The Importance of Showing Instructions on RMLSweb

The Importance of Showing Instructions on RMLSweb

by | Apr 14, 2017 | RMLSweb, SentriLock

REALTORS® have a lot of details to juggle in their daily lives, and in a hot real estate market, showing instructions probably aren’t on the top of your priority list. Even so, a hot market means it’s of utmost importance to provide detailed showing instructions if you’re listing a property, or abide by the instructions when showing a property to prospective clients.

Are you doing the best by your clients and your colleagues’ clients? RMLS™ has compiled a list of ways to make sure you’re doing the very best you can regarding showing instructions.

 

LISTING AGENTS

• Provide thorough showing information in the listing so other subscribers may easily conduct a showing. We understand it’s tempting to get a listing up quickly, thinking you’ll fix it later, but this may set your colleagues and clients up for some unpleasant interactions.

• Think about the hours your lockbox can be opened. Default lockbox hours on RMLS™ SentriLock lockboxes is 8am-9pm Pacific time. Did you change these default hours when the lockbox was on a prior listing? Would you like to customize your lockbox to only be accessible during a different timeframe? You can change lockbox hours yourself or call the RMLS™ Help Desk for assistance.

• Put yourself in the showing agent’s shoes. Double-check the showing instructions are accurate and that an agent showing the property has what they need to follow the instructions. If a listing instructs agents to call the owner first, the homeowner’s phone number should be included on the listing. Showing information may be included in any of the following fields: Private Remarks, Occupied By, Lockbox/Location/Combo, Showing Hours, Showing Instructions (aka Show), Owner/Phone, or Tenant/Phone.

• Do you need to restrict access to a listing? If so, consider using a Call Before Showing (CBS) code to access a lockbox.

• Make your CALL-LA instructions crystal clear. Use the private remarks to clarify if showing agents should make contact for instructions or just leave a message that they will be showing the property.

 

SHOWING AGENTS

• Check the current listing status to avoid a violation of the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations. Before showing any property, double-check the listing’s current status. If you enter a property in Pending (PEN) status without the permission of the listing agent or owner, you could face unpleasant repercussions! Entering a property in Pending (PEN) status is against the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations (see Sections 5.1 and 7.1)

• Read—and follow—showing instructions. While you’re in RMLSweb checking the listing’s current status, thoroughly review the showing instructions detailed on the listing. RMLS™ regularly receives reports of embarrassing situations, negative feelings, and potential rules violations when subscribers don’t pay close attention to instructions. Instructions or pieces of information could be found in any or all of the following listing fields: Private Remarks, Occupied By, Lockbox/Location/Combo, Showing Hours, Showing Instructions (aka Show), Owner/Phone, or Tenant/Phone.

• Use RPR Mobile™ and HomeSpotter to access listing information in the field. Listing data can be easily accessed in the field via HomeSpotter or RPR Mobile™. If you’re not already using both these apps, they’ll make showings easier, so get to it—find out more about RPR Mobile™ then read about HomeSpotter and download them today!

• Trust your gut. If you arrive at a scheduled showing and something is off—an aggressive pet is loose in the house, minors are home alone, or a band of squatters is camped on the front lawn—consider rescheduling the showing.

 

EVERYONE

• Know the difference between CALL1ST versus CALL-LA! If a listing says to call first in the showing instructions, call the owner/seller. If there is no answer, leave a message informing them you will be showing their property. If CALL-LA is in the showing instructions, check the remarks for further information and call the listing agent for further instruction before showing the property.

• Don’t enter listed properties in Pending (PEN) status! (Have we mentioned that one yet?) Check the status of the listing as well as the showing instructions just before entering the property, whether or not the property is occupied. It’s a RMLS™ Rules and Regulations violation if you don’t (see Sections 5.1 and 7.1)!

We realize that honest mistakes happen out in the field, but taking more time to be mindful about showing instructions can stop unpleasant situations—with clients or colleagues—before they happen.

The Importance of Showing Instructions on RMLSweb

April is Fair Housing Month: Proclaim Your Commitment

by | Apr 7, 2017 | Events, Homeownership

Fair Housing Month is celebrated nationally each April in observance of the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. This important legislation prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, or financing of housing. It is an issue vital to everyone in the housing industry, from REALTORS® to short-term tenants.

Join your fellow REALTORS® in proclaiming your commitment to fair housing for all! Following are a few ideas to get you started…

Put a Poster On It

Put your commitment to fair housing on display! The National Association of REALTORS® has a poster featuring a timeline of milestones in fair housing or there’s always the Fair Housing Declaration. Likewise, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development offers a poster of their own. If you’re looking for something a little more whimsical, check out this year’s Fair Housing Council of Oregon poster winners.

Lobby the Locals

Work with the electeds in your town or county and ask them to proclaim April as Fair Housing Month. The National Association of REALTORS® has boilerplate text for such a declaration on their website.

Read All About It

Educate yourself about fair housing issues. REALTORS® can learn about their responsibilities under fair housing laws through the Fair Housing Council of Oregon. (Be sure to check out all the resources under the “Learn” tab on their website.) Read Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond—this year’s selection for the Multnomah County Library’s Everybody Reads program.

Don’t neglect to educate your clients! The Fair Housing Council of Oregon has an informative site for housing consumers—and plenty of materials translated for speakers of other languages too.

Take It to the Next Level

If you’re looking for an office activity that will lend a unique perspective on housing issues, consider booking a fair housing bus tour or a training class with the Fair Housing Council of Oregon. Consider holding a poverty simulation at your office, which also involves housing issues. If those options are a little too time-involved, consider organizing a fair housing movie night with classics such as A Raisin in the Sun. Experiential learning can provide food for thought for years to come, and can be a valuable experience for your office staff.

What do you or your office do to observe Fair Housing Month?

The Importance of Showing Instructions on RMLSweb

Ask Technical Terry: Watch List Texts

by | Mar 31, 2017 | RMLSweb

Ask Technical Terry is a series RMLS™ aims to offer once a month. RMLS™ subscribers will drive the content—submit any question about RMLS™ to Technical Terry in the comments or by emailing communications@rmls.com. Don’t be shy—we won’t identify you by name.

Good Afternoon, Technical Terry!

I don’t check my email often and my RMLSweb Watch List notification emails get buried. Last week I missed a property that went back on the market until it already had another accepted offer! That’s clearly not how you intended the service to work. What would you suggest?

Wheeler Dealer

Good Morning, Wheeler Dealer! What I would suggest is changing your Watch List to send notifications to you by text message.

Next time you’re on RMLSweb, select “Watch List” under the Prospecting menu on the navigation bar. This is your dashboard for Watch List. Under Options, you can select to receive notifications by text or email.

But wait—is that check box for the texting option greyed out? That’s because you need a number to use for texting! Hover over your name in the navigation bar to access User Preferences, then enter a number into the “Text Phone Number” field and save. Once the number has been saved, head back to Watch List and both text and email options should be available.

Remember, the RMLS™ Help Desk has staff that are happy to help if you need a little more assistance.

 

Dear TT,

I absolutely LOVE the new Watch List feature on RMLSweb! I have a problem though: I got my first text and thought I was being spammed, so I typed STOP to end them. (I’ve used this trick before to end unwanted text messages.) Now I’m afraid I’ve removed my ability to receive text messages about my Watch List items forever. Can you help me?

Textually Challenged

Dear TC,

It heartens me to hear of your interest in the Watch List feature on RMLSweb! It really does a great job of allowing you to passively watch either MLS numbers or Tax ID numbers based on numerous triggers. To date there have been over 14,000 Watch List items saved in RMLSweb by over 2,500 RMLS™ subscribers. In march alone, there were 15,700 Watch List texts sent!

While you are one of the first to report mistakenly opting out of the Watch List texts, I’m sure you won’t be the last. Readers that have either not set up any properties to watch or have not yet seen a text for a watched property, they look like this.

If you reply to the text message with the word STOP, this screen will appear.

Eagle-eyed readers probably notice that one can reinstate your phone number by texting START again.

If you mistakenly type STOP and want to reinstate your phone number to receive texts about your RMLSweb Watch List items, simply type and send the word START and you’ll receive the confirmation below.

Pretty easy, isn’t it? Whether or not you’re textually challenged, it’s a breeze to restore your Watch List text messages! Good luck, TC.