Providing your MLS password to anyone is a violation of MLS policy.  Password sharing for any reason to anyone is not permitted.

Beginning in September 2018, the fine for sharing your password will be increased.  MLS Policy specifically forbids providing your password to any other user.  There is NOT an exception for vendors, family members, assistants or ANYONE ELSE.  Do not provide your password to a vendor who will then log in as you to run searches or reports in the MLS.  There is now an immediate fine for sharing your password.

PLEASE NOTE: Warnings will no longer be issued if password sharing is suspected on a user’s account.  No one is permitted to login as you except you.

In addition to vendors, no one else is permitted to login as you either.  Other agents, members of your team, unlicensed assistants, and all other users must have their own login. They must login as themselves, then “superuse” (do business) as you.  Password sharing for any reason to anyone is not permitted.

MLS POLICY as updated August 2018:

1.05.01 – Data Security/Password Sharing Escalation Policy

$100, $500, $1000, $2000, Suspension
MLS users who are identified multiple times as “suspected of login sharing” will be subject to an escalation process. Your
login name and password shall not be shared, disclosed or knowingly allowed to come into the possession of any other
person. This escalation will follow this schedule:

• 1st Violation: Warning email sent by MLS staff
• 2nd Violation: User’s password is automatically reset, and user is contacted by telephone
• 1st Violation: $100 fine, password reset, and user is contacted by telephone
• 2nd Violation: $500 fine, broker notification, and additional password reset
• 3rd Violation: $1000 fine, broker notification, and additional password reset
• 4th Violation: $2000 fine, broker notification, and additional password reset
• 5th Violation: Five-day suspension from MLS, broker notification, and additional password reset

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08/28/2018

There are changes coming to the existing Sub-Type field in September 2018.  The current Sub-Type field will be split into 2 fields.  Due to RESO requirements, the current Sub-Type field must be modified in order to comply with these standards.  No selections in the Sub-Type field will be removed from the MLS system.  Some will be moved out of Sub-Type and into a new field that will be called Sub-Type Style.  Other than these selections now appearing in 2 separate fields instead of one field, the functionality and available selections will not change.

PLEASE NOTE: All listings will be data-mapped from their current selections to the corresponding selections in the new field format.  It will still be a good idea to verify your listings were correctly data-mapped after the conversion to the new fields.

The old Sub-Type field contained these options:
Build to Suit Condo
Build to Suit Single Family
Condo Freestanding
Condo Shared Wall
Single Family Freestanding
Single Family Shared Wall
Other Residential with Deeded Land
Other Residential without Deeded Land

The modified Sub-Type field will contain:
Condominium
Single Family
Other Residential with Deeded Land
Other Residential without Deeded Land

The new Sub-Type Style field will contain:
Build-to-Suit
Freestanding
Shared Wall

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Flexmls training webinars offer live, online training on a variety of topics.  Below are the latest offerings through October.  Click the link beside the date and time for the webinar you wish to attend.  You will be taken to a registration page for that webinar.

Note:  All basic functions of the Flexmls system will be identical to those used in the Columbus MLS but the exact field names may be different.  Attendees will be from across the country and the specific MLS used for the demonstrations will likely be from other cities, not Columbus.

Click a link below to register:

8/29 – 3pm – 60 min.
Flexmls Customizations

9/5 – 12pm – 30 min.
Flexmls Pro for Android & Mobile Web

9/26 – 12pm – 30 min.
Flexmls General Preferences

10/11 – 11am – 60 min.
Creating Map Overlays & Statistics

10/30 – 2pm – 30 min.
Managing Collections in Flexmls Pro

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08/23/2018

VIDEO OF NEW PORTAL:  Click here to see a video preview of the new portal.

VIDEO OF ENABLING NEW PORTAL AND SETTINGS:  Click here to see a video of the New Portal Settings screen and how to enable the new portal.

Would you like to download or print a copy of this New Portal announcement? Click here to view the PDF.

A new, updated Portal interface for clients will be made available in flexmls in September.  The new Portal (aka P2, if you want to be “trendy”) is more visual and easier for clients to navigate.  It will have larger, more prominent photos.

Old Portal:
      

New Portal:
 

Update – Agent Settings for the new Portal:

The Portal Preferences page looks very different when the new Portal is enabled.  There are some changes as well.  Some settings are removed.   The basic layout of the settings is a new, collapsed view.  Each section of the settings can be expanded by clicking the section you want to modify.

Three New Preferences:

1. Intro – Short promo video for the new portal
2. My Listings – This will display the Agent’s active listings on the Portal Log In page.
3. Other – Allows the user to return to Classic Portals

Renamed Preferences: 

1. Portal Basics– (previously called Portal) Allows you to set change the portal name/url. Allows you to turn off the portal (it is enabled by default when using the new portal)
2. Intro Email– (previously called Invite) Lets you change the default portal invitation email.
3. News Feed– (this is called Exclude these listings statuses from appearing in the news feed unless the status is included in the search in the Classic Portal) – Instead of Excluding specific statuses from the news feed, the setting will include the selected statuses and allow them to stay in the news feed.
4. Listing Content Option– Similar to previous options on the detail tab. Allows agents to default to displaying Open House, Documents, and Tax Info.
5. Emailed Listing Links– previously called Listing Links from email show. This determins where subscription email links open (News Feed, only listings in the specific email, or the saved search that generated the subscription email).

Removed Preferences:

Some preferences have been removed. These include Start Position, Detail, Business Card and several others.  Since these are incorporated into the default design of the new Portal, there is no customization.  These items will always be displayed in their new, “P2”/New Portal layout.

Changes in Contact Management:

The View News Feed option allows the agent to work on behalf of the client. The agent can see the portal, mark favorites, hide, and recommend listings.

NOTE: Even if the new portal is enabled, the agent will see the Classic Portal layout when they work on behalf of the client.

Simplified settings when mailing Public Listings:

The manual email screen is simplified when emailing public versions of a listing.  Some of the Classic Portal settings don’t apply to the new layout.

When a manual email of the public version of the listing is sent, the recipient views the listing in the new portal format (even if they are not using the Portal itself). This ensures that all listings from Flexmls follow the same format/design–keeping the client’s user-experience the same for all listing updates (subscription emails, manually emailed listings, and portal).

NOTE: Private versions of the email will still have the options that agents are used to seeing.

How do I enable the new portal?

After the New Portal is enabled to all users in September, you will see a button on Portal Preferences. The large, blue button will read, “Try the New Flexmls Portal”.  As soon as you enable the New Portal, ALL of your clients will have the new interface.

Reminder:  Switching back and forth repeatedly would be very confusing to the clients.

 Things to note about the new Portal:

1. Old (aka Classic) Portal design will continue to be available. Agents can choose between new and old-style Portal
2. New Portal will be opt-in for existing agents. It will not automatically change to new Portal.
3. New Agents who join MLS after the September release of the new Portal will default to new-style Portal, but they can “revert” to old Classic-style Portal.
4. All clients for each agent will use the new or old style based upon the agent’s preference.
   1. Agents cannot have one client on the new Portal and another client on old Portal.
   2. When an agent changes their Portal style preference (new vs. old), all clients will be immediately moved to that style of portal. Switching back and forth repeatedly would be very confusing to the clients.

Would you like to download or print a copy of this New Portal announcement? Click here to view the PDF.

VIDEO OF NEW PORTAL:  Click here to see a video preview of the new portal.

If you prefer to see screenshots of the new functionality, here you go:

New “Contact Agent” button appears at the top of each listing report.

Simplified “send” box appears to allow client to contact their agent quickly.

Hovering over a photo on the new Portal will cause the photo to “pop-up” over the property on the map.

Clicking on the photo will take the client to the photo viewer and listing information for that property.

Some considerations before switching to the new Portal:

1. Existing reports from flexmls (ie “1-page, 2-page, Brief with Photos”) have been replaced with a standard “Portal report layout.”
   1. The listing info on the new Portal is always displayed in the new Portal report format. The MLS-created reports are not available.

2. Subscription/News Feed listings sent by auto-email will also display the new, generic Portal report layout since the subscription links take the user to the Newsfeed section of the new Portal.
3. Custom Collections cannot be created by the client on the new Portal. (Very few clients utilized this function on the old Portal.)
4. Clients cannot print listings from the new Portal.

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08/10/2018

See full obituary here:

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/Richard-Alt-obituary?pid=189861178

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See full obituary here:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dispatch/obituary.aspx?n=james-l bates&pid=189843808&fhid=8658

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08/08/2018

See full obituary here:

https://www.snyderfuneralhomes.com/obituary/myron-ed-turner/

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08/07/2018

View full story here:

https://columbusrealtors.com/alerts/default.aspx

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RPR has recently provided a list of upcoming webinars for August 2018. The links below will take you to RPR for the specific event for registration. Note that it appears that many of these events have multiple potential dates to register.

View All Webinars available

Getting Started With RPR

Residential:

Get the Most out of the RPR/zipForm^® Partnership

Pre-listing Checklist: Use RPR to Nail Your Next Listing Presentation

Open House Tips & Tricks from RPR

RPR for Residential Investment Analyses

Design and Deliver a Successful Buyer Tour With RPR

Commercial Webinar Recordings:

Introduction to RPR Commercial

RPR Mobile^™ for Commercial Practitioners

Adding Value to Multifamily Investments Through Renovations and Refinancing

Broker/Owner Workshops:

Introduction to RPR’s Broker Tool Set

RPR Overview for Broker/Owners and Managers

RPR Data Tool and Market Reports

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08/06/2018

A change was made in 2016 that affects what can be said about listings that are “Back on the Market” because of buyer related matters. The policy is listed below:

1.02.13 – Comments Specific to Buyers in the Property Description Field

Comments specific to buyers or buyer-related information, including financing concerns, are not permitted in the Property Description field.  The comment “Back On Market – See Agent to Agent Remarks” is permitted. MLS staff is authorized to delete wording as needed to make the Property Description compliant with this policy.  The policy will be effective Immediately with enforcement beginning November 1, 2016

Some examples of phrases that are not permitted are listed below:

Back On Market – Buyer’s Financing Fell Through

Back On Market – Buyer’s Unable to Perform

Back On Market – Buyers Back Out of Contract

Note: the examples above are not all inclusive. In general, any comments relating to the potential buyer and/or their part of the transaction can not be used.

For your review you can always download the latest version of the MLS Policy Violation Manual.  The manual can be downloaded in PDF format here.

If you have any questions if a phrase is acceptable or not please contact the MLS staff to verify policy compliance. email mlspolicy@columbusrealtors.com or call 614-475-4000

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08/02/2018