Some properties in MLS are not traditional Single Family homes where the buyer owns the land and the structure.  Some properties may also have income requirements that must be verified to determine eligibility.  There are now 3 new options in the MLS to help identify and search for these properties.

1. Leasehold has been added in the Sub-type field – The selection of “Leasehold” can now be used to indicate that the LAND under the unit is on a long-term lease (ie 99-year lease) by a third party such as the Army Corps of engineers or Community Land Trust.
2. Income Restricted has been added in the Additional Acceptance Conditions field – Income restricted will allow agents to identify and search for listings that have income requirements that will determine eligibility to purchase the property.
3. Land Trust was previously added to Additional Acceptance Conditions field – This should be used to specifically identify properties that are part of a Land Trust (eg COCLT)
4. Agent to Agent (A2A) Remarks can always be used for further explanation such as identification of the leaseholder and specific information about the property. A2A is visible only to agents. Please remember that public field Property Description is not permitted to have any branding of any kind.

Please contact the MLS department if you have any questions.

MLS Policy questions –  mlspolicy@columbusrealtors.com

MLS Listing Entry questions – mlscorrections@columbusrealtors.com

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04/28/2020

The password reset requirement has been extended to 180 Days

These are trying times.  There is plenty of stress without having to change your MLS password 4 times every year.  What if password changes only happened every 180 days instead of the current 90 days?  Would that really hurt anything? No, probably not.  Let’s do it.

Recent studies in the technology and data security sector have pointed to a couple of recommendations regarding passwords.  The first recommendation is that passwords be more difficult to hack. A short password consisting of a few letters and numbers is not enough.  A longer password of nonsensical words is harder to guess or hack.  The second is that frequent password changes don’t really help that much.  In fact, they lead to simple passwords that are easier to remember and easier to steal.

Your MLS login will no longer force-change your password every 90 days.  You will still have to change your password, but only twice a year.  Please make your new password longer and more secure as described below.  This will make your password safer as you take advantage of the “less password changes per year”.

What does an insecure, weak password look like?

1. happy123 – Too short. Too easy to guess.
2. michelle1  – Too short. Easy to guess.

What about stronger, more “secure” passwords?

1. hippojumpMoonbeamshark1970  – Longer, upper case letters and numbers.  You can even make a jingle to remember it!
2. Y0uCAn!tHackTh1s!Hamm3rPaNtz  – Longer, special characters, numbers, non-words.  Did we mention LONGER?

Takeaways:

1. Change your password to something secure like the example above!  Make it LONGER.
2. Enjoy not changing your password as often!

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Did you miss the Realist 2020 webinar on April 13th?

The webinar was recorded live on April 13, 2020 with an audience of central Ohio real estate professionals. Watch the recording to learn about the new features available now in the new version of Realist for 2020.

Please note: You will be taken to a “registration” page that will require you to enter a name and email to watch the video.

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*This only applies to Flexmls Pro used on Android Devices*

We have had many reports recently of Android users having issues with Flexmls Pro. These issues have been reported to FBS and it is not just in our market the issue appears. If you are seeing an issue, please continue to some steps for a resolve. When FBS provides a fix, it will likely come as an update to the app you’ll simply download via your Play Store updates.

The Issue

If you are a user of FBS’s app, Flexmls Pro and are seeing white or blank screens when attempting to log into your app to view the MLS, here are some instructions that can help. Please note, with Android based devices, these instructions may not *exactly” match your particular device. Please use these instructions below as a basic guild line.

1. First, you’ll want to reboot the phone. This way, you’re running a clean startup environment. For most phones, you can simply hold in the power button and you’ll be given a prompt with options. Select “reboot” or “restart”
2. After the restart and the phone is back to your main screen, wwipe down from the top of your phone to bring up the notification section. You’ll likely see an option labeled “Settings”. This may also appear as a gear shaped icon. If you do not see it from the notifications bar, open up your list of all applications and look for an option called SETTINGS. Click this.
3. Once in settings, find APPS (or it may be labeled “Apps & Notifications”. Click this
4. It may list your apps or you may have to click “See XX apps” where XX is the count of apps on your device. Click See XX Apps if needed, and then find Flexmls Pro. Click on this
5. On the screen, if available, click FORCE STOP. You may be prompted to hit YES. Hit Yes.
6. Look for an option labeled “storage”, “data” or “storage & cache”. Click on this
7. Click “Clear Storage” or “Clear Data”. You may be prompted to hit YES. Hit YES to continue. You should then see the option you clicked grey out. < this is the most important step.
8. Close out of settings and try to open Flexmls Pro. You will be prompted to provide your login details again. This is EXPECTED as the app will be running fresh.
9. Once your provide your details, it should log in.

Here’s an example from a real device: The below is based off a Google Pixel 3A XL. Please note, your device may be similar but not exactly the same:

1. Open Settings
2. Click Apps & notifications
3. Click “See all XXX apps..”
4. Find and Click Flexmls Pro
5. Click Force Stop
6. Click Storage & Cache
7. Click Clear Storage < – this is important
8. Back out of all menus and try app again

This link will take you to a generic page that goes over the generic steps for the process above. This link is NOT about Flexmls Pro specifically, but the general steps you can use on Android. This link provided for visuals. Link is also listed below:

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04/16/2020

Register now for New Realist Training webinar to be held live this coming Monday.

Date: Monday, April 13, 2020
Time: 10:30am-11:30am ET
Website: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5650225734506593291

Learn about the new features, new interface, and updates that are available now in Realist. Adobe Flash is no longer a required install in order to use Realist!

IMPORTANT: Please visit the link and make sure your computer is ready to view the webinar PRIOR to the start time.

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04/10/2020

Video now available: Add Virtual Open House links in MLS.

Original post:

Your Columbus REALTORS® MLS staff has been working hard to bring you innovative options to keep our central Ohio housing market strong.  We are happy to announce that our MLS vendor has responded to industry needs with a new option:  Virtual Open House links.

How is a Virtual OPEN HOUSE different than a Virtual TOUR?
Simple.  Virtual Open Houses are streaming LIVE!  They aren’t pre-recorded, stored on the internet, and viewed by anyone, anytime. “Canned” video or pictures and sound is a Virtual TOUR.  Virtual OPEN HOUSES are the live, online equivalent to an in-person open house. They are conducted to a live “audience” at a scheduled time.  Only the live, online attendees see the information at the specified time.

CAUTION: Get written permission from the seller BEFORE you start streaming!

Show that home virtually instead of in-person!
Flexmls has a brand new option for Virtual Open Houses.  The new option is in the Scheduled Marketing Activities section.

As an alternative to in-person open houses, you can now enter a link to a STREAMING, Virtual Open House using a variety of online communication services such as Facebook Live, GoToMeeting, or Microsoft Teams. Homebuyers or agents can join your Virtual Open Houses/Tour of Homes. The live attendees can view video streamed from your phone and ask questions during the “virtual walkthrough”.

There is help text right on the Add/Edit screen to remind agents that only online streaming sources can be entered in the URL address field. 

If you enter a URL that is not recognized as a live streaming/conferencing service, Flexmls will pop-up a warning.  There is a link to the list of recognized URL addresses for known web conferencing services (ie GoToMeeting, Facebook Live, etc.) right on the warning bubble.

There will certainly be a few “bumps in the road” and definitely some “growing pains”, but the new Virtual Open House is here now, and here to stay.

For additional information and the full details of this new feature in Flexmls, click here.

Full URL – https://flexmls.com/flexmls-academy/product-news/introducing-virtual-open-houses-tours-of-homes/

Original post: 20200406

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Attention Commercial & Residential REALTORS® 

If you use video, virtual tours or virtual open houses, we would like to know what software you are using and if you believe it is helping you and your clients. 

This brief survey will help us help you by finding out what is working (and what’s not working) in the virtual world. We’ll be sharing the results.

Complete the survey for a chance to win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards.

Start survey

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04/01/2020

Realist 2020 – Improvements, New Features, and HTML

Realist has released their 2020 edition of their system and it is live now here for Columbus and Central Ohio Regional MLS!

The most notable update is the removal of Adobe® Flash®.  The updated, Flash@-free Realist environment is expected to be more responsive and with a much more modern user interface.  The basic navigation and functionality are very similar to the old versions. This will help maintain a familiarity which will make it easy to learn and use the new version. Realist has added several NEW features in additional to improvements and removing the Flash® install requirement.

To Help with the transition, Realist has made available several video resources. As Realist releases additional help and resources, we will make these available on an updated version of this post. See the links below:

An Introduction To The New Realist – Great place to start giving an overview over the new system.

How To Use The Realist Search Tools

Working with Realist Search Results

Exports and Mailing Labels in Realist

Understanding The Realist Property Detail Report

Understanding The Realist Map Tools

As with anything new, there will of course be bugs. If you see something, please let us know so we can provide feedback to Realist. You can reach out to us via email at techsupport@columbusrealtors.com

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Realist 2020 – Improvements, New Features, and HTML

The Realist public records software is scheduled for a major update this year. Updates include a new user interface, improvements and new functionality.  The current estimate for release is April of 2020. 

The most notable update is the removal of Adobe® Flash®.  The updated, Flash@-free Realist environment is expected to be more responsive and with a much more modern user interface.  The basic navigation and functionality are very similar to the old versions. 

This will help maintain a familiarity which will make it easy to learn and use the new version. Realist has added several NEW features in additional to improvements and removing the Flash® install requirement.

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03/25/2020

Our MLS Software vendor, FBS, has rolled out to our market their updated user interface for the Member/Office Search. The rollout began back in February and they slowly were updating each MLS they serve.

See the link below for details direct from FBS on the new functionality of the search:

https://flexmls.com/flexmls-academy/product-news/updated-ui-for-office-member-search/

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03/23/2020