MLS Launching Pad. Training for Real Estate Professionals from Midwest Real Estate Data. MRED Quick Reference Guide

Transcription

1 2443 WARRENVILLE RD SUITE 600 LISLE, ILLINOIS T F MREDLLC.COM MLS Launching Pad Training for Real Estate Professionals from Midwest Real Estate Data MRED Quick Reference Guide TRAINING REGISTRATION HELP DESK HELP DESK HOURS: M-F 8:00 AM 6:00 PM, SAT: 9:00 AM 3:00 PM VISIT US AT MREDLLC.COM FOR TRAINING REGISTRATION, FORMS, AND MORE

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS MLS Launching Pad... 2 Accessing connectmls... 3 Basic functionality - Features of connectmls... 3 connectmls - Special Functions... 3 My MLS Homepage... 4 Widgets... 4 Modify home page layout... 4 Bulletins... 5 Accordion Menus... 5 The Systems Tray... 5 Searching in connectmls... 6 Property Types... 7 Exercise: Property Types... 7 Market Codes and Statuses... 8 Exercise: Sample Life of a Listing... 8 Area Numbers... 9 City... 9 Suburbs... 9 Ways to start a search in connectmls Kinds of Search Fields Number Fields: Exercise: Number Search Yes/No Fields Exercise: Yes/No Fields Detail or Descriptive Fields Boolean Searches - Advanced Techniques with Detail Fields Using Advanced Options to Exclude Exercise: Detail Fields Text Fields Hotsheet Search Market Activity Monitor Printing ing Exercise Solutions Exercise: Property Types Exercise: Sample Life of a Listing Exercise: Number Search Exercise: Yes/No Fields Exercise: Detail Fields Appendix A: How to Register for Classes on 22 Training Manuals & Documentation Training Videos Assistance with Registration MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 1

3 MLS LAUNCHING PAD Welcome to Midwest Real Estate Data LLC (MRED). As an agent you are part of a world of jargon and acronyms. Today s class will give you a way to decipher many of the words and phrases and help you better understand the tools at your disposal. We will walk you through what the differences are between the various MRED property types and fields, how to work with each kind, and how to view, print and results. Simply put, MRED is responsible for the database of listings. That responsibility includes maintenance of the listings, enforcing of the rules and regulations governing the database, providing a help desk for MRED members and offering training classes on the MRED products. MRED also provides the forms necessary for listing entry and maintenance: listing entry forms for the fourteen property types, status change forms and quality assurance forms. MRED Rules and Regulations and Room Counting Guidelines are available online at Sign in with your agent ID and password. Go to Documents>Rules & Regulations. Your board/association is responsible for everything else: membership issues; grievances between members; new member orientation and continuing education classes; keybox issues; forms for listing, selling or renting real estate and the riders to those forms as well as disclosures; billing and collection of dues and fees. Now let s take a look at what MRED offers. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 2

4 ACCESSING CONNECTMLS On the Internet, go to click on the connectmls logo. This system is a state-of-the-art internet-based MLS product. Basic functionality - Features of connectmls searching for listings (whether active or off-market) property history; current & archive viewing photos finding tours and open houses Area Market Survey, Market Addendum Report, Market Share Report and Market Statistics Report searching for other agents or offices working with the Realist tax database; includes tax information for all Illinois counties plus some in Indiana, and Wisconsin saving and reusing searches basic ing Beyond this basic functionality, connectmls has special features to offer. connectmls - Special Functions entering and changing listings entering and changing tours and open houses automated prospecting with ing of new matches (as often as twice a day or as infrequently as every three weeks) ing up to 300 listings at a time as a link to a dynamic, interactive web page; driving directions highly customizable personalization feature ability to create listing flyers rubber band map search CMA report statistical charts and graphs hotsheets and Market Trends transaction Manager to connect invited parties into a real estate transaction; additional workspace Custom Templates for s, flyers, and CMA s Realtor Favorite Lists CMA Stationery Homepage widgets Teams connectmls wireless MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 3

5 MY MLS HOMEPAGE Widgets The My MLS homepage widgets (sections) can now be moved around on your agent desktop by using a click and drag method. If you want to reset your homepage back to the system default you may do so by clicking on Setup and Reset Home Page Layout. This functionality allows agents to customize their agent desktop in the way that works best for them. Modify home page layout Under the Setup tab click on the Modify home page layout link. Step 1: Choose the template you wish to use for your home page layout. Step 2: Using your mouse click and drag each widget to where you want it to appear on the home page. Click the X to remove sections. A resize option is available for some sections. Step 3: Any widgets that are currently not displaying on your MyMLS home page will be listed here. Click on the + to add any widget to your home page. Note: The Board Message section cannot be removed from the home page and must remain in one of the top positions on the home page. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 4

6 Bulletins Bulletins are a way for MRED, your Association and your Office to communicate important messages to you. Also, fine notices from the MRED rules Whenever MRED s Compliance Department issues a Rules Alert for a potential violation, an is sent to the Listing Office agent, broker & secretary and a posting is made under the Alerts Section on the My MLS tab. PLEASE NOTE: an alert will continue to display on connectmls for five days after the agent, broker or secretary has clicked I Acknowledge before being archived regardless of whether or not the necessary changes to a listing have been made. In fact, if you never acknowledge the alert, it will stay there forever. So, when you have received a Rules Alert and have addressed it, don t be alarmed that it continues to show on your My MLS tab. It will archive shortly... Accordion Menus The Quick Search and Tools, Resources and Links sections are accordion menus. You can click on the heading that you would like to expand for more options. This allows for more space on the agent desktop. Click on the grey headings to open the menu below. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 5

7 The Systems Tray The systems tray is located in the upper right hand corner of the screen. This portion of connectmls will always be there no matter where you are in connectmls. From the systems tray, you can access a variety of features quickly by clicking on any of the icons or links. My Listings /Transactions My Service Partners My Favorites Tools, Resources & Links My Clients Prospecting Manager Realist Tax Power Search Contact MRED Clicking here will open MRED Customer Support information and contact numbers. Help Clicking here will open short demos, FAQ s and manuals provided by the creators of connectmls. New Workspace Clicking on New Workspace will open another connectmls screen in a new tab. The New Workspace will open displaying the same tab you are working in on your primary connectmls page. This allows you to perform multiple functions at one time. Sign Out Clicking here will log you out of the connectmls system. You should log out at the end of each session to avoid the possibility of someone else using your connectmls account. SEARCHING IN CONNECTMLS Information in MRED systems comes from the listing input sheets used by listing agents when they enter their listings. There are fourteen property types made up of both residential and commercial in use. This class focuses on residential property types only. Each property type has its own listing input sheet. Online editable versions of these sheets are available at by clicking on Rules & Photos and then click on Forms then Listing Input Forms or in connectmls under the Forms tab. Get familiar with the listing entry forms for the properties you work with most often in order to better know what fields are available to be searched. It is also important to note which fields are required and which fields are not required. If you search non-required fields you may be limiting your results because a listing agent did not input that information. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 6

8 Property Types Property types can be identified by a code or a phrase. The property type serves to identify the use of the property. Seven property types are residential and seven are commercial. Residential Property Types Code Description Detached Single Family DE A single family property that doesn t touch any other single family property and has its own real estate tax identification number (PIN) Attached Single Family AT A single family property that shares at least one wall with another single family property and has its own real estate tax identification number (PIN) 2-4 Units MU Two to four units being sold as a whole with the same real estate tax identification number (PIN) Mobile Homes MH A property with a Vehicle Identification number (VIN) rather than a real estate tax identification number (PIN) Land VL A property where the value is in the land rather than any structure on the land Residential Rental RN Any residential property for rent/lease Deeded Parking/Boat Slips DP A parking space with its own PIN number that can be sold separately NOTE: Commercial Property types can be found in the Commercial training manual by logging in to clicking on Training then clicking Manuals and Documentation. In the connectmls system, property type names are spelled out. Choose the desired type from the drop-down list. Be careful if you choose to search more than one property type at a time by selecting Cross Property (Res) or Cross Property (All). While some fields are common across property types, some fields are specific to a particular property type. Exercise: Property Types What property type would you use to search for: A two-bedroom condo? A two-story house? A condo for rent? A three-flat? A lot suitable for building a new house? MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 7

9 Market Codes and Statuses All listings in the connectmls system fall into one of two market codes. Market Code of Active (MC=A) means the property is available; Market Code of Off Market (MC=O) indicates a property that is no longer available. Each Market Code is further divided into statuses. MC=A (Market Code Active) NEW = New * PCHG=Price Change * TEMP= Temporarily Off-Market RACT=Reactivated * CTG=Contingent BOMK=Back on Market * ACTV=Active AUCT=Auction MC=O (Market Code Off-Market) PEND=Pending CLSD=Closed EXP=Expired CANC=Cancelled RNTD=Rented (*)Indicates 5-day statuses. Contingent listings show Contingency Flags to identify the type of contract. A/I Contingent on attorney approval and/or home inspection FIN Contingent on financing approval HS (24,48,72) HC (24,48,72) Contingent on sale of another property, the number that follows is the number of hours in kick-out period Contingent on closing of another property, the number that follows is the number of hours in kick-out period SS Contingent on Short Sale CTGO Contingent on some other condition (for example, trailing spouse approval) Market Codes, Statuses and Contingency Flags are defined in the residential and commercial glossaries available at and connectmls. See the Rules & Photos section at for the complete text of the rules governing the use of statuses and contingency flags. For additional information about how to use statuses and contingency flags in your business, and the forms necessary to work with them please contact your manager, broker, mentor or board. Exercise: Sample Life of a Listing NEW ( days) ACTV CTG (A/I) RACT ( days) ACTV PCHG ( days) ACTV CTG (FIN) PEND CLSD MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 8

10 Area Numbers Area numbers are a quick way to define a particular town (in the suburbs) or neighborhood (in the city). Printable lists in both numeric and alphabetical order are available at and connectmls on the Forms tab and you click on MRED Listing Forms, etc. A convenient Pick List is available when searching by clicking on the icon to the right of the area field. Begin typing the city name or area number in the box to quickly locate a particular area. Click on an area or areas to add to your selected areas to search. Clicking on an association abbreviations or a state, will narrow down the list to areas within those association or states. If the Maps On is checked and the associations map is available, areas will display on a map. When you select an area or areas, the area numbers will appear in the selected box. To unselect an area, click on it with your mouse and then click on unselect. If you are simply typing in the areas: To search more than one area at the same time, separate them with a comma. City Within Chicago, area numbers are four digits long and related to the census tract number of the neighborhood. Area names are often related to the name of the park district that serves the neighborhood. For example, Lincoln Park is area Suburbs The greater Chicagoland suburbs are identified by area numbers that are usually (but not always) related to the zip code. A town will have only one area number no matter how many zip codes it has. For example, all of Naperville is area 540, all of Arlington Heights is 5, all of Highland Park is 35. Some communities share a zip code. In many cases, the communities have different area numbers. Both Oakbrook Terrace and Villa Park have the zip code; the area number for Oakbrook Terrace is 181; Villa Park is 186. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 9

11 WAYS TO START A SEARCH IN CONNECTMLS There are multiple ways to begin a search in connectmls. The main search function is found by clicking on the search tab. You can also use the Quick Search function on your MyMLS homepage, select Start a New Search from your Previous Search widget or use the Power Search icon to perform quick simple searches. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 10

12 KINDS OF SEARCH FIELDS There are four basic types of fields used in searching: number fields, yes or no fields, detail (or descriptive) fields and text fields. While there are many fields of each type, all of the fields of a type work the same way. connectmls Default Search Screen Detached Selection Lists: choices pop up in a new window Numeric Detail/Descriptive fields with Pick Lists. Yes/No Fields MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 11

13 Number Fields: Search number fields in one of four ways. You can search for an exact number, equal to or less than a specific number, equal to or more than a specific number, or a range from one number to another. Number fields are those such as listing price; number of bedrooms or Full/Half baths; unit floor level; number of interior fireplaces or coordinates (North, South, East, West). For price, the system automatically adds three zeroes. Unless you are searching in Residential Rental. Search Price field for all properties except RN Use the Min and Max fields to tell the system how to use the values. To search for: MIN MAX A price of $300, A price up to $300, A price of $300,000 or more 300 A price between $300,000 and $450, Another unique field in the number fields is the number of baths. The field actually has two parts: number of full baths and number of half baths. Baths are counted and the totals entered. A full bath is one that has at least three fixtures: a sink, a toilet, and either a bath or shower (or both). A home with two full and one half baths would be entered as 2 full and 1 half; one with two full and two half baths would be entered as 2 full and 2 half. The bath field would display on a report as 2/1 or 2/2. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 12

14 Exercise: Number Search How would you search for: Field Name MIN MAX A property between $600,000 and $650,000? A property with at least 1-1/2 baths? Hint: Identify the Field Name from the appropriate listing entry form. Yes/No Fields Yes/No fields allow for quick searching of general information about the property. Fields such as Basement Bath, Pets Allowed, Built before 1978, and Is property also listed for rent allow for quick identification of properties with broad features. When searching, enter Y in the search field to get properties with the feature, N to eliminate properties with the feature. Or you may leave the search field blank if it does not matter. Exercise: Yes/No Fields How would you use Yes/No fields to search for... Field Name Value A condominium complex that allows pets? A home built after 1978? MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 13

15 Detail or Descriptive Fields Detail fields provide detailed information about the property features. Use these fields to find specific amenities of the property. There are many descriptive fields in connectmls some examples include Lot Description, Parking, Basement, Style of House and Area Amenities. These fields provide a pick list of available choices when the drop-down arrow is clicked. You can also use an autocomplete function in descriptive fields. Begin typing any letter in the field and the pick list will narrow to selections only containing that letter or combination of letters. Pick List example using drop down arrow Pick list using auto-complete To add fields to your search, click on Add/Remove Fields in the lower right corner of the search screen. Begin typing the field name in the Available Fields box to narrow the list of available fields. Double click to add the field(s) to the currently selected fields list on the right. Turn on Show Advanced Options (at the bottom left of the search screen) to work with detail fields more accurately. Boolean Searches - Advanced Techniques with Detail Fields connectmls offers even more advanced searching. Turn on Show Advanced Options (at the bottom left of the search screen), by clicking on the checkbox, to work with detail fields more accurately To search for a fireplace that must have an attached door, must not have any see through/multi-sided. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 14

16 Using Advanced Options to Exclude To exclude certain fields from the search use the auto-complete or pick list from the Must NOT Have Any field. In the below example we are excluding split level homes from our search. The Must NOT Have Any feature is particularly useful for searching marketing fields that may have been left blank by the listing agent. The search will eliminate properties identified as having the unwanted feature, but not properties where the field was left blank. Exercise: Detail Fields How would you use descriptive fields to look for Field Name Advanced Option A split level home? A home built of either brick or vinyl siding? Text Fields Text fields are those fields where the listing agent simply types in information, such as Street Name, Remarks, and Model. When searching text fields use as little information as possible. The search will locate properties where the field begins with what you are searching for, even if there is more information in the field. To search for properties on Warrenville Road: More on working with text fields in the connectmls Searching class. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 15

17 HOTSHEET SEARCH A Hotsheet is a way of staying in touch with activity in your market place quickly and easily. A Hotsheet may be saved on the search screen or default search areas may be added under the Setup tab by clicking on Search& Report Defaults and scrolling to Default Hotsheet Search Areas. Once the desired criteria are entered, click View Results to view activity sorted by property type and status. Note: NEW, PCHG, BACK and RACT are five-day statuses. Use caution if searching more than five days back. MARKET ACTIVITY MONITOR On the My MLS tab, you can view the Market Activity and change the number of days back as well as change the filter to a specific property type and area. Click on Customize View to change the market monitor to a pie chart view and to add property type and area. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 16

18 PRINTING Select the set of listings you would like to print. Click either the Quick Print or Advanced Print options. The Quick Print will print whatever is on your screen. For example, if you are viewing the 1-line summary and select multiple properties, then click on the quick print, the 1-line summary for those properties selected will print. If you select properties then view a detailed report for those properties and select quick print, the report type you selected will print for each property selected. If you click on Advanced Print, this will allow you to: a.choose from Selected, Current Page, or All listings b. Print Multiple Report types for a given set of listings c. Include Statistics, Search Criteria and maps for every report d.download your reports as a PDF Select the print options: a. Select which properties from the search results screen you wish to print. b. Add additional reports to print, if desired, by moving the available reports to the currently selected reports box by highlighting the report under the Available Reports section and clicking on the right arrow. For detailed reports, text color may be selected. Once the desired detailed report is selected from the Available Reports list and added to selected reports, use the drop down arrow next to the Detailed Report Data Color to select blue or black text. c. Add search criteria or statistics to the top of the page, separate page or not at all. Print small or large maps of the selected listings. Also you can choose to print criteria, statistics and a map. Click the Continue button to display a print preview of your selected listings. Then click on Print at the top bar. Your print dialog box will pop-up and you can click on the print button in the dialog box to send to your printer. From the print preview display you can also choose to download the selected listings as a PDF. Click on Cancel from the print options page to return to the properties and not print.. Note: Changing the color here will change your default as well. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 17

19 ING Click the link to the selected listings on your search results screen. You can select up to 15 contacts to at once. Template Choices Spell Check-Only available when using Internet Explorer. Firefox and Google Chrome will underline misspelled words. Composer Screen MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 18

20 In the composer, use Step 1 to select an existing client or enter a new one. To receive a notification of the in your own personal , check the box marked BCC me and this will Blind Carbon Copy you meaning the other people you will not see that it was also sent to you. Click on the drop down list to select an existing client. Click on the Add new client link to enter someone new to your client base. Complete the fields before moving to the next step. In Step 2, provide a Folder Name. If this is the first time you are sending listings to this client, a default folder name will appear as Property followed by the property type. For example, Property-Detached Single you can modify this or leave as is. The folder name is displayed to your client and can help differentiate between groups of properties if more than one is being sent. You can also choose an existing folder name from the drop down list if you have already created one for this client or add a new one as needed. Next select which Client Detailed Report you want to send. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 19

21 Step 3, displays the text of the message that your client(s) will receive and allows you to edit any content. You can change the template by selecting another template from the Template Name drop down list or if you click on Modify you can create new templates or choose from additional templates. Note that any field within brackets is auto-filled by connectmls based on selections you have made previously. Finally you can select to Include the connectmls business card to give your client your full contact information. NOTE: Spell Check only available when using Internet Explorer Click Send to send the message. This is a one-time manual . MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 20

22 EXERCISE SOLUTIONS Exercise: Property Types What property type would you use to search for: A two-bedroom condo? A two-story house? A condo for rent? A three-flat? A lot suitable for building a new house? Attached or AT Detached or DE Rental or RN Multi-unit 2-4 Units or MU Vacant land or VL Exercise: Sample Life of a Listing NEW (5 days) ACTV CTG (A/I) RACT (5 days) ACTV PCHG (5 days) ACTV CTG (FIN) PEND CLSD Exercise: Number Search How would you search for: Field Name MIN MAX A property between $600,000 and $650,000? Search price A property with at least 1-1/2 baths? Baths _1.1 Exercise: Yes/No Fields How would you use Yes/No fields to search for... Field Name Value A condominium complex that allows pets? Pets Allowed Y A home built after 1978? Built before 1978? N Exercise: Detail Fields How would you use detail fields to look for Field Name Advanced Option A split level home? Type Detached Equals Any A home built of either brick or vinyl siding? Exterior Building Type Must Have 1 or More MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 21

23 APPENDIX A: HOW TO REGISTER FOR CLASSES ON Go to use your agent ID and password to log in. Once logged into the site, click on Training on the menu bar. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 22

24 Use the tabs across the top to search by Class name, location, instructor or date. If searching by class, click on the button for online classes, hands on classes or lab days to narrow the list of classes to just those types then use the drop down arrow to select a specific class. If you want to search all hands on classes just click Hands-On Classes, then select Search all HANDS ON Classes and click on Search. The same can be done for online classes or MRED lab days. You will be presented with a list of classes meeting your criteria. From the results of classes you can click on Show Schedule (if you have searched ALL classes) and then click on the class that you want to register for. A window will open below the class with information If one or more seats are available click on Register Class. If no seats are available, You can click on Ask to be notified if there is a cancellation. If a cancellation takes place you will receive an and can then register for the class as long as the space is still available If you are already registered for the class and click on Register, the message will read, You are already registered for this class. Click here to cancel this class. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 23

25 Also in the training section, select My Classes link on the right side or from the drop down menu under Training, to review your current and past class registrations or cancellations. Active registrations will be shown in white, to cancel and active registration click on the Click here to cancel link under Status. To leave feedback about a class you attended (attended classes are shown in green) click on the Leave Feedback? link under status. Cancelled classes will be shown in light red and the Status column shows the date you cancelled. TRAINING MANUALS & DOCUMENTATION MRED training manuals & documentation can be found on our website. Go to and log in with your user ID and password. From there, you can access training materials by selecting Training and then clicking on Manuals & Documentation. The documents are available as Adobe PDF files (requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader software), and may be viewed, printed, or downloaded. Please Note that MRED does not recommend printing manuals because the information changes frequently. TRAINING VIDEOS MRED offers training videos that you can watch at any time on a variety of topics & products. To view MRED s library of training videos log on to and click on training. From either the right side of the page or at the bottom click on Training Videos. Select any video to watch by clicking on the name. ASSISTANCE WITH REGISTRATION Call the MRED Training Department for help with registration, determining which class is right for you, Lab days or Custom Training at Click Here for a list of Hands on computer class and Click Here for a list of Online class descriptions as well as WebEx computer requirements. MRED LLC All Rights Reserved Revised 05/13/14 PG. 24