclosure on their books), PLEASE include the REO feature located under Terms/Misc. Fannie/Freddie require that REO properties be scrutinized for their effect on the market as they often sell for a lower price due to their liquidation status. If an REO property is not marked as such, it may go through valuation channels as a “normal” sale which could lower the market value for an area, especially if there are multiple REOs in one area.

September 2010

-New Statistical Graphs Available: The MLS is now publishing four new statistical graphs as part of a monthly composite of statistics. The new graphs track the number sales, the median sale price, total inventory, and the month’s supply of inventory by month for the last two years for Dane County and for the combined eight-county South Central Wisconsin MLS region. The statistical composite also includes a statistical narrative, monthly and year-to-date sales figures and sales by price range and bedrooms. You can find this Monthly Statistical Reports icon on the right panel of the www.scwmls.com home page.

-Change to Customer Reports: In response to member requests, we have removed the assessment amounts from the customer reports in Paragon. The land, improvements, and total assessments are still available on the Agent Full report.

August 2010

– Notification of Potential Short Sale: Participants may, but are not required to, disclose potential short sales (defined as a transaction where title transfers, where the sale price is insufficient to pay the total of all liens and costs of sale and where the seller does not bring sufficient liquid assets to the closing to cure all deficiencies) to other Participants and subscribers.

– Are You Updating Your Remarks? There are listings on Paragon that still reference the $8,000 Tax Credit. There are also some that say things like “no showings until June 30th”. When you put time specific references in your remarks, please update those remarks when circumstances change.

-Northwest Wisconsin Listings added to WIREX: Listings from the Northwestern Wisconsin MLS have been added to WIREX. Communities covered include Eau Claire, Menomonie, Chippewa Falls, down to Black River Falls, and up past Rice Lake to Hayward and Cable. Click the MLS Switcher above to search the WIREX database. Click here for an updated WIREX coverage map.

Do you WIREX? There are currently 97,000+ active listings in the WIREX database from 5 separate MLSs as follows:
Metro Milwaukee: 36,000
South Central WI: 24,500
Northeast WI: 18,500
Northwest WI: 12,000
Central WI: 6,000

-Open Houses on Realtor.com: Open House date and time as entered in Paragon now display on listings within Relator.com. To load Open House information, open the OPEN HOUSE/TOUR section of the listing input screen and add the appropriate date and times.

June 2010

-A field for agent fax number has been added to the agent full report. If you have a personal fax number you would like displayed on your listings, please email your fax number to support@wisre.com. Our membership database has had this field for awhile, but we were unable to display it on custom reports until now. There are over 500 agents that over time have provided their personal fax number. If you have ever reported a fax number to us, please check one of your listings to be sure it displays your current fax number. If you don’t know if you have ever reported a fax number to us, please check one of your listings. The fax number appears along with listing agent name, phone, email, etc. at the bottom of the agent full report.

Here are a few tips for marketing township properties:
-Use the “Other Market Area” field. If you add what you think is the most appropriate contiguous city or village as the Other Market Area, your township listing will come up in searches for that city or village on Paragon and on wisconsinhomes.com. You may want to consider location, school district or mailing address when making this decision. The city or village you select must be contiguous (touching) the township your property is in.

-Start your remarks with something like “Only 2 miles east of the City of Sun Prairie.” Most of the public websites, including just recently Realtor.com, include the remarks section of your listing.

-If the street number of your rural listing begins with an alpha character, do not move the alpha character to the street direction field. The W or N before the street number is part of the street number, not a street direction. This is very important for correct mapping placement.

May 2010

New Auction Form: The mandatory associated document for auctions has been updated to better accommodate online auctions, and to indicate the type of auction. Please begin using this new form for all properties being sold via an auction. The most recent MLS profile sheets and mandatory associated documents (auction, limited service, farm) can always be found by clicking on MLS Documents at the top of the screen. Profile sheets are also available within ZipForms and can be completed electronically there.

-Realtor.com is now including a free Foreclosure badge on all properties from our MLS that are marked as REO. If you have a property that has been foreclosed on, please make sure you select REO under the Terms pick list to take advantage of this new marketing badge.

-MLS Rule Reminder: A new listing contract must be obtained before re-entering an existing listing into the MLS as new. If the MLS discovers a new listing contract was not obtained, the new listing will be deleted and the listing broker will be fined $50. It is not acceptable to draft only an amendment to create a new MLS listing.