CENTURY 21 REAL ESTATE LLC. Listing Central. User Guide 4/28/2010 1

Transcription

1 CENTURY 21 REAL ESTATE LLC Listing Central User Guide 4/28/2010 1

2 Introduction The Listing Central User Guide gives instructions on how a 21Online user can fully utilize the tool and features available through the Listing Central system. Listing Central Listing Central is the essential tool to enhance your listings. The tool includes more robust property descriptions, add photos, schedule an Open House and even add slide shows and tours, all within one easy to use application. Brokers can also create listings as well as edit and enhance them. Best of all, any additions or enhancements will automatically update CREST EDG and century21.com immediately. Accessing Listing Central Listing Central can be easily accessed by the following 21Online user roles: Broker (Broker, and/or Owner) Agent (An account that holds a sales position in CREST EDG) Office Admin High (Office Managers, Office Admin; non-sales position in CREST EDG) Office Admin Low (Office Admin; non-sales position in CREST EDG) NOTE: At this time any company participating in the 3rd Party Integration program also known as back-office management system will not be able to access Listing Central. Refer to the FAQ at the end for details A user will be able to access Listing Central on 21Online.com from 3 different locations for your convenience: 1. Tool Library widget 2. My Listings widget 3. Listings Link 4/28/2010 2

3 Listing Central Home Page The Listing Central home page contains modules with menus that allow a user ability to create a new residential listing (Broker or Admin only), to manage your listings and even continue working on a previous listing(s) by using the My Alerts section. Depending on the user s 21Online.com role (Broker, Agent, Office Admin High, and Office Admin Low) different information and tools will be accessible to them in Listing Central. Listing Central is broken down into 2 views: Agent view (Agent access role) and a Broker view (Broker, Office Admin High, and Office Admin Low access role) The difference between both views is the option to create a new listing by using the Create a New Residential Listing button which is part of the Broker view. This is not available for the Agents view. Agents are only be able to Preview or Edit their own listings. Agent Broker Office Office Admin High Admin Low Edit listings YES YES YES YES Create a new listing NO YES YES YES 4/28/2010 3

4 Broker view Figure 1 Listing Central Broker view with the option to CREATE and EDIT listing records. Agent view 4/28/2010 4

5 Listing Central Agent view has almost similar view as Broker view with the difference that the Agent can only see and use the Edit option for existing listing records. My Alerts (Located top left just below Listing Central Main Menu title) My Alerts numerically aggregates and categorizes all of the listings that require the user s attention. My Alerts Categories Listings You Are Editing This will display all of the listing records with edits currently waiting to be published. Users have the option to Preview or Edit Selecting the Edit option will load the listings in your last save location. If all information is correct, the user can then publish the listing to display on Century21.com and also send the information to CREST EDG. CREST Updates Failed The CREST Updates Failed alert displays a count of all listing records that, when sent from Listing Central to CREST EDG, encountered a failure. The CREST Updates Failed alert details screen displays both current status of the listing record and the failure details. Archived Listings The Archived Listings alert displays a count of all listing records archived by either the Agent or Broker. The Archived Listings alert details screen displays all currently archived listing edit records and allows users to un-archive the records. See section listing display for more information. Recently Published Listings The Recently Published Listings alert displays a count of all listing records published within the last 7 days. 4/28/2010 5

6 Create a New Residential Listing This functionality is only available to Broker, Office Manager and Office Admin access roles. They will be able to create a new residential listing to display on century21.com and CREST EDG. To begin a new listing, click on the Create a New Residential Listing button (Below). Accessing this section will lead users to the Create New Listing s dialogue screen starting with 1. Property Type (First Step) Property Type Users must select the appropriate Property Type and click CONTINUE in order to proceed to next step: 2. Basic Property Information Basic Property Information In this section users are asked to enter basic property information about the listing such as Address, City, and State, as well as the ability to select the agent representing the listing. (see next figure) 4/28/2010 6

7 Note: we used Single Family Attached as the selected property type for our example shown. When filling the basic property information section: Zip/Postal Code, Address line 1/APN, City, and State/Province, the map tool will automatically auto populate the listing s exact location. If the location is not right where it should be or you would like to move the pin closer to the actual property, use instructions mentioned under map tool. TIP: In the map tool, switch from road view to aerial view by clicking on the Aerial button in the map tool. Doing this will switch from a digital map to an actual satellite image. By using the RED pin as a guide and the magnifying glass (+) to zoom. You can pinpoint where the exact location of property is compared to where the red pin is placed. 4/28/2010 7

8 In the Basic Property Information by default, Country is set to United States. Please do not modify this field since CREST EDG will reject any record where the country was changed to something other than United States. Use of this function is reserved for a future enhancement. After all required information is filled and you click on the continue button, the listing record is automatically saved to the 21Online Listing Central database. The user can comfortably close the window or even exit Listing Central and will be able to return to it at a later time and finish completing the rest of the information by using the My Alerts section or EDIT from the home page. Listing Editor Activities This section will allow a user to edit, change or add any content to a current listing record that was either saved from the Create a New Listing section or a listing that was entered through CREST EDG. The Listing Editor allows users to differentiate their listing records by adding property features, pictures, virtual tours, open houses, etc. All listing editor options are organized into categories that can be quickly cycled through using the left-hand category tabs. Each category tab contains data that populates based on the property type and sale type. Each item is often grouped into multiple sections of like-data within each category. Listing Central contains a persistent bread-crumb navigation bar that allows users to easily return to previously viewed dialogue screens. Moreover, if one has imported a listing from CREST EDG, all of the CREST-correlated fields are populated with data corresponding to the CREST EDG data. When Listing Central users edit and publish; new CREST EDG related data will be pushed from Listing Central to CREST EDG instantaneously. 4/28/2010 8

9 Listing Editor Interface Tabs Note: Functionality within the Listing Central Interface tabs may vary depending on view; by default Broker view has more options than an Agent view. Basic Information Basic Information contains all of the information initially input during the Create a New Listing process along with a few other data points (based on property/sale type). If importing a CREST EDG listing, many of the fields will prepopulate with the CREST EDG listing data. It should be noted that the basic information for address, city, state, and zip code are not editable by an agent after initial creation. A user with Broker access privileges can edit the basic information such as address, city, state, and zip code Overview Overview contains information regarding the basics of the property. It may include number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, square footage, etc. (data dependent on property/sale type). If importing a CREST EDG listing, many of the fields will be pre-populated with the CREST EDG listing data. 4/28/2010 9

10 *Click drop down menu below to view more options Property Age: Property Use: Zoning: New Construction Ow ner Occupied Farm Number of Bedrooms: Enter the total number of bedrooms. Whole number (integer) Number of Full Baths: Enter the total number of full baths. Whole number (integer) Number of Half Baths: Enter the total number of half baths. Whole number (integer) Residential Square Footage: Enter the total square footage of your residential property, measured in square feet (Numeric) Year Built: Enter the approximate year built. (No ranges, 4 numbers required, Example: 1977, 2010) Property Age: Select your property's age (Drop down menu). Property Use: Indicate what the property will be used for (Drop down menu). Zoning: Select the zoning for your property (Drop down menu). Zoning Compliance: Select from the check box option YES or NO 55+ (FHA Compliant): Select check box if this is an adult living/55+ property. Special Programs: Select the special programs for which this property qualifies. Text (Maximum length of 100 characters) Pets Allowed: Yes indicates that pets are allowed. 4/28/

11 Property Amenities: Select any of the amenities this property includes. Multiple selections are possible by clicking on the check box. Interior Interior contains information regarding the interior of the property, and may include number of garage spaces, fireplace type, etc (Data points depended on property/sale type). If importing a CREST EDG listing, many of the fields will pre-populate with CREST EDG listing data. *Click drop down menu below to view more options Fireplace Type: Heat Source: Air Conditioning: Water Type: Sewer Type: Fireplace Baseboard - Electric A/C City City Fireplace Type: Select the number of fireplaces in your property (Drop down menu). Heat Source: Select the appropriate heating source for this property (Drop down menu). Air Conditioning: Select the appropriate air conditioning type for this property. (Drop down menu). Water Type: Select your property's water source (Drop down menu). Sewer Type: Select your property's sewer source (Drop down menu). 4/28/

12 *Click drop down menu below to view more options Basement Type: Flooring Type: Garage Features: Full Basement Hardw ood Garage Basement Type: Select the type of basement (Drop down menu). Flooring Type: Select type of flooring using drop down menu (Drop down menu). Garage Features: Select any of the features that describe the garage (Drop down menu) Rooms: Select your property's rooms. (Check appropriate boxes) Exterior Exterior contains information regarding the exterior of the property, and may include number of lot size, roof type, etc (Data points depended on property/sale type). If importing a CREST EDG listing, many of the fields will prepopulate with CREST EDG listing data. *Click drop down menu below to view more options Style Type: Construction Type: Roof Type: Construction/Siding: Colonial Frame/Wood Asphalt Shingle Log 4/28/

13 Style Type: Select the exterior style(s) that most closely match (es) that of your property (Drop down menu). Construction Type: Select the material type(s) used to construct your property (Drop down menu). Roof Type: Select the type of roof (Drop down menu). Construction/Siding: Select the type of construction and siding that most closely describes your building(s) (Drop down menu). Road Type: From the check box select the type of road that services this property. Flood Area: Yes- indicates that the property is located in a flood area. Farm Assessment: Yes- indicates that this property has been assessed for farming. Approximate Lot Size: Select the lot size of your property (Drop down menu). Lot Size: Enter the lot size for this property. (i.e. 2.2 Acres) Easement: Select the easement requirements of this property. (YES or NO) Site/View: From the check box select your property's Site/View characteristics 4/28/

14 Community Living: Select the community living status of this property. Community Amenities: Select the amenities featured at this property. Multiple selections are possible by using check box Finance Finance contains information regarding the finances of the property, and may include taxes, maintenance fees, etc (Data points depended on property/sale type). Description Description contains a number of free text options that allows users to write descriptions regarding the property record. Some of the description types include Area Description, Directions, and Highlights. 4/28/

15 ADD A NEW DESCRIPTION - Clicking on this button (above) will allow a user to add information regarding the property... the Add new description window will appear. Add new description in this section a user can select the Type used for the description using the drop down menu. The description field can be up to 4,000 characters and can be either typed in or copy/pasted from a document. *Click drop down menu below to view more options Type: Area Description After all information has been enter the user can then click on CONTINUE to proceed to the next step. Note: image above shows the remaining 3,673 characters left to add... Always pay attention to this counter when copying and pasting from a word document or any other text source where character count is not shown. 4/28/

16 Information entered will be presented to the user with both type and description. At this point the user can SAVE AND CONTINUE to the next step or can click on the ADD A NEW DESCRIPTION button to enter another description. REMOVE / EDIT- will allow the user to delete that description from that property Room Dimensions Contains information (dimensions), regarding the room(s) of the property. To add a room dimensions (Example 1) you can begin by clicking within the empty fields under Room Name ; this will open a drop down menu (Example 2) where you will have the option to select a category. Example 1 Example 2 4/28/

17 Room Dimensions (Continued) After a selection has been made from the drop down, the user can then proceed in typing in a Length and a Width for that room. Click on the ADD button (Example below) to submit and save changes. If multiple room dimensions are entered, the user may reorder the rooms by using the up and down (blue) arrows next to a room dimension. (Example below) Click on SAVE AND CONTINUE to go on next step. Seller Information (Broker view only) In this section, the user (with a Broker view access role) will have the option to ADD a new seller or multiple sellers by using the ADD SELLER button. If there s a seller s information present for that property, the user will have the option to either EDIT or REMOVE the information from the listing. 4/28/

18 If a user decides to EDIT a seller s information, she/he will be presented with the below screen where all aspects to the seller information can then be edited. To see additional seller Type options please view drop down menu below: Person or Individual Listing Agents (Broker view only) The Listing Agents area contains information (Name, Sales Associate Key, etc.) regarding the Listing Agent(s) for the property. Normally, the information provided in this section will be populated from either the Basic Information section or from CREST EDG data feed. This section of the editor controls who has ownership of the listing, and thus who can view/edit the listing record. Note: The user who creates the listing is automatically added to the listing upon creation, but can remove themselves if they add another agent first. Multiple agents can be added to the same listing. 4/28/

19 Clicking on the ADD A NEW AGENT button will expand the option to add one or more Agent(s) within the same listing. First Name and Last Name must match the actual Agent s Name/Last Name that was entered through the CREST EDG system, otherwise a NO AGENT FOUND... (example below) will display as a search result to the user. TIP: Leaving First Name and Last Name empty, when clicking on the CONTINUE button will populate results with all available Agents in which the user can then select from. 4/28/

20 Additional Commission (Broker Only) Enter the commission split as a percentage for each listing Agent. You may use decimals, but the total commission must add up to exactly 100. For example, for a 60%/40% commission split, enter "60.0" for the first agent, and "40.0" for the second. This information is only editable on 21Online when adding a new listing, and never shows on century21.com or to the public. Once a listing has been transferred to CREST EDG from 21Online, you will no longer be able to edit this information on 21Online/Listing Central. It can be edited in CREST EDG, if needed. Mapping Mapping contains a map display and push pin icon (RED) that represents the property s geographic location on the map. Users can right click anywhere on the map to create a new push pin location (blue). TIP: In the map tool, switch from road view to aerial view by clicking on the Aerial button in the map tool. Doing this will switch from a digital map to an actual satellite shot. By using the RED pin as a guide and the magnifying glass (+) to zoom, it helps you pin point where the exact location of property is compared to where the red pin is placed. If changes are required, just right click and a blue pin will show. 4/28/

21 Media/Photos General Media/Photos allow users to upload, set display order, and add captions to photos they want to associate with the listing record. Users can also choose whether the photos display on the century21 Internet web site. 4/28/

22 Clicking on the REMOVE button will delete image from that listing. Clicking on the EDIT button will allow the users to edit that particular image (below) To add new photos: From the main PHOTOS section, Click ADD NEW MEDIA/FILE The Upload New Photos window will appear. Select the ADD FILES button which will prompt the user to locate images within computer s file folders. After all images have been added to the upload window, select UPLOAD 4/28/

23 Change Image Order Finally, once all images have been entered for that property, the user can then change the order by following the instructions below: Click and drag the images to place them into the display order you desire. Then click "Save & Continue" to save the arrangement. If you decide to use a slide show, then the order the images appear on this page will be the order used in the slide show. Virtual Tours Virtual Tours allows users set the URLs location and caption for virtual tours displaying on third-party internet sites. Open houses Open houses allow users to create Open houses (including date, start and end times and descriptions) that they want to associate with the listing record. To enter an Open House click the ADD OPEN HOUSE button (below) 4/28/

24 Enter all appropriate information pertaining to the listing s open house. Once finished click on SAVE (below) It should be noted that users cannot create more than one open house record per day. Status/Publish Status/Publish is a multi-functional tab that allows users to change the listing record s listing status (active, cancelled, expired, etc.), publish status (published, archived) and if the property, its address, or price can be displayed on the century21 Internet web site. Users also have the option to revert the edited listing data back to the last published listing data. This tab also institutes business and technical rules and safeguards to make sure the listing meets all needed business and technical data requirements. For instance, if a user has forgotten to fill in a required section before selecting this tab, the tab will notify them and not let them select any of the features contained on the tab until they are filled. Moreover, the tab will notify the user if the listing does not meet the requirements to be displayed on the web. It should be noted that after publishing a listing, it can take up to 2 hours to be viewable on the century21 web site. 4/28/

25 Manage Listings Manage Listings allows the user to preview, or edit their listings. Preview Preview allows users to get a preview of how their listing will appear on various parts of the century21.com web site without having to actually publish it. Edit Once a user selects to edit a listing they wish to update they will be taken to the Listing Central activity screen. Please view that section for details. Quick Search The quick search interface allows users to filter property records by Listing ID or Street Address. As filter inputs change, so will the listing records available for editing. It should be noted that the listing ID search filter is case sensitive across all of Listing Central and listing ID accepts either the CREST EDG express ID or the LISTING CENTRAL listing ID. Advanced Search The Advanced search interface allows users to filter property records by Listing Status, Approval State, Location, Listing ID, Listing Create Date, Listing Contact Name (Agent view only) or Listing Agent (Broker view only). As filter inputs change, so will the listing records available for editing. 4/28/

26 It should be noted that the listing ID search filter is case sensitive across all of Listing Central and listing ID accepts either the CREST EDG express ID or the Listing Central ID. 4/28/

27 APPENDIX A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q: Since CREST feeds to Listing Central and Listing Central feeds back to CREST; how will this impact companies that use 3rd Party Integration systems such as Lucero or Account Tech? A: Companies using Third-Party back office management systems/software will not be able to use Listing Central. They will need to continue entering their listings through their 3rd Party Integration program. The 3rd Party Integration feeds only to CREST EDG it does not integrate with the Listing Central Tool so as not to interfere with the single point of input for listings with the local MLS. Q: What if my company is in process to become part of the 3rd Party Integration program? A: Once the company becomes approved and active with 3rd Party Integration, the Listing Central data base will be updated the next day. User will no longer be able to access Listing Central. Q: There is a lot more data entry power in the new tool. Will there be a form the broker or manager can print out and hand to agent so he/she may complete and return to broker to complete the full listing enhancement or creation? A: There are forms available for download / print in CREST EDG that brokers may use to gather information on an Agent s listing for data entry purposes. The forms are located inside the CREST EDG menu option entitled [Blank Forms]. Some MLS software programs provide similar forms. Q: What happens if 21Online.com times out will the information on the new or enhanced listing be lost? A: No. Once a listing has passed the Basic Information window screen in the Listing Editor Interface, a user will be able to save the information after each step is completed by using the SAVE AND CONTINUE button. If an end user is timed out, he or she will be able to resume their edits from the point the user was timed out of 21Online.com. Q: If a change is made to the Agent in Listing Central, will that update be included in the feed to CREST EDG? A: Yes. All changes made in Listing Central, whether it is agent specific, property specific or any other information for that matter, will be included in the feed update to CREST EDG. Q: How often will Listing Central feed updates to CREST EDG? A: Once a property is published in Listing Central, the information will update CREST EDG in minutes. Process will be almost instantaneous. 4/28/

28 Q: Could you provide the time flow from the point when a listing is created or enhanced in Listing Central to the point at which it appears on century21.com? A: Same answer as previous question...changes made in Listing Central will update century21.com immediately. Q: How will the images I entered in 21Online Enhanced Listings show up in CREST EDG and on century21.com? A: Any photos that have been brought over from the legacy Enhanced Listings tool will now appear in the CREST EDG and century21.com slide show photo list. They will appear after the photos that already existed in CREST EDG and in the same order sequence as they were in Enhanced Listings. Q: How do I reorder my photos or remove duplicates? A: User can easily access Listings Central to reorder their images or remove duplicates. Q: Why are some of my images missing? A: While every effort was made for a seamless transition to the new system, it is possible that images were missing or lost during the initial data upload process. You can quickly reload any missing images through the new Listings Central application. Q: How did Listings Central handle multiple or duplicate Open House dates during the sync process? A: Exact duplicate Open House dates and times were ignored when initially uploaded. Listings with multiple or different Open House dates and times will append to CREST EDG. Q: How did Listings Central handle the initial upload of Floor plans, if any? A: With the initial upload of data from Enhanced Listings into CREST EDG, any floor plan images found will be displayed as additional property photos in the list placed after the original CREST EDG images and the newly added Enhanced Listings tool images. Subsequently added Floor Plans will feed to century21.com and display under the Floor Plan tab. This was necessary because CREST EDG does not accommodate floor plans specifically. 4/28/