MLS Tech Blog

Rental Beast Launch

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Published: October 2, 2025

Powerful New Rental Tools for HiCentral MLS Members.

We're thrilled to share that our integration with Rental Beast will launch on Tuesday, October 7th! It's a powerful platform that includes tools to find the right home for your renters and securely screen tenants.

Nearly 50% of households in Honolulu rent. With rental prices higher than the national average, agents need tools that help their clients in this competitive environment.

Here’s what you’ll be able to do:

• Rental Search: With access to over a thousand new rental listings, including those not found on the MLS, you’ll find the perfect match using a powerful search engine with advanced features.
• CMA: Unmatched market data to competitively price rentals or to negotiate lease terms for your renter clients.
• Build Long-Term Client Relationships: Utilize purpose-built tools to maintain engagement with renters, nurture leads, and guide them toward future homeownership.

Watch our MLS moment to quickly preview these amazing tools and gain insights on the launch.

Register here to save your spot for an introductory Zoom webinar on either:

• Wednesday, October 8th, 10:00AM - 11:00AM
• Monday, October 13th, 10:00AM – 11:00AM

Whether you're a new or seasoned real estate professional, a property manager, or a managing broker, we think you’ll find that Rental Beast makes it easier to close rental deals quickly while growing a pipeline of future homebuyers.

We’re excited for you to explore Rental Beast and see how it can elevate your business, strengthen client relationships, and open new doors to long-term success!

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.

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