Perhaps you’ve been using RMLSweb for years, having grown comfortable with your routine access to the RMLS™ database. Alternatively, perhaps there is functionality you’ve been hoping to integrate into your practice, and you’re open to new options. Maybe you’ve even given Paragon, the newest System of Choice for RMLS™ subscribers, a test drive but haven’t fully figured out how to leverage what this system can do for your business.

No matter which category you fall into, there are compelling reasons to fully explore how Paragon could be useful to you and your clients. First and foremost is the ability to create a customizable platform that best suits your preferred ways of working. You can then offer similar flexibility to your clients as both buyers and sellers. Once you’ve established preferences, you can utilize a robust set of communication options and analytical reports to create a smooth buying or selling experience.

RMLS™ collaborated with leading real estate software provider Black Knight to provide subscribers with the Paragon option so that anyone that wanted to leverage a different toolkit could now do so.

Communication Is the Difference Maker

When considering Paragon use, the most basic question to ask is “What does Paragon offer me?” While Paragon MLS offers the ability to search for listings using a visual map, create CMA reports, and view public property records via CRS Data, some of the key offerings are in how Paragon handles communication between you and your clients.

When you log on to Paragon, you’ll see the Collaboration Center on your dashboard, which allows you to monitor client behavior in real time, including seeing when they’ve viewed properties, which ones they’re interested in, and which ones they’ve rejected. When clients access the Collaboration Center, they’re engaged and in control of a user-friendly system that facilitates real time searching – there’s no need to use a public portal. Clients benefit from the simplicity and focus of this ‘one stop shop’ to search, save, and track their property interest.

Both sides are able to manage their home buying or selling research efficiently and effectively. You and your clients are able to utilize a wealth of tools directly from within the Collaboration Center. For example, you’ll be able to compare properties, view recent sales, and use Automated Valuation Models (AVM) to calculate property values.

Leverage the Analytics

The accumulation and subsequent use of data are crucial components of most modern businesses. Paragon offers cutting-edge, integrated analytic capabilities for the real estate industry. With the ability to track factors such as Propensity to List, Loan to Value, or Estimated Equity, you can deliver a highly targeted, nuanced property analysis to a client. You’re then able to generate reports, such as Market Condition reports, as customizable spreadsheets.

Paragon takes advantage of integrated CRS Data in a variety of ways. You’ll be able to do the following using Paragon:

• View all public property records
• Perform easy tax record searches through the MLS Tax Suite
• Generate 1004MC reports for appraisers
• Review sales and mortgage histories
• Download area demographics, comparison reports, and property analyses
• Access interactive GIS and plat maps

The level of detail and customization you can provide clients goes a long way towards delivering the listing options they want to see, speeding up the search process, and ultimately ensuring their overall satisfaction.

Build Your Client-Friendly Brand and Practice

The use of Paragon-specific functionality may help improve the content and communication of your business, but it also can help you sharpen your brand and marketing. The ability to differentiate yourself and your services is critical. Clients enter into the process with their own priorities and preferences – they want to know that you are able to accommodate their search parameters and communication platforms. You may very well provide terrific service that answers their buying or selling needs, but if they aren’t initially aware of your service capabilities, you may never get the chance to show them.

That’s why it’s important to promote what you’re capable of providing. Whether it’s highlighting the search and communications options on your website or educating prospective clients on the variety of layers that can incorporated into property searches, your business benefits from communicating your system’s capabilities.

Marketing the power of your MLS system can help draw clients on the front end, and the quality of service and variety of communication options during the process help draw clients on the back end, as happy clients are more prone to give satisfied reviews online and through word-of-mouth references.

Getting Started with Paragon

If you’re interested in seeing if Paragon is the right fit for improving your business, you can try it out risk-free to start. With Paragon service being billed quarterly, the remainder of the first quarter you sign up in will be free to you! After that introductory quarter, you’ll be invoiced 30 days prior to the quarter ending. As of 2021, Paragon will cost $60/quarter, on top of regular RMLS™ service fees. To sign up, first inform RMLS™ of your choice by contacting our Front Desk at frontdesk@rmls.com.

Once you’re up and running, Black Knight’s Paragon system has training videos available to detail the functions and customization available, and webinar classes are offered regularly. RMLS™ trainers also offer training each month to guide you through the options and features available in Paragon – you can sign up for the classes after logging in to RMLSweb or Paragon.

The concept of Front End of Choice is, quite simply, all about choice. RMLS™ built and operated its own front end, RMLSweb, for the last 20 years. This allows us to shape our own destiny and keep a tight hold on the reins, keeping costs low while also allowing us to respond to subscriber needs in a timely, effective manner.

However, this does not always guarantee that RMLSweb is the perfect answer for each subscriber. Front End of Choice allows a greater amount of flexibility by providing several different ways of interacting with the RMLS™ database. 

Front End of Choice is just what it sounds like — we want to offer subscribers more than one way to access listing tools and features. Brokers purchase tools to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Front End of Choice allows more variety, more opportunity to stand out and showcase their services to clients. 

We are very excited to offer Paragon MLS as our first Front End of Choice option, so here is a look at what it can do for you.

Background info on Paragon

Paragon is a multiple listing service system designed by Black Knight, a software provider for real estate and other industries. More than 200 listing and affiliate services utilize Paragon nationwide, and both Black Knight and RMLS™ are excited to collaborate on this offering for our subscribers.

Pricing and timing for Paragon at RMLS™

We want to be completely clear: RMLSweb is not going away. Subscribers are not required to use Paragon. RMLSweb is included in the baseline RMLS™ quarterly dues by default. Paragon is an elective option as part of Front End of Choice, not a mandatory change. Subscribers must inform RMLS™ if they want to use Paragon. To opt in, contact the Front Desk and let them know are interested in using Paragon once it is ready.

Black Knight is offering a free three-month trial period of use, beginning the first week of July. Then, beginning in Q4 2020 (October through December), Black Knight will offer Paragon at a discounted rate of $45/quarter. Starting in 2021, Paragon will cost $60 per quarter. Since Paragon is an elective option, this cost is on top of regular RMLS™ service fees.

Making use of Paragon at RMLS™

Beginning the week of July 6, RMLS™ and Black Knight will host hour-long webinars to introduce subscribers to the Paragon front end, to the Paragon Collaboration Center, to Paragon Connect, and to CRS Data’s MLS Tax Suite. These sessions will provide an overview of capabilities and features they provide. In addition, we will release videos, podcasts and other materials to explain Paragon’s many features.

The responsive design is a key factor, one of the main reasons RMLS™ is excited to roll out Paragon for our subscribers. Some online portals work well on a computer but are less reliable on a mobile device. Paragon is equally effective on a desktop, phone or tablet.

Here is a sneak peek at what you will see if you choose to use Paragon:

Please note that each Paragon portal is unique to the MLS that it serves. While other multiple listing services — such as the Willamette Valley MLS — use Paragon, no data sharing takes place between two Paragon systems.

Continue to use RMLSweb Listing Load to Maintain Listings and Photos

While Paragon will appeal to mobile device users — and will seamlessly integrate the Collab Center, CRS Data’s MLS Tax Suite and other features — RMLSweb will continue to be the cornerstone of your listing management.

Listing Load will continue be used by subscribers, whether they opt into Paragon or not. Inside Paragon a button located in the dashboard will take you directly to RMLSweb to manage your listings, including such actions such as:

• Creating a listing
• Adding or editing photos
• Adding open house and broker tour info
• Changing a listing price
• Updating the listing status (active, pending, sold, etc.)

Preparing for Paragon at RMLS™

As we get closer to July, more information will be shared via our weekly newsletter, on RMLSweb Desktop News and elsewhere. Please contact the Help Desk with any questions.

RMLS™ is excited to announce that we have selected Black Knight MLS Solution’s Paragon MLS as an alternative choice to RMLSweb. When released subscribers will be able to elect to use the Paragon MLS as their “Front End of Choice”, for an additional fee.

Paragon MLS includes the ability to search for listings via map, create CMA reports, view public property records provided by CRS Data, collaborate with buyer and seller clients through the mobile based Paragon Collaboration Center, and much more! Appraisers will appreciate the ability to build custom exports of MLS data and the Market Conditions reports.

RMLS™ is working closely with the team at Paragon to set up this new system. Want to know more? Attend the 2020 RMLS™ Education Summit and Trade Fair and sign up for one of the two Paragon classes on March 19 (10:30-11:30 am or 1:30-2:30 pm). Here Bob Morse from Paragon and Nikki Morgan with CRS Data will introduce Paragon MLS and CRS Data public tax record system. We hope to have the system available for purchase in April.

What is Front End of Choice?  

The concept of Front end of choice is all about choice. RMLS™ has chosen to build it’s own system, RMLSweb, for the last 20 years. This has allowed us to shape our own destiny and keep a tight hold on the reigns keeping costs low while at the same time responding to the needs of our subscribers. But that does not mean that it meets all of the needs of all RMLS™ subscribers. RMLSweb is still going to be available and will still be aggressively developed but Front end of choice allows a greater amount of flexibility by providing several different ways of interacting with the RMLS™ database.   

Brokers want different tools 

Trying to use one product to make everyone happy is a fool’s errand. No one will ever make everyone happy. When we hold a user forum with 20 people it is not uncommon to find 20 totally different opinions on what we should work on next or how we should design it.  

Brokers need to differentiate themselves 

Brokers want to leverage those tools they purchase to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Once the MLS provides a CMA, for instance, then everyone’s CMA looks the same. Front End of Choice allows more choice and more opportunities for someone to stand out and showcase what they do differently.  

Standards have advanced 

Multiple Listing Services were not in a position to offer Front End of Choice solutions for a very long time because it took so much effort for each provider to setup their software so that it met the unique fields and options in each area.  

As the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) has evolved we are now at the point where providing a solution in one state is as easy as the next. We are much closer to plug and play than we used to be so the barrier to entry is significantly lower. This allows data to flow between software packages as well. Your CMA can talk to your CRM or your transaction management platform can talk to your marketing tools.  

We think that Paragon (one of the most popular MLS systems available) addresses some of the needs of our subscribers that RMLSweb does not. As we move forward, we hope to bring more and more products to you to help satisfy everyone’s unique needs and perspectives.