![RMLS™ Spring Education Summit and Trade Fair]()
by RMLS Communication Department | Mar 14, 2013 | Events, RMLS News
Hit a home run with RMLS™!
The RMLS™ Spring Education Summit and Trade Fair will be held on Thursday, April 11, 2013, from 8:30am-5:00pm at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.
Classes are filling quickly—register online today to ensure enrollment! FREE CE hours are available for both Oregon and Washington REALTORS®!
Exhibitors will be on hand to offer the best in services, technology, and tools for your business needs. SentriLock will be in attendance for subscribers who would like to preview the lockbox equipment that RMLS™ will transition to later this year.
A special guest will also be on hand to keep the day memorable, and refreshments will be available for purchase. Don’t forget to bring business cards for door prize drawings!
Thanks to our generous sponsors!
DIAMOND
PLATINUM
SILVER
by RMLS Communication Department | Dec 14, 2012 | RMLS News, RMLSweb
This week, we conclude our series featuring subscriber feedback gleaned from fall’s Subscriber Satisfaction Survey. (Check out our earlier posts: How Are We Doing?, How Do You Interface with RMLS™?, and How Do You Get Trained?)
RMLS™ strives to provide great value. In fact, our trainers find that many subscribers aren’t fully aware of the breadth of features available on RMLSweb. Lead trainer Gerry Chasse explains:
One principal broker I recently met put it succinctly: “most agent brokers log on to RMLSweb to learn the few functions they need to gather information for a client, never discovering the multitude of other useful tools this website provides.”
Our Subscriber Relations Representatives, Trainers, and Help Desk personnel repeatedly mention surprised reactions from subscribers, who exclaim “wow!” and “I didn’t know you could do that—is that something new?” when one or several of these tools provide a quick, informative, and efficient solution to a long-standing problem or question. Subscribers who continually examine the various parts of the website and educate themselves about the latest upgrades or changes are those who have the market advantage.
If you’d like to find out more about the capabilities of RMLSweb, check out offerings on the RMLS™ training calendar.
On to the survey…
How would you rate the overall value of the services you receive from RMLS™?
Overall, RMLS™ subscribers rated us a 3.9. Interestingly, the number of 3 and 5 ratings were tied at 738, and there was a strong amount of 4s (525).
Subscriber comments:
• “Without RMLS™ I could not do my job! Plain and simple.”
• “Nothing is perfect! And for the most part this is very good, in my opinion.”
• “I appreciate the Open House hours that you have. The one time that I signed up for a three hour class and I was to only one that showed up. I received personal one-on-one training and learned a great deal. She could have cancelled the class, but did not and that brought my attention to how grateful I am to have the RMLS. Keep up the good job!” [Ed. Note: Open House hours are at our Portland office each Friday from 10am-Noon.]
• “Thank you…I know pleasing all of us is not easy.”
• “My biggest complaint is RLMS not staying current with technology. There are lots of brokers using Apple products and smartphones with bluetooth. It’s time to address compatibility issues with Apple and switch to bluetooth lockboxes.”
• “I find the other websites to be more user friendly and have much higher profiles in search engines than RMLS. I’d like to see it be a marketing tool to advertise to clients as opposed to just an information exchange between agents with the funky rmls.com site for our clients.”
• “I practiced real estate in California and the dues you charge are a fraction of what it costs to be part of the MLS there.”
• “I appreciate the fact that RMLS™ keeps trying to improve. As I mentioned above, I
am personally looking for things which work well, not more things.”
• “I wish all the other mls organizations would consolidate with RMLS, which the
the best of the lot.”
• “The RMLS website has to be Mac friendly, period, it must work with Safari.”
• “PEACE 2 U.”
That’s it for this series. RMLS™ staff has been scrutinizing the results—subscriber feedback will be used by the RMLS™ Board of Directors to determine what projects we take on over the next year. Survey feedback impacts our work around the office every day. We sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed reading results from the 2012 Subscriber Satisfaction Survey!
by RMLS Communication Department | Nov 9, 2012 | Guest Post
CHILDREN: A PROTECTED CLASS BUT ALSO AT
GREATEST RISK FOR LEAD POISONING
What Can You Do?
What Can’t You Do?
How Do You Comply with All the Laws?
By Jo Becker, Education/Outreach Specialist, Fair Housing Council of Oregon
While anyone can be poisoned by lead, children under the age of six are particularly vulnerable. Children are at risk both because they are more likely to ingest lead in housing situations and because lead can adversely affect children’s brains, central nervous system, and other organs and systems that are still developing. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that 1 out of every 25 children has unsafe levels of lead in their blood. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry the number is much higher—roughly 1 in every 6!
Studies have shown that inhalation of lead dust particles in the air due to friction caused by opening and closing lead-based painted surfaces such as doors and windows can be just as hazardous as the ingestion of lead paint particles. Once poisoned, most of the resulting health effects are not curable. To make the situation all the more insidious and difficult, you may unknowingly have lead in your building because it cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled.
Some sources state that lead-based paint hazards found in the home are, in fact, the single largest environmental hazards facing our nation’s children. The magnitude of the problem and the importance of the issue have raised questions concerning lead-based paint and the requirements of the Fair Housing Act[1] to not discriminate against families with children.
It is illegal under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) to deny housing to families with children (or otherwise treat them differently in any way) unless the housing provider is exempt as a “designated senior community” (for information on familial status protections and the housing for older persons exception visit www.FHCO.org/families.htm). Case law has reinforced the fact that housing providers cannot discourage potential residents with children simply because the property has or may have “hazards” such as steep stairways and balconies, busy streets, and the presence of dangerous equipment or lead-based paint. It is up to the household to determine if a given property is appropriate for their children; it is not up to a housing provider to determine this for them.
Housing providers with units built prior to 1978 must advise all potential residents (with or without children) that the unit may contain lead-based paint (see section 1018 of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992), but may not refuse housing (or treat a household differently) based on the presence of children.
Below is an excerpt from a 1997 memo from HUD’s Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity department clarifying the interaction between federal lead-based requirements and the FHA.
Question: May a housing provider affirmatively market units where lead-based paint hazards have been controlled to families with children?
Answer: Yes. Affirmatively marketing units where lead-based paint hazards have been controlled to families with children is consistent with fair housing laws and with the need to protect the public welfare. A housing provider may verbally or through advertisements advise the public or potential applicants for housing that such units are available, or that families with children are welcomed for such units. In addition, a housing provider may recommend a unit where lead-based paint hazards have been controlled to families with children under the age of six, or inform the family of the availability of a waiting list for units where lead-based paint hazards have been controlled.
Question: May a housing provider exclude families with children from units where lead-based paint hazards have not been controlled?
Answer: If a unit which has not undergone lead hazard control treatments is available and the family chooses to live in the unit, the housing provider must advise the family of the condition of the unit1, but may not decline to allow the family to occupy the unit because the family has children. Similarly, it would violate the Fair Housing Act for a housing provider to seek to terminate the tenancy of a family residing in a unit where lead-based paint hazards have not been controlled against the family’s wishes because of the presence of minor children in the household. The housing provider may offer transfers, with or without incentives, to a family residing in a unit where lead-based paint hazards have not been controlled to enable the family to move to a unit where lead-based paint hazards have been controlled, including for the purpose of addressing hazards in the family’s current unit.
Question: If resources allow lead-based paint hazards in only a few units to be controlled at a time, may these units be reserved for families with young children?
Answer: Housing providers may hold open vacant units where lead–based paint hazards have been controlled for families with young children and may offer such families a preference. However, as noted above, if units where lead-based paint hazards have not been controlled are available, a housing provider cannot refuse to allow a family with young children to live in such units. A housing provider must provide a family with young children information about the hazards of lead poisoning. If only a few units where lead-based paint hazards have been controlled are available at any given time, we recommend that such units be scattered throughout a site rather than segregated in one area.
Question: May housing providers give priority to addressing lead–based paint hazards in units occupied by families with small children?
Answer: Yes. As noted above, however, families cannot be required to vacate units in order to address lead-based paint hazards. (Families can of course be required to temporarily relocate to another dwelling unit so that the lead hazard control work may be done safely.) Nothing in this memo affects the separate obligation of a housing provider to make reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities.
___________________
1Section 1018 of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Redaction Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 4852d).
Whether you are (or represent) a landlord, a seller, or a homeowners association, you need to be familiar with the nexus between lead-paint and FHA requirements. You can learn more about the later at www.FHCO.org or call our Fair Housing Hotline at 800/424-3247 Ext 2.
You should also know that the federal government requires housing providers to disclose that there may be lead hazards in homes built before 1978 prior to contract and prior to many repairs and renovations. Federal law also requires those doing work on pre-1978 housing be certified to do so and to follow specific work practices. You must, by law, hire a contractor who is lead-safe certified—or become certified yourself—if doing work on a home you do not occupy. To you’re your lead questions answered and learn more about these requirements visit www.FHCO.org/lead.htm or contact the LeadLine at 503/988-4000 (a free service).
You should also check out the Portland-based Community Energy Project’s (CEP) “Living Lead Safe” program (503/284-6827). The CEP class would make an excellent office or community meeting presentation or even a wonderful offering an agent could set up for his / her clientele. It takes about an hour and, as a former Realtor® myself, I can tell you it is mind blowing!
___________________
This article brought to you by the Fair Housing Council; a nonprofit serving the state of Oregon and SW Washington. Learn more and / or sign up for our free, periodic newsletter at www.FHCO.org.
Qs about your rights and responsibilities under fair housing laws?
Visit www.FHCO.org or call 1-800-424-3247 Ext. 2.
Qs about this article? Want to schedule an in-office fair housing training program or speaker for corporate or association functions?
Contact Sandy Stienecker, Education / Outreach Specialist at sstienecker@FHCO.org or 503/23-8197 Ext. 109
___________________
[1] Federally protected classes under the Fair Housing Act include: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (children), and disability. Oregon law also protects marital status, source of income, sexual orientation, and domestic violence survivors. Washington law covers martial status, sexual orientation, and domestic violence survivors, and honorably discharged veterans / military status. Additional protected classes have been added in particular geographic areas; visit FHCO.org/mission.htm and read the section entitled “View Local Protected Classes” for more information.
![RMLS™ Spring Education Summit and Trade Fair]()
by RMLS Communication Department | Nov 9, 2012 | RMLS News, RMLSweb
This week, RMLS™ continues featuring feedback gleaned from our Subscriber Satisfaction Survey. (If you’ve not read the first post on the subject, check out How Are We Doing? Subscriber Satisfaction Survey Results.)
Staff members find survey feedback invaluable. At a meeting earlier this week, one of our VPs noted how this survey directly impacts which projects get prioritized as RMLS™ plans for the coming year. We like to share results with subscribers as well, so here are some questions pertaining to how our subscribers access RMLS™ services.
Where do you normally get RMLS™ information?
Almost all (91.6%) of RMLS™ users obtain information through the RMLSweb desktop page. Besides the desktop page, the next largest source of information was the RMLS™ Weekly Report, which is sent via email each Monday. However, only about half of survey respondents (48.1%) claimed to get information this way. The RMLS Help Desk rounds out the top three at 24.9%.
While RMLS™ maintains a presence on Facebook and Twitter, a very small number of people get RMLS™ information that way—likely because that presence is fairly minimal. In the next year, RMLS™ plans to examine that presence in order to improve
Subscriber comments included:
• “I know I can always call and count in you for help!”
• “I think agents…do what is easy—we don’t spend time educating ourselves on new stuff until we have to…but RMLS™ is really trying and that makes me want to try too!”
• “I would like to attend a RMLS training class.” [Ed. note: Check out the RMLS™ Training Calendars, or email training@rmls.com to arrange for our trainers to come to you!]
• “When I am in RMLS, I am in there to work and don’t have a lot of time to read updates.”
• “All agents regardless of title need to read the information that you provide to us.”
Which RMLS™ office are you most likely to contact for assistance?
Our corporate office in Portland is used by 68.3% of our survey respondents, with the Vancouver, WA, office coming in next at 11.8%. Eugene rounded out the top three at 7.3%. The data suggests our Brookings and Florence offices offer the most personalized experience, as they both serve about 1% of our respondents.
How satisfied are you with the service at your primary RMLS office in the past year?
Exactly a 4.0, RMLS™ our subscribers are precisely halfway between “satisfied” and “delighted.”
Subscriber comments:
• “The staff is well versed in all areas, and answers your emails and returns calls promptly.”
• “Need a west side office. It is unreasonable for us Hillsboro people to be required to go to the airport. How would the east side people feel if you moved to Hillsboro?”
• “I can get everything I need from the Roseburg office.”
• “It would be beneifical to have a Mac on hand for your techs.”
• “Great staff, I love coming into your office.”
Next time, we’ll talk about how subscribers use RMLS™ training services.
![RMLS™ Spring Education Summit and Trade Fair]()
by RMLS Communication Department | Oct 22, 2012 | Lockbox, Statistics
This Week’s Lockbox Activity Decreases
For the week ending on 10/14/12, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened Supra lockboxes in Washington and Oregon. Compared to the previous week, activity decreased marginally in both Oregon and Washington, likely due to the recently changing weather.
To see larger versions of these charts, visit our photostream on flickr.
