by RMLS Communication Department | Sep 9, 2009 | Fun Facts, Misc.
How's the real estate market in Penny Lane?
It’s a big day for Beatles fans. Their full catalogue was re-mastered and re-released, plus the long-awaited arrival of Beatles Rock Band.
It doesn’t sound like Beatles songs will be available on iTunes yet, but if you have an extensive Beatles collection, here’s my recommended Beatles mix for real estate agents (my reasoning in parenthesis).
- A Hard Day’s Night (You work hard, you come home)
- Crying Waiting Hoping (Originally by Buddy Holly. Could be renamed, “Ode to a Short Sale”. I hope there’s not a lot of crying, but I know from personal experience there can be a lot of waiting and hoping.)
- Getting Better (The real estate market has been getting better!)
- Help! (Exactly what a Realtor can provide!)
- In My Life (“There are places I remember”, and when those places are for sale, call your Realtor!)
- It Won’t Be Long (Your clients will be “coming on home”)
- Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Can’t leave this one off the list! “They have built a home-sweet-home”)
- Penny Lane (I wonder what the real estate market is like there)
- Searchin’ (Replace “her” with “a home”; good for when you’re searching the MLS)
- We Can Work It Out (Nice, optimistic song for agents during negotiations)
- When I Get Home (The title speaks for itself)
- Yellow Submarine (If the land of submarines really existed, I imagine it would be pretty pricey real estate)
Does anyone else have other suggestions for a Beatles/Real Estate mix? Leave a comment!
Image courtesy of Alejandro González G.
by RMLS Communication Department | Sep 8, 2009 | Clark County, Coos County, Douglas County, Events, Lane County, Oregon Real Estate, Portland, Union County, Washington Real Estate
Find Real Estate Classes & Events Near You in Oregon & Washington
Here’s a quick rundown of upcoming Realtor® events & education for the remainder of September in Oregon & Southern Washington. If you have an event that is not listed here, please let us know by commenting below. For future events, please send an e-mail to communications (at) rmls (dot) com.
– September 10: Greater Portland chapter of Women’s Council of Realtors® hosts “How to Create a Business Plan in Times of Chaos & Craziness”
– September 10: Portland Metropolitan Associaton of Realtors® (PMAR) hosts “Death of the 30 Day Close”
– September 12: Salem Association of Realtors® Food Drive
– September 17: Oregon Association of Realtors® (OAR) hosts “A Taste of Portland”, a benefit for the OAR HOME Foundation
– September 17: Clark County Association of Realtors® (CCAR) hosts “Barns, Bottles & BBQ”
– September 18: Eugene Association of Realtors® (EAR) hosts “FHA: Client Mortgage Options”
– September 21: PMAR Luncheon, “Preserving Homeownership”
– September 21-22: ABR Course from OAR
– September 23: Education event good for 3 required hours, hosted by Douglas County Board of Realtors® – several topics, read more here.
– September 23: CCAR hosts “Make the Phone Ring with Referrals”
– September 24: PMAR Owner and Manager Forum “New Twists on Old Environmental Issues”
– September 24: EAR hosts “Oregon Legislative Update”
COMING NEXT MONTH: RMLS™ Fall Education Summit & Trade Fair in Pendleton, Oregon – October 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Wildhorse Resort & Casino. The event will feature a session on distressed properties from OAR, a panel discussion on water rights, and more! Visit http://tradefair.rmls.com for more information.
Also, if you’re an RMLS™ subscriber, we have lots of FREE opportunities for continuing education credit at a location near you, click the link for your area to view the September Training Calendar:
– Coos County
– Eastern Oregon
– Eugene
– Florence
– Gresham
– Portland
– Roseburg
– Salem
– Vancouver
Image courtesy of Ayhan Yildiz
by RMLS Communication Department | Sep 2, 2009 | RMLS News
eKEY for BlackBerry now available via RMLS™
Good news for all of you BlackBerry fans!
Your BlackBerry smartphone can now be even more versatile as Supra is offering an accessory that will allow you to use it as a lockbox key. You can now purchase Supra’s eKEY BlackBerry Fob at RMLS™ offices and sign-up for eKEY Basic or eKEY Professional Service from Supra.
Since the BlackBerry devices don’t have infrared (which is needed to open Supra iBoxes), Supra created a fob that converts signals from the BlackBerry into infrared signals.
This should be nice for any agents that love their BlackBerry and don’t want to carry an ActiveKEY as well. While the BlackBerry Fob is another piece of equipment that you have to keep handy, it requires little maintenance, as it doesn’t need to be charged.
The BlackBerry Fobs are in-stock at our Portland, Vancouver, Eugene, Salem and Roseburg offices. At all other RMLS™ offices, you can call or visit and we will place an order for you.
For more information on using your BlackBerry as an eKEY, what types of BlackBerry devices are compatible and more, visit Supra’s website.
Update: I heard some folks are wondering what the fob looks like, so here is a photo of it:
by RMLS Communication Department | Aug 31, 2009 | Lockbox, Market Trends, Statistics
Lockbox activity up slightly
After a drop last week, lockbox activity bounced back in the week of August 17-23 compared to the prior week. In Washington, the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened Supra lockboxes increased 4.1% and in Oregon activity was up 1.4%.
Click the chart for a larger view (Washington, top; Oregon, bottom)
Archive
View an archive of the Supra lockbox statistical reports on Flickr.
by RMLS Communication Department | Aug 28, 2009 | RMLS News
Supra is releasing a firmware update for RMLS™ ActiveKEY users on Tuesday night, September 1. If your ActiveKEY’s radio is turned on, the upgrade will happen automatically. To verify that your ActiveKEY’s radio is turned on:
- Press your ActiveKEY’s On/Off button. The display should show “Ready for Use”.
- If the display indicates that the radio is off, you can press “1” to turn the radio ON.
According to Supra, here’s what you can expect from the update:
The new firmware will improve your ActiveKEY’s performance in several ways.
The Showing Notification ON/OFF feature enables you to extend your ActiveKEY’s battery life (operating time between battery charges) by turning off Showing Notifications on your ActiveKEY. A Showing Notification is a text message that is displayed on the ActiveKEY when an agent opens an iBox. You may opt to turn off Showing Notifications on your ActiveKEY if you:
- prefer to receive their showing notifications via email,
- do not have active listings,
- or do not use the showing notifications that are sent to your ActiveKEY.
With the new Battery Conservation feature, the ActiveKEY will no longer search for Showing Notifications during the off-peak hours of 9 p.m. to 9 a.m., Daylight Time. Our analysis shows that less than 2% of showings take place during this time. If you live in an area with poor cellular coverage, you may find that this feature increases your ActiveKEY’s battery life.
Finally, with the new Quick Charge feature it will take less time for your ActiveKEY’s battery to charge.
For a complete list of new firmware features, read: ActiveKEY Firmware Update 1.14
P.S. – Supra has also added a new “Safe Mode” feature if your key gets too hot. However, they still advise that you do not leave your key in spaces with extreme temperatures.
