How Indestructible is a Supra Lockbox?
See for yourself! Someone REALLY wanted to get into this lockbox, but even after it got this badly mangled, the key is still held safely locked inside it!
Supra Lockbox Activity – Updated Through Week of August 22 – August 28
Activity shows slight increases in both WA and OR
When comparing the week of August 22 – August 28 with the week prior, the number of times an RMLS™ subscriber opened a Supra lockbox increased 1.3% in Washington and 0.4% in Oregon.
Washington
Oregon
Archive
View an archive of the Supra lockbox statistical reports on Flickr.
Supra Lockbox Activity – Updated Through Week of August 15 – August 21
Activity slightly increases in WA, declines in OR
When comparing the week of August 15 – August 21 with the week prior, the number of times an RMLS™ subscriber opened a Supra lockbox increased 0.8% in Washington and decreased 3.9% in Oregon.
Washington
Oregon
Archive
View an archive of the Supra lockbox statistical reports on Flickr.
CIVIX Settlement
Big news from the RMLS™ Board of Directors!
Written by Kurt von Wasmuth, President & CEO of RMLS™
Recently, some very important actions were taken by the RMLS™ Board of Directors. The steps they took protect all RMLS™ subscribers and their businesses. These actions should be understood and celebrated by all involved with RMLS™ (subscribers, shareholders, vendors and staff).
CIVIX-DDI LLC (CIVIX) is a corporation that holds a patent that it believes every MLS in the country currently violates. CIVIX’s patent is for an online system that allows users to search, display and transmit data. As you can imagine, all MLSs and innumerable other online companies use technology that allows users to perform these functions.
CIVIX has been pursuing this patent infringement claim against many online businesses, such as companies like Microsoft, Expedia, Move Inc. (operator of Realtor.com®, Top Producer Systems®, ListHub®, etc.), which have all settled after consulting with legal attorneys regarding this claim.
In May of this year, MRIS (then-largest MLS in the country), also chose to settle with CIVIX, instead of risking the large fees involved with fighting a lengthy legal battle. In response, RMLS™ worked in conjunction with about 50 other MLS providers to ask the National Association of Realtors® to step in to see if they could negotiate a fee for CIVIX to leave the real estate industry alone.
Their response was for MLSs to pay $7.5 million dollars (roughly $9.06 per subscriber).
RMLS™ has paid this fee per subscriber, which amounted to just under $100,000, and as a result, is now covered and cannot be sued for this patent infringement. Furthermore, this settlement covers all of our shareholders, brokers, agents and software vendors in this area.
Last, and maybe the best news of all, is that the RMLS™ Board of Directors voted to pay this fee out of our RMLS™ emergency funds. This means that there will be no special assessment to subscribers and we will not have to raise dues in order to cover this payment.
I think the Board was generous as well as cognizant of today’s marketplace when they decided not to pass the cost on to our subscribers. Although there is no call to action for our subscribers, they should know that they are covered and that the fee has already been paid.
Thank you for your ongoing support of RMLS™.
To view a special video message from Kurt on this topic, go to http://bit.ly/Kurt8242011
Or, click on this image below!
The “New Language” of Appraisal
Guest Post Written By Bonnie Baldwin, Vice President of the Rose City Chapter of National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers (NAIFA)
The one true constant in our industry is change. As real estate agents, you have a comprehensive understanding of your market, and you fully describe the properties you list, market and sell. You can identify the components for condition and quality as good, average and poor. You can define a view and its perception in the market. And, you know how to read the grid section of an appraisal, and comprehend and identify with the comments.
As we all know, when you throw a stone in the water, you get a ripple effect, which in this case will be referred to as the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD), the “new language” of appraisal. This ripple will require a new understanding of the definitions and terms utilized in an appraisal that will code the quality and condition rating of a property. There will be new codes and abbreviations for rooms below grade, view and location codes. One and two story descriptions of the design/style of a home will be a thing of the past; now it will be architectural descriptions only. 61 different fields on four different appraisal report forms will reflect these new changes.
The Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) is the “big news” in the appraisal and lending world today. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have established a specific set of responses that all appraisers will be required to comply with for any appraisal being submitted to the secondary market. The intent is to support consistent appraisal reporting, regardless of the geographic location of the property or any localized reporting conventions, by clarifying vague data currently utilized in the typical appraisal report.
Effective September 1, 2011, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are set to roll out the Uniform Mortgage Data Program (UMDP) creating a uniform approach for receiving and handling appraisal data with the intent to improve the quality and consistency of appraisal data on loans delivered to the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). This standardization was mandated at the direction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to improve operational efficiencies and to require appraisers, lenders, and appraisal management companies to conform to the new standardized requirements. HUD/FHA has also indicated they will be implementing the Uniform Appraisal Dataset later this year.
For more specific information about the “New Language” of appraisal, visit Fannie Mae’s website at www.efanniemae.com. Then, search for the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD). Once there, click “UAD Field-Specific Standardization Requirements,” and print pages 34 – 37 for a useful reference of the codes and definitions. As a Certified Appraiser and Vice President of the Rose City Chapter of NAIFA, I encourage you to contact a Board Member or your NAIFA Appraiser at www.ifanw.com for additional information.