News & Past Hot Tips

We have received 3 reports of a Caucasian male buyer, in his late twenties, providing the first name of Dustin, asking to see high-end homes in Rock County.   He is requesting occupancy before closing, and is providing false proof of funds via a bank in Houston, TX. Please take extra care, and if you suspect you are contacted by this man, please call the Beloit Police Department at 608-364-6800 and reference case BE2253152.

Per Wisconsin State Statute 452.136(3), an agent cannot advertise a property unless their firm is the listing firm or has permission from the listing firm. The firm does not become the listing firm until a listing contract has been executed and the term of the contract has begun. This date is also referred to as the effective or list date:

In addition to a state law violation, this is also an MLS rule violation and carries with it a fine of $200 per day.  If any detail of a specific property, sufficient to activate the interest of a potential buyer, is publicly marketed before the effective date of the listing contract for said property, the listing agent shall be fined $200 per day, from the time of advertisement until the effective date of the contract.  This new fine will not exceed $5,000.

When calculating above grade square footage, only the finished area on levels that are 100% above grade (ground level) should be included. If an exposed or walk-out lower level has one exterior wall even partially below grade, all rooms on that level must be counted as below grade. More detail can be found within this helpful guide.

Finished Square Footage

According to MLS guidelines, for square footage to be considered finished, the space must be heated, have finished walls (painted concrete does not count), have a finished ceiling (no exposed floor joists), and have a finished floor (painted concrete does not count). If one of these four components is missing, the space can still be considered finished, but disclosure of the missing component must be included in the MLS remarks. Only finished rooms may be included in the room dimensions section. An exception is made for the “Other Room” selections of Three-Season Room, Screened Porch, and Garage, as the name discloses the space as unfinished.

Quickly load a previous search you did in Paragon by selecting the Last Search option located above Primary Criteria after selecting Class. Hovering over Last Search will display the 5 previous searches you performed. Clicking on one of these searches will load the search criteria for that past search.

Quickly load the last Quick Search you did by selecting Last Quick Search located under the Quick Search header on the Paragon Home Page.

 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 such. Sites such as Facebook do not qualify as approved IDX platforms. However, a generic link on Facebook directing viewers to listings on an approved IDX site is allowed. The link itself should contain no information about, or photos of specific listings.  A generic statement such as “Click to see homes in Waunakee” would be allowed.

The Dane County Register of Deeds has a searchable database of condo & subdivision documents on their website:

https://rod.countyofdane.com/plat/index

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, as well as live listings.   Check out this short video demonstrating this cool feature.

https://vimeo.com/714241325

Did you know you can easily share your listings from Paragon to your Facebook page or via Twitter? Find this option within Listings -> Maintain Listings. Click on Select an Action and then Share Listing to Facebook and/or Share to Twitter. The post will include the primary photo, public remarks, and a link to the detail report within Collaboration Center. If you are not currently using Collab Center, you can set up your site under Preferences (in the menu bar at the top of the screen).

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.  So, with the end of Daylight Saving Time, they now will open between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.

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.

When working with a buyer, it is very handy to be able to pull a completed Property Condition Report (RECR) from the documents attached to a listing within Paragon.    Not so handy when you find a big X through the report, or a bunch of blank boxes.

The WRA has done a great job educating on seller and agent obligations regarding the Property Condition Report.  In addition, they have prepared the WRA-SRR, for use when a seller refuses to complete, or is not required to complete the RECR.   Please see links below:

WRA-SRR – Seller Refusal/Statement Regarding Condition or Disclosure Report (PDF)

Info on Seller’s Duty to Disclose, As-Is Clause, and Seller Refusal

We generally see two reasons a new listing is not available for showings right away. The first is the property is not ready to be marketed via the MLS due to needed clean up, timing for professional photos, desired staging, etc. You will find these listings in the Delayed status as the listing agent does not want them to be visible to the public yet.

In the second situation, the property is all ready for public marketing, but the seller and listing agent decide to pick a launch date, often starting with an open house. You will find these listings in Active, as the seller and agent 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.

Our rules regarding “no showings until’ listings have taken both situations into account and allow agents the flexibility to market these listings as either Delayed or Active.

The MLS has recently received multiple complaints from both listing agents and sellers regarding Realtors trespassing.   Please remember you must have a confirmed showing appointment to even walk around the outside of a property.  Also, if the property is in Delayed status, or listed as Active with a future show date, this would not only be trespassing, but also a violation of MLS rules, as these properties are not allowed to be shown.   A showing occurs once you step foot on the property.  Showing a property not yet available for showings can result in a hefty fine.

The MLS does not define what is a bedroom. Listing agents should use common sense when calling a room a bedroom. If you are counting a room as a bedroom that is not a typical bedroom (i.e. does not have a closet, is accessible only by going through another room, etc.), please indicate in the remarks what makes it atypical so that showing agents and potential buyers are informed before a showing.

A lower-level room that does not meet safety guidelines for a bedroom, however, should NOT be labeled as a bedroom in the MLS. Click here for requirements from the Department of Safety and Professional Standards regarding lower-level bedrooms. MLS rules mandate a photo be included within Paragon showing the egress window for every lower-level bedroom.

Did you know you can track the number of times your listing is viewed by agents and consumers via Paragon? To access this information, pull up your listing via Listings -> Maintain, and click on Select an Action.  From the Select an Action box, choose View Activity Report.  Within the report there is a link that defines the statistics displayed.

Per Wisconsin State Statute 452.136(3), an agent cannot advertise a property unless their firm is the listing firm or has permission from the listing firm.  The firm does not become the listing firm until a listing contract has been executed and the term of the contract has begun. This date is also referred to as the effective or list date:

In response to many complaints of agents advertising before the effective date of their contract, the MLS Committee and the MLS Board of Directors created an MLS rule to parallel Wisconsin law.   The hope with this new rule is to elevate the level of professionalism by stopping violations internally, before DSPS sanctions one of our members.

The following SCWMLS rule went into effect September 26, 2022: 

If any detail of a specific property, sufficient to activate the interest of a potential buyer, is publicly marketed before the effective date of the listing contract for said property, the listing agent shall be fined $200 per day, from the time of advertisement until the effective date of the contract.  This new fine will not exceed $5,000. 

Click here for pdf version of graphic above – please share

Click here for additional information on Delayed status

SCWMLS rules allow you 10 days from the closing date to report a listing as Sold.    The fine after 10 days is $5 per day.    There was a maximum cap of $25 for this fine, but due to repeated offenses, it is apparent that $25 may not be a large enough deterrent.   At their August meeting, the SCWMLS Board of Directors increased this maximum cap from $25 to $100.