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.
Dear Ask Technical Terry:
I’m confused! I’m a dual licensed REALTOR® and since the RMLSweb facelift how I log in has changed. Can you please explain in layman’s terms how the process works? What is the best way to access my two unique accounts on RMLSweb?
Login-challenged Loretta
Hi Loretta:
Of course! The RMLS™ Help Desk has told me that our recent changes to RMLSweb have created some uncertainty among subscribers so let me demystify the new process.
There are three basic scenarios that come in to play when logging in to RMLSweb.
Once you are logged in to RMLSweb with either of your options, you can change to the other login (state) by clicking on the Help menu and choosing “Switch License,” as seen below.
If you need to set or change either password for RMLSweb just log in to the account in question, then go to User Preferences/My Account Information to edit.
Dear ATT:
Over the past few weeks I’ve been getting emails from RMLS™ about some survey. It seems like I’ve gotten one for the last few years since I joined RMLS™. Why do you keep sending me these?
Demotivated Dana
Dear DD:
Indeed! RMLS™ conducts one big survey per year of all RMLS™ subscribers—the RMLS™ Subscriber Satisfaction Survey—usually in September. We aim to hear from 20% of you, which is a pretty big response rate—but that’s because the survey is pretty important to RMLS™.
You may have read about how the enhancements process works. It is a process, and the Subscriber Satisfaction Survey is a large part of that. We are asking our members to give us feedback about specific projects that RMLS™ may be undertaking in the next calendar year, but we also use the opportunity to get feedback about nearly every aspect of RMLS™.
Every single comment collected in the survey is read by a RMLS™ staff member. The data is also used in aggregate by the RMLS™ Board of Directors to steer the ship, so to speak. Even so, if you’re reluctant to take the survey anymore because RMLS™ just won’t add “Clown Car Parking” to the Advanced Search options (even though you’ve suggested it 27 times!), keep in mind that you may be the only person requesting that particular change.
Why do we keep sending you emails about taking the survey, then? We really do want to hear from you! Our response rate has also been a little low so far and we’re aiming for that 20% before we close things up for the year.
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.
Dear Ask Technical Terry:
What a shock—I logged in to RMLSweb this morning, and the website has completely changed! Where’s Listing Load? Where did everything go? I can’t find anything!
Al K. Seltzer
Dear Al:
Yikes! I’m sorry to hear that the update to the login screen, RMLSweb desktop, and navigation bar has stirred you up. We haven’t completely changed the site yet, just those three components. We understand why it made a big splash with our subscribers though.
Be assured that little to no content got dropped when RMLSweb rolled out the new desktop page. We did make the desktop page less text-heavy, added graphics, and relied on layout to do some of the heavy lifting. There are some links and other components that moved, but they’re still there.
Listing Load, for example, is accessible via a button on the very top of the RMLSweb desktop page, along with our prospecting module, CMA, map search, and advanced search. These are the most commonly used components of RMLSweb so we put them front and center.
If you’re having a tough time finding your favorite part of RMLSweb, contact the RMLS™ Help Desk. They’d be happy to guide you to the new home of the feature you find indispensable!
Technical T. Terry
Hello Ask Technical Terry:
Wow, RMLSweb looks so different! I think I’m starting to adjusted to some of the changes, but there’s one I haven’t quite figured out yet. How do you log out?
Ammon from White Salmon
Dear Ammon:
Thanks for writing in—lots of things changed when we debuted the new look on RMLSweb, didn’t it? It’s easy to understand why it might be difficult to find where the option to log out lives when the entire interface is new to your eyes. Now when you’re done with RMLSweb, look under the Help menu in the navigation bar—the link to log off is on the lower left.
Ask Technical Terry from the Internet
Greetings, ATT:
I was in the process of writing The Great American Novel—focused on real estate, of course—on my RMLSweb notepad. Where’d it go?
N. Onymus
Greetings, N.:
The Scratch Notes feature of RMLSweb, which used to be on the right sidebar, now lives under the Help menu in the navigation bar.
In your case, however, I read your novel and thought it was the finest piece of literature I had ever read, so I’m currently working on shopping it around to New York publishers to get you the best advance. You’re welcome!
RMLS™ is excited to give subscribers a first look at the fresh look coming this week to RMLSweb. Visitors will see a completely new look to the site starting August 14th: a home base that’s less text-heavy, more responsive to mobile devices, and prioritizes what users need most.
The new RMLSweb desktop page introduces a home menu where subscribers can easily access the most-used components of the site: Prospecting, Listing Load, CMA, Map Search, and Advanced Search, topped by the simple search bar which is already a key component of RMLSweb. Use the Home menu from anywhere in the site to access any of these six areas of RMLSweb.
We know that RMLS™ subscribers like easy access to other RMLSweb components, so the site navigation menus have absorbed some of the information previously featured on the desktop page. The Help menu, for example, has absorbed the user’s notepad, links, user preferences, and live chat buttons. No tools have been removed from the site.
Be aware that unveiling the new look to these site components is just the beginning—RMLS™ plans to roll out similar redesigns to other parts of the site to better meet the needs of today’s RMLS™ subscribers.
This new approach to RMLSweb is the result of input from RMLS™ subscribers, local associations, staff, and plenty of other stakeholders. RMLS™ partnered with a user experience design professional to make the new approach to RMLSweb the best it could possibly be for a wide-ranging user base.
Once the redesign is live, RMLS™ is happy to help subscribers find anything that may have moved elsewhere from the desktop page. Users have suggested a site redesign for years, and we hope that the result will be more user friendly and navigable for RMLS™ subscribers.
The changes we made had a notable impact. In the last three months, over 1,600 CSN listings have been added to RMLSweb! On average, listings have stayed in CSN status for six days before being changed to Active (ACT) status. Prior to the changes, the number of Authorization to Exclude from MLS Addendums submitted to RMLS™ was in the hundreds per month. Since the change, just 59 forms have been submitted.
These changes are still relatively new, and RMLS™ continues to get questions about how the new system works. Here are some of the most common questions we receive about the CSN changes, answered:
I am about to list a property in CSN status. What do I need to do in Listing Load to ensure that it is published as a CSN status?
Before publishing the listing in Listing Load, you should check two things. First, make sure the checkbox for “Publish as Coming Soon-No Showing (CSN):” is checked. Second, make sure you’ve filled in “Date Marketing to Begin.” This is the list date—a date greater than today, but not more than 21 days in the future. These two things will ensure that the listing is published as CSN in RMLSweb.
My seller wants their property published as a CSN for just ten days, not the full 21 days. Is this possible?
Yes it is! You and your seller can have a listing published on RMLSweb as CSN for as little as one day or as many as 21 days, but not more than 21 days.
I have a CSN listing that is supposed to be in CSN status for ten days. Today is the ninth day and the seller has decided that they need five more days to prepare the property. What should I do?
Edit the listing in Listing Load and change the “Date Marketing to Begin” field to reflect the new date. For example if you originally made August 1st the date marketing to begin and your seller needed five additional days, you would change it to August 6th. Save the changes and you are good to go. The listing will convert to Active (ACT) status on August 6th.
Caveat: if adding five days takes you over that 21 day limit, you’ll need to withdraw the listing until it is ready for market.
My CSN listing changed to Active (ACT) status by itself. I didn’t change it. How did this happen?
Once the date you’ve set as the “Date Marketing to Begin” hits, the system will automatically convert the listing status from CSN to ACT.
My sellers and I agreed to list their property as a CSN listing in RMLSweb for 18 days. Today’s the eleventh day and they’ve decided that they are ready to put the property on the market. Can I change the CSN status to ACT?
Yes you can. Anytime during the period when a property is in CSN status, the Seller’s Agent (that’s you!) can change the status to Active (ACT) or Withdrawn (WTH).
I want to install a sign with flyers on the property of my CSN listing. Are there requirements regarding the sign and flyer that I should know about?
Yes. The sign and/or flyers must contain the label “Coming Soon.” This will let folks know that that they can expect to see the property on the market soon.
Okay, I have published a listing as CSN in RMLSweband posted a sign at the property that says “Coming Soon.” Can I email or share details about this property with my clients?
No you may not. If one of your clients ask about this property, let them know the date when it will be active on the market—you can follow up with them at that time.
Can CSN listings be published on internet sites outside of RMLSweb, such as Realtor.com or Zillow?
No, they cannot. While a listing is in CSN status, it can only be published on RMLSweb.
My seller has opted to exclude their property from the MLS. I have a signed listing contract noting this decision. Is there anything else I need to do?
Since the seller has chosen to exclude their property from the MLS, Document #1260, Authorization to Exclude from MLS Addendum or an equivalent form will need to be filled out and signed by the seller(s), Seller’s Agent, and the Principal/Designated Broker. The form must then be submitted to RMLS™ within 72 hours. You can submit this directly within RMLSweb by going to Back Office -> Submit Excluded Listing. Click “+Add a PDF” and follow the instructions. Information on the form will not be made available to other subscribers—just you, your Participant/Designated Broker, and RMLS™.
My seller wants to exclude the property from RMLSweb for 30 days and then include it. Our listing contract is effective for three months though. Is it possible to do what they are requesting?
No, it is not. When a seller elects to exclude the property from RMLSweb, they do so for the life of that listing contract. In this case, all three months.
My sellers excluded their listing from RMLSweb and the listing contract expired. Now the sellers want to list the property. How soon can I publish it?
You will need to wait for 30 days after the listing contract has expired. Once those 30 days are up, you can publish the listing in RMLSweb. At the time that the seller excluded the property from the MLS they filled out, signed, and agreed to Authorization to Exclude from MLS Addendum, which states the “Broker’s Firm shall not enter this property into the MLS until 30 days past the Expiration Date” (Page 2).
I have a client who wants to sell a property but it needs major work. The work won’t be completed for 45 days. CSN is not an option, because they need more than 21 days. What can I do?
Fill out the listing contact and choose the first option: “AN ACTIVE LISTING (ACT).” Since no marketing will occur while work is being completed, set “Date Marketing to Begin” to the 45th day out. For example, if today is August 1, 2018, you would set “Date Marketing to Begin” for September 14, 2018. You have secured the listing contact and the sellers will have the time they need to prep the property for the market. Once the work is complete, then publish the listing on RMLSweb on September 14, 2018 and begin your marketing efforts.
RMLS™ will be simplifying its subscriber fee structure—which will mean an increase for individual subscribers—beginning in the fourth quarter of 2018. Subscribers will see the fee change reflected on their invoice for the fourth quarter, which should be available September 1st.
Subscribers who previously paid either $105 per quarter or $135 per quarter will now both pay $141 per quarter, simplifying the overall RMLS™ fee structure. Offices that previously paid a quarterly access fee will no longer pay that fee. Administrative users and personal assistants will still be charged $25 per quarter for each user.
RMLS™ subscribers will see a fee increase of either $6 per quarter or $36 per quarter. Office access fees will be eliminated. Administrative users and personal assistant fees will remain unchanged. SentriLock key fees will not change.
The RMLS™ Board of Directors approved these changes at their June 2018 meeting, the result of ongoing discussions about serving subscribers as robustly as possible and the future of the organization. The board, comprised of working REALTORS® from around the RMLS™ service area, oversees the direction of RMLS™ as an organization and deemed these changes necessary in consideration of future projects.
These future projects include:
Creation of a new mobile app, slated for release in Summer 2018.
Hiring additional staff including a new product manager, UI/UX designer, and additional programmers that will enable RMLS™ to release more projects, more quickly.
The “Report Issue” button will be updated to use a CoreLogic Listing Data Checker dashboard. Subscribers will be able to see what inquiries they have submitted and what has been reported on their own listings.
The RMLSweb login page, desktop page, and menu bar will be updated with a more modern look and feel. It will be more user- and mobile device-friendly. This is just the beginning of a fresh look that will eventually find its way to all areas of RMLSweb.
A SentriLock Bluetooth lockbox upgrade slated for Fall 2018. NXT lockboxes will be exchanged, for free, for a new Bluetooth lockbox.
RMLS™ looks forward to better serving RMLS™ subscribers through these improvements, some of which are in direct response to feedback received from subscribers over the course of several years.
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.
Dear Technical Terry:
I was recently working to pull some comparables in RMLSweb and I noticed there were several properties that were coded as the wrong property type.
I specialize in listing condominiums, and the condo I was working on is completely detached from the other units on the property. What I encountered while looking for price comparables was pretty slim. I found several more properties that had been entered as Detached Single Family units, but which were clearly still condos.
Are REALTORS® identifying condos this way because they think they’ll find a wider market in those looking for a single family home? Do they just not realize that detached condos exist? Incorrect identification complicates my job, and I know it creates more work for the appraiser and the Data Accuracy staff at RMLS™. What gives?
Minnie Kondo
Dear AA:
Understood! I’m confident that the misidentification of properties in RMLSweb is not done intentionally, and we do our best to quickly resolve any data inaccuracies that appear in live listing data.
RMLSweb does have a document, Residential Property Types, that users may refer to in order to discern which property type to use on RMLSweb. That said, properties in the scenario you describe should be entered as Property Type=Condo and Condo Unit Location=Detached.
I reached out to the City of Portland for some assistance on the finer points of property type information, and they referred to their list of residential structure types that start on Page 27 of their planning and zoning definitions. These descriptions are generic, and while they were produced by the City of Portland they can be used as a reference. Naturally you should contact your local government for clarification for your city.
I provide these examples in the hope they will help our REALTOR® subscribers in identifying the property type correctly. If confusion persists, I’d highly recommend contacting our Data Accuracy staffvia email or by phoning (503) 236-7657 or (877) 256-2169. They are intimately familiar with RMLSweb and various parties using the data, so they’ll steer you in the right direction.
Technical Terry
Hey TT:
After a cool decade working in Hot-lanta, I moved to Portland last month and joined RMLS™. I’ve been hearing rumblings about the market has been cooling a little, and I want to find out more. I’ve really appreciated getting Market Action sent to me each month but is there somewhere where I can find historical data?
Sincerely Yours,
Penelope Peachtree
Hey PP:
Welcome to Oregon! I think you’ll find we’re pretty cool here too, although it certainly has been hot so far this July! At any rate, RMLS™ is somewhat unique in the amount of statistics it publishes—it’s a point of pride for the organization.
In addition to publishing 15 editions of Market Action each month, we also compile much of the published data in our statistical summaries documents, easily available on RMLSweb. Access the statistical summaries documents by hovering over the Statistics tab on the main navigation bar, then click on Statistical Summaries to pull up a list of links divided by sub-regions of the RMLS™ service area.
The statistical summaries documents aren’t the only place you can find statistics on RMLSweb, but it’s certainly enough to get you started. If you want to dive deeper into this topic, I highly recommend signing up for our statistics class. Contact RMLS™ Training at (503) 236-7657 or (877) 256-2169 to learn more or sign up for our next class!
Before publishing the listing in Listing Load, you should check two things. First, make sure the checkbox for “Publish as Coming Soon-No Showing (CSN):” is checked. Second, make sure you’ve filled in “Date Marketing to Begin.” This is the list date—a date greater than today, but not more than 21 days in the future. These two things will ensure that the listing is published as CSN in RMLSweb.