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 TT,

RMLS™ has done a great job finding products that provide great benefit to its REALTOR® subscribers, but at times it seems like there are just too many options! It seems like we have new tools to learn on a daily basis. Just recently I went to a training session for a new product called Remine, and now I understand there is another product coming soon called Homesnap. Can you tell me why I would choose one over the other? What are the differences?

Overloaded in Orenco

Dear OO,

Understood completely! It’s not just you—it’s even a challenge for our support and training staff to keep abreast of the rapid pace of innovation around RMLS™ these days.

Here’s a brief overview of the products you mention above.

Homesnap Pro

Homesnap Pro combines agent-only MLS data on a web portal with a mobile app for use in the field.

• Provides real-time information to agents on the go, giving them the flexibility to research homes, interact with each other, and collaborate with clients from their mobile devices. Agents and consumers can use the same platform to seamlessly share real estate information and communicate directly.
• Additional features of Homesnap Pro include real-time access to agent-only MLS information, information about any home, messaging with clients and agents, customized email marketing, CMA generation from a mobile device, and information about other agents.

Remine

Remine provides some of the same capabilities as Homesnap, but it really excels more for data mining. This means Remine provides users the ability to “watch” homes, neighborhoods, and people to best understand market motivation. Users can use this data to scientifically allocate marketing efforts toward specific properties or people that indicate potential motivation.

Remine has three main components on its app: Discover, Track, and Engage.

• Discover: This is the map, where you can use layers to narrow down properties you want to target and set up farming areas to find opportunities.
• Track: This is the list of properties and people you’re tracking. You can upload contacts to track data that will help you prioritize who you should reach out to, and when to reach out. You can use this page to export spreadsheets to use for mailers, call lists, or email campaigns.
• Engage: This is your client dashboard, where you can keep track of your clients’ activities, invite new clients, and manage your leads.

Both Homesnap and Remine provide great benefits, but they have different strenghts. Homesnap provides great tools to engage clients, and Remine specializes in farming activities. Both products have amazing support portals available, containing plenty of how-tos in both written and video formats, there to help you decide which might work best for you.

The RMLS™ trainers are developing classes for both products, so keep your eyes on your local training calendar in the coming months!

TT

Hey Ask Technical Terry!

Homesnap seems like it’s going to be great for my workflow and working with my clients! My assistant told me that RMLS.com will be going away because of Homesnap—is this true?

Snappin’ for Homesnap

Hey Snappin’!

It is true: RMLS.com will redirect to Homesnap’s Broker Public Portal once RMLS™ rolls out the project on May 7th! We recently published a video about the change:

It’ll be a big change, but one that we think will better serve our REALTOR® subscribers and their clients. We can’t wait to hear what you think once Homesnap is live!

Ask Technical Terry

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 TT:

We recently had a RMLS™ trainer out to our office to discuss the new CSN status. During the presentation they mentioned the importance of the Date Marketing to Begin field. I asked about this new field only to find out that it’s been in the listing contract for years! While the trainer did a wonderful job of explaining the new status I’m still a little fuzzy about that field. When would I use that, and why?

Confused in Carver

Dear CC:

Honestly, you’re not the only RMLS™ subscriber surprised by the Date Marketing to Begin field. And I’m happy to review:

There are primarily two scenarios where this field can play a role…

In the first scenario, you are meeting with sellers who agree to use you to list their home but they need some repairs (or just some time) before they’re ready for the property to go live on RMLSweb. You, on the other hand, really want to get your listing contract signed that day to ensure you’ve got the sellers under contract.

In this scenario you would have the sellers sign the listing agreement but choose a date in the future (Date Marketing to Begin) when the repairs (or whatever) will be done and the home will be ready to market. You would publish the listing on RMLSweb on that date.

Here’s an example of this scenario highlighted in the listing contract:

In the second scenario, you are meeting with sellers who agree to use you to list their home but the sellers want to create some buzz about the home prior to it being active on RMLSweb. You again want to get that listing contract signed the same day.

In this case, using the new Coming Soon-No Showing (CSN) status may work well. Choosing CSN will give the sellers up to 21 days of exposure in RMLSweb prior to their listing converting to active (ACT). In this scenario you would have the sellers sign the listing agreement but choose a date in the future (Date Marketing to Begin) within 21 days in the Coming Soon-No Showing section of the listing contract.

You would publish the listing as CSN, which is accessible only to RMLS™ subscribers until RMLSweb converts the listing to ACT on the date specified on Date Marketing to Begin.

Here’s an example of this second scenario highlighted in the listing contract:

Of course you also have the option of excluding the listing from RMLSweb for the life of the listing contract plus 30 days by choosing the “Excluded from MLS” option in the listing contract:

Still got questions? We also recently made a short video about Date Marketing to Begin.

Hopefully walking through Date Marketing to Begin was helpful! Don’t forget, we are always happy to provide additional assistance as you need it. Simply contact the RMLS™ Help Desk at (503) 872-8002 or (877) 256-2169 and we can answer your questions until it’s crystal clear!

TT

Hello Technical Terry!

Ever since an incident I had a few years ago I’ve been more conscious about my safety in the field, and that’s why I’m curious about the new agent safety features of SentriSmart™. Can you tell me more about them?

Cautious in Coburg

Hello Cautious!

I’m really glad to hear that you take your safety seriously. Surely you’re aware of the high-profile case of Beverly Carter, but even on the local level RMLS™ regularly receives reports from agents receiving harassing phone calls or contact from “potential clients” that just don’t check out.

One tool that SentriLock has given to its users is on the SentriSmart™ app. The agent safety feature allows REALTORS® to alert selected contacts in the case of an unexpected or potentially dangerous situation when showing a listing.

When the feature is enabled, the agent safety feature will launch when SentriSmart™ is used to open a lockbox. The feature will automatically alert designated contacts when you do not confirm that you are safe.

Download the latest version of SentriSmart™ then enable the agent safety feature by selecting the Settings tab. Scroll down to Agent Safety, select, then enter your PIN to configure your agent safety settings. Next to Safety Notification Contacts, touch the plus sign and select yes to allow the app to have access to your contacts. Choose at least one contact from the list as your emergency contact, then select Enable Automated Safety Check. (SentriLock has a series of videos demonstrating how to set the feature up on a variety of devices.)

Once you’ve opened a lockbox, SentriSmart™ will ask if you want to use the agent safety feature. If you press the start button, note that you will need to keep checking the app every 90-120 seconds to confirm you are still safe.

If you don’t periodically confirm your safety, your emergency contacts will receive a message from SentriSmart™ and you’ll start receiving a flurry of phone calls and/or text messages from those contacts. (I mention this as RMLS™ has heard reports from users who learned this lesson the hard way.)

The agent safety feature also integrates with the facial recognition/Touch ID features that are part of the new SentriSmart™ update. If you haven’t updated the app for a while, be sure and do so! And if you haven’t started using SentriSmart™, it’s available through both the Apple App Store and Google Play, and well worth checking out.

Technical Terry

The RMLS™ board voted to adjust the RMLS™ default SentriLock hours earlier this year based on feedback received from subscribers after the last change. Default lockbox hours are now 8am-10pm Pacific.

Subscribers will need to take action for these default lockbox hours to be in effect. First, update your SentriCard® using the SentriCard® reader (this is not required if you’ve been keeping your card in your RAD). Then simply insert the card into each lockbox and wait until the series of beeps is finished.

We know that some of you prefer to set your own lockbox hours based on your clients’ needs or your own preferences. We’ve produced a short video about how to set your own lockbox hours:

(Our trainers say that the later steps in this video, neglecting to use the SentriCard to log in to the SentriLock website after inserting a card into the lockbox, is the most frequent mistake users make in this process.)

If you prefer written instructions, see the instructions on changing your lockbox hours in our previous post.

RMLS™ rolled out updates earlier this week on RMLSweb to improve the site’s performance on tablet computers. In addition to the features we knew would be going live, we were able to work with our map vendor to squeeze in another improvement: the ability to draw map shapes on a tablet!

How do you do it? We prepared a short video demonstration (view at full screen to see important details):

A key to successful map shapes on your tablet is clicking to close the shape, using the button at the top of the map search interface.

(We’re using our RMLS™ pen to navigate, which is designed to convert easily between a ballpoint pen and a stylish stylus. Stop by your local RMLS™ office for one of your own!)

Let us know how this feature is working for you! RMLS™ has been excited for the release of these improvements and hope they make your job easier in the coming months. As usual, call the RMLS™ Help Desk if we can help: (503) 872-8002 or (877) 256-2169 toll free.

Later this year, RMLS™ will be transitioning from the Supra lockbox system to the SentriLock system. We’ve put together a brief video with John Ayers, Vice President of Subscriber Services, walking through the equipment and how to perform basic functions:

RMLS™ SentriLock equipment will include the following:

SentriLock Lockbox (NXT wireless model)
SentriCard

Remote Access Device (RAD)

Card Reader

As John mentions in the video, each of the RMLS™ offices now has demo equipment available. We encourage subscribers to visit their local office and test it out!

UPDATE (April 29, 2013)
We’ve taken some photos of a Supra lockbox next to a SentriLock lockbox so subscribers may note size differences. As for weight, using the same scale at the RMLS™ office in Portland, the Supra lockbox is 2.2 pounds, and the SentriLock lockbox is 2.4 pounds.

UPDATE (April 30, 2013)

Subscribers may view a sample SentriLock showing report.

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