MLS Tech Blog

4's the Magic Number!

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Published: April 13, 2021

If you're a REALTOR and you're looking for sellers (and who isn't these days!?) you know it's all about "getting the listing".  

From the perspective of the MLS and the Code of Ethics "getting the listing" means getting a signed listing agreement – either a standard form Exclusive Right to Sell Agreement or some other listing agreement approved by your brokerage. 

It all starts with a signed listing agreement.

Once you have the signed listing agreement you have FOUR days to put it into the MLS as either Coming Soon or Active.  If the client is ready to put the property on the market, (awesome!) put the listing into the “Active” status.  If you and the client agree to pursue a coming soon strategy, use the “Coming Soon” status, just make sure you know the rules and follow them.  Those rules can be found here.

The FOUR days starts from the time the client agrees to have the property listed in the MLS.  Many times the REALTOR and Client will state this in the Section A-4 “Listing Period” or Section A-10 “Additional Terms”.   Or Brokerages may establish the list date by having the client sign a separated addendum and that’s OK too.

Subject to your brokerage's policies, Office Exclusive are also allowed.  You must let the MLS know about them within FOUR days by sending a copy of the properly executed listing agreement to [email protected].  This is critical to maintain compliance with the HiCentral MLS Rules and Regulations.  Within FOUR days of the sale, or if the property is withdrawn or the listing expires, just let the MLS know and we can advise as to next steps.

We hope this helps demystify the MLS Rules and Regulations a bit.  We’ve attempted to simplify the process for you here, but of course, all the details can be found in the HiCentral MLS Rules and Regulations.  If you have questions we’re here to help.  Email us at [email protected] or give us a call at 808-791-3789!

Smishing – What Is It and What Can We do About It?

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Published: March 23, 2021

 Smishing Defined

As more and more business communication – especially Real Estate business is conducted via text messaging (SMS), it’s now more important than ever before to understand what Smishing is and what can be done about it.

Smishing is a type of phishing whereby someone uses SMS to try to trick you into giving them private information, or tries to defraud you in some other way – like convincing you to purchase gift cards.  They may claim to have spotted “suspicious activity on your account”, or they could send you an SMS that look like this:

Smishing is essentially any form of phishing that is conducted via SMS.   

How to protect yourself

1. Be on the lookout for suspicious text messages from numbers you don’t recognize.
2. DON’T CLICK links sent to you by unverified senders – the sender may be trying to install malware on your device.
3. Call back the sender at a number you know for them or independently verify – like looking up their contact info on hicentral.com’s handy REALTOR tool, or their website.
4. You may want to block messages from unknown senders, or with a call blocking app.
5. Copy the message and send it to the FTC’s Spam prevention team at 7726 (SPAM)

Additional links for more information

“How to Recognize and Report SPAM Text Messages” from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-report-spam-text-messages

"What is Smishing" Tech Talk from IDG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOZGQeG8avQ

“What is Smishing” from Norton – the antivirus and security company.

https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-emerging-threats-what-is-smishing.html

My client said “get my new home’s pictures off the internet."

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Published: February 10, 2021

We sometimes hear from agents that their buyer wants pictures of their brand-new property “off the internet."

We can understand that.  We get it. 

So - Here’s how to do this for your client.

Read more ...

Santa's MLS Tech Workshops

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Published: November 18, 2020

Special MLS Tech Focused Workshops

Please join HiCentral MLS’s festivities for a series of exclusive workshops presented by trainers from across the country. They will be using some of the most popular MLS apps and will take you through real world workflows to demonstrate the ways their products could be working for you every day. You will leave each two hour workshop equipped with immediate actions you can take to better your business.

Gift Card Giveaway

‘Tis the Season, so surprises and prizes abound! Including this – the first 50 registered attendees to each workshop will receive a $5 Starbucks gift card to stuff your stocking courtesy of our friends at SentriLock!

 Webinar Schedule

Workshop Descriptions

ShowingTime for the MLS: Tools of the Trade for HiCentral MLS Members

There are many real estate tools out there to help agents better their practices and knowledge of the residential real estate industry. The wave of new technology has not only changed the way agents conduct business, but it has drastically changed the way their clients operate.

A world of information is now available at the tap of a phone or click of a mouse, and the expectation for fast (often instantaneous) and impeccable service has become the standard. It is becoming clearer every day that technology can be an agent’s best friend in all aspects of their practice. From scheduling showings to staying current with their local market statistics, ShowingTime can help!

In this webinar, you will discover key ShowingTime “Tools of the Trade” such as InfoSparks to dive deep into the housing market to gain a better understanding of your local market and share your knowledge as a local market expert. We’ll also take a look at ShowingTime for the MLS to help improve efficiency with scheduling appointments and planning your buyer tours using ShowingCart.

Register today and learn how to:

• Gain insight on local market trends to better advise your clients using InfoSparks
• Use the data for your business, with your clients and as tools for marketing
• Request/confirm appointments online, 24/7, and plan your buyer tours with a few clicks of a button
• Optimally set up your listings to make it easy for agents to schedule on your listings and receive faster confirmations
• Streamline communications with your clients and other agents to market your property and manage offers
• Get to know your market better than ever before and register today!

Click here to register» | Back to top

A Day in the Life of a REALTOR® with RPR

REALTORS® know that each client has specific needs and interests when it comes to buying or selling a home. In this customized 2 hour presentation for HiCentral MLS Subscribers, RPR's expert training team will provide you with guidance on how to better prepare for any situation.

To better serve your Sellers, we will show you how to:

• Fully research properties and neighborhoods
• Understand local market trends and
• Generate CMAs using RPRs powerful analysis tools for your next Listing Presentation.

To better serve your Buyers, we’ll show you how to:

• Create a Buyer Tour report
• Plan your tour in an organized, methodical manner.
• Use RPR property details and market metrics to help your buyers make fully informed decisions

Remember RPR is a REALTOR-member benefit and access to RPR is included in your NAR membership. We hope you can join us to learn more.

Click below for instructions to create your account before the webinar if you haven’t done so already.
How To Create My RPR Account - http://blog.narrpr.com/ebook/new-user-quick-start-guide/

Click here to register» | Back to top

Get the Most Out of MLS-Touch! A HiCentral MLS Exclusive Workshop with Marie Leduc of MLS-Touch

Join this special workshop to learn how to get the most out of your MLS-Touch app.

Download the app from App Store or Google Play and follow along during this exclusive session to learn how to:

• Find listings and tax data in a flash
• Be your local market expert
• Keep your brand front & center
• Leverage free social marketing
• Generate new leads
• Engage and collaborate with clients like never before

Click here to register» | Back to top

Keep the Market Hot through the Holidays with Remine

This session will walk through strategies to prospect and workflows to connect, or stay connected, this holiday season! We will walk you through how to Search prospects to find potential sellers and potential buyers and Cart your new opportunities together. From there, using Carts, we will Print Mailing Labels and Send Mailers using our integration with PCM digital. Finally, we'll walk through tips are tricks to give you a competitive holiday edge this year.

Click here to register» | Back to top