Listing Management User's Guide

Transcript

VERSION 3.16 Listing Management for MLSListings Professional Edition User’s Guide MLSListings Inc. https://pro.mlslistings.com 408 874-0200 Customer Service 408 734-5787 Fax 408 341-8900 [email protected] ©2007-2009 MLSListings Inc. All rights reserved. MLSListings, 350 Oakmead Parkway, 2nd Floor, Sunnyvale, CA 94085 Revision Date: 10/27/09 Contents Preface Audience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii MLSListings Inc. Documentation Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Accessing MLSListings Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix MLSListings Customer Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x 1 Overview About Listing Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Features and Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 User Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 How Agents Use Listing Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 How Broker Participants Use Listing Management . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 How Assistants Use Listing Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Product Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Browser Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Counties Served . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Property Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2 Getting Started Logging In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 My Listings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Process Overview — Adding a New Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Listing Roadmap — Class 1 Property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 iii Navigating a Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Saving a Draft Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Mandatory Updates for Your Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 3 Listing Properties Preparing to Add a Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Using the Listing Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Listing Rules and Regulations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Starting a New Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Entering Basic Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Entering Overview Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Entering Interior Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Entering Exterior Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Entering Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Entering Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Open House and Tour Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Scheduling Open Houses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Adding Tour Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Adding Photos and Virtual Tour Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Viewing the Listing Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Submitting Your Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Fixing Listing Errors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 4 Managing Listings Viewing Listings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Mandatory Updates for Your Listings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Searching for Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Sorting Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Viewing Listing Details. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Viewing Listing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 iv Listing Management User’s Guide Editing Listings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Changing Listing Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Relisting Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Saving Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Manually Closing a Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Automatically Closing a Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Managing a Short Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Viewing the Status of Short Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Working with Assistants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Acting on Behalf — Assistants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 More About Assistants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Acting on Behalf — Brokers and Office Managers . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Working with Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 5 Scheduling Open Houses Scheduling an Open House. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 6 Including Photos Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Features and Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Uploading Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Preparing to Add Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Adding Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Rotating Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Cropping Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Rearranging Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Deleting Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Starting an Upload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Photo Upload Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Installing the Web Browser Plug In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Using the Alternative Version of Photo Upload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 v 7 Listing Reference Listing Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Rules: Creating New Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Rules: Viewing Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Rules: Saved Listings Drafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Rules: Listing Photos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Rules: Listing Submission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Rules: Out of Area Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Rules: Changing Listing Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Rules: Editing Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Rules: Reporting a Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Rules: Closing a Sale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Rules: Cancelling a Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Rules: Withdrawing a Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Rules: Expiring a Listing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Rules: Placing a Property Back on the Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Rules: Public Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Terms and Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Accepted Values for Text Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 8 Troubleshooting Listing Management: Common Problems and Solutions . . . . . . . . . . 93 Photo Upload: Common Problems and Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 A Appendix: Terms and Definitions Index vi Listing Management User’s Guide Preface Listing Management, Version 3 is an addition to the MLSListings Inc. suite of Professional Edition products that help improve your business by increasing the productivity and effectiveness of professionals in the real estate industry. This section discusses the objectives, audience, organization, and conventions used in this guide. It also describes how to obtain additional information about MLSListings Inc. products and services. Audience This guide describes how to use the Listing Management application in MLSListings Professional Edition. It is written for agents, broker participants, and other real estate professionals. To use this book, you should be familiar with: • Basic features of your web browser • MLSListings Professional Edition User’s Guide vii Organization This guide is organized into the following parts and chapters: • Chapter 1, “Overview”—briefly describes the features and benefits of using Listing Management. • Chapter 2, “Getting Started”—describes how to perform basic tasks, including viewing listings and navigating the site. • Chapter 3, “Listing Properties”—describes how to add new property listings. • Chapter 4, “Managing Listings”—describes how to manage property listings, view your listings, and so on. • Chapter 5, “Scheduling Open Houses”—describes how to schedule open houses for your listings. • Chapter 6, “Including Photos”—describes how to add photos to listings. • Chapter 7, “Listing Reference”—includes background material about listings including common rules and regulations about listings. • Chapter 8, “Troubleshooting”—describes how to troubleshoot problems that may occur when you post a listing. viii Listing Management User’s Guide MLSListings Inc. Documentation Set Documentation for MLSListings Inc. includes: • Listing Management User’s Guide (this manual) Provides information on creating and managing listings. • MLSListings Professional Edition User’s Guide Provides an overview of MLSListings Professional Edition features and includes information on how to use MLSListings applications. • MLSListings Professional Edition Help and Listing Management Help For easy reference, contents of the MLSListings Professional Edition User’s Guide and the Listing Management User’s Guide are also provided in HTML Help format. • MLSListings Data Server Implementation Guide Describes how to use the common database communications language and other transaction standards to access MLSListings data. • Release Notes Provides the late breaking information about MLSListings products. Accessing MLSListings Documentation MLSListings documentation is provided online. You can access the documentation set directly from the MLSListings web page. Log on to MLSListings Professional Edition and select Resources > References > Product Information Center. ix MLSListings Customer Support For telephone support, call 408 874-0250 or toll free 866 734-5787. Support is available during the following times. Day Time Monday, Wednesday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm Thursday, Friday Tuesday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Saturday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm You can email your questions to [email protected]. x Listing Management User’s Guide 1 Overview Welcome to Listing Management from MLSListings Inc! Listing Management enables you to enter and manage your listings as part of the unified MLSListings Professional Edition interface. This chapter provides an overview of Listing Management features. Details are included in subsequent chapters. Topics include: • “About Listing Management,” on page 2 • “User Scenarios,” on page 4 • “Product Requirements,” on page 6 • “Counties Served,” on page 6 • “Property Classes,” on page 7 Overview 1 About Listing Management About Listing Management MLSListings Inc. is a regional Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that maintains and regulates data for the broker and agent community. MLSListings Inc. provides software products and technology for accessing and reporting property information. With Listing Management, the MLSListings Professional Edition web page includes an integrated Listing Management interface you can use to add and manage your listings. You have a primary, focused location for all your property information and management needs. Click My Listings to add and manage listings. 2 Listing Management User’s Guide About Listing Management Features and Benefits The following chart shows features available in Listing Management for MLSListings Professional Edition. Feature Description Full Integration • Listing Management is fully integrated with MLSListings Professional Edition. You can add and update listings with the same interface you use to search for property listings. • You can add photos, virtual tour links, schedule open houses, and include internet comments all from the same interface. • Choices for Listing Agent and Listing Office are automatically taken from the My Info page. Enhanced Navigation • The navigation bar provides quick access to any listing page and visual confirmation of your location in the listing. • When you change a listing (for example, update listing status), the most commonly-edited fields appear on the first page, enabling you to quickly make changes. Automatic Field Completion Relevant fields are automatically filled in based on County Assessor Tax Data and School Data (CDE). Enhanced Public and Private Remarks • You can include up to 400 characters for public remarks and 265 characters for confidential remarks. • As you enter text in a Remarks field, a text counter appears to let you know how many characters you have typed. APN Search You can search for APN numbers based on the property street address. Maps Property maps are included automatically with the listings to help verify the property location. Integrated School Selection • School selections are populated based on the listing location. • You can enter school and district names instead of codes. Improved Data and Error Handling • Business rules are enforced as you enter the data in the listing. • A summary of errors is presented when you submit the listing. Ability to Reassign Listings For agents associated with a broker, brokers can reassign listings from one agent to another. Open Houses You can schedule and track open houses as part of your listing. Virtual Tours Support for virtual tours (includes agent and broker contact information) and unbranded tours (does not include contact information). Overview 3 User Scenarios System Security Information presented in MLSListings applications is carefully segmented to ensure privacy and security. Information is stored in a protected database that leverages the latest data protection and management technologies. Industry-standard technology from PeopleSoft, Inc. provides a solid foundation for maintaining user login accounts and preserving account security. Sales reports, property listings, saved searches, client lists, and other personal information are protected by personal login accounts and are accessible on an agent-by-agent basis. In addition, broker participants have access to office-wide information such as sales results per agent or per office. Unlimited Access Because MLSListings Professional Edition is a web application, information you enter in Listing Management is protected by your login and password and is accessible from any computer with a web connection. User Scenarios Your login permissions granted by MLSListings Inc. determine how you can work with listings posted in Listing Management. Topics include: • “How Agents Use Listing Management,” on page 5 • “How Broker Participants Use Listing Management,” on page 5 • “How Assistants Use Listing Management,” on page 5 4 Listing Management User’s Guide User Scenarios How Agents Use Listing Management In this fast-paced competitive real estate environment, immediate access to listings details and property status is crucial. MLSListings Professional Edition provides a powerful set of tools to make sure your mission-critical information is accurate and timely. Agents can: • View their existing listings • Add new listings • Make changes to existing listings • Report sales • Cancel listings How Broker Participants Use Listing Management All features available to agents are also available to broker participants. In addition, broker participants can: • View listings for all agents in their office • Change listings for agents in their office • Reassign listings from one agent to another • Use Listing Management to revise listings posted by members of their office or branch. In this book, when a task is available to broker participants only, the label (Broker Participants only) appears. How Assistants Use Listing Management Subscribers can work with MLSListings Inc. to create a special type of user called an assistant. Assistants can act on behalf of other users to help brokers and agents add, edit, and manage their listings and perform other tasks. For more information, see “Working with Assistants,” on page 55. Overview 5 Product Requirements Product Requirements To access MLSListings applications, you need the following: • Your computer (PC or Macintosh) • Broadband (DSL, T1, cable) or modem • Internet Service Provider (ISP) • Web browser. See “Browser Support” for details. • Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or later installed Browser Support MLSListings applications work with any of the following web browsers: Table 1-1 Web Browser Support Name Versions Internet Explorer 6.0 or later Netscape 7.1 or 7.2 FireFox 2.0 or later Safari 3.0 or later (limited support) AOL 8.0 or 9.0 Counties Served MLSListings Inc. is a regional Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that maintains and regulates data for the MLS. The counties that MLSListings Inc. serves are: • Alameda • Contra Costa • Merced • Monterey • San Benito 6 Listing Management User’s Guide Property Classes • San Francisco • San Joaquin • San Mateo • Santa Clara • Stanislaus Note: In addition to the counties listed above, you can also add listings for any county in California or add listings from counties outside of California. Property Classes MLSListings Professional Edition, Version 3 supports 10 different property classes, including: • Class 1: Single family residential • Class 2: Common interest development • Class 3: Multi-residential • Class 4: Mobile homes • Class 5: Residential lots and land • Class 6: Commercial lots and land • Class 7: Commercial/industrial • Class 8: Business opportunity • Class 9: Commercial rental • Class 10: Residential rental Overview 7 Property Classes 8 Listing Management User’s Guide 2 Getting Started This chapter provides a description of basic tasks you can perform with Listing Management, including logging in and viewing listings. Topics include: • “Logging In,” on page 10 • “My Listings,” on page 11 • “Process Overview — Adding a New Listing,” on page 12 • “Navigating a Listing,” on page 14 • “Saving a Draft Copy,” on page 16 • “Mandatory Updates for Your Listings,” on page 16 Getting Started 9 Logging In Logging In To log in to MLSListings Professional Edition: 1 On your computer, start a web browser and enter the following address: https://pro.mlslistings.com 2 When the MLSListings Professional Edition page appears, enter your DRE (Department of Real Estate) number and MLS password. Note: In some cases, you may have a user name (instead of a DRE number) for logging in. If you do not have a login and password, contact your system administrator or MLSListings customer support. Enter your login and password, then click Sign In. 3 Click Sign In. Note: If you are logging in for the first time, a license agreement appears. Review the terms of the agreement, then click Agree. 10 Listing Management User’s Guide My Listings My Listings On the MLSListings Professional Edition home page, click the My Listings tab to view, add, and manage your listings. Click My Listings to view your listings or add new listings. My Listings shows a summary of properties you have already listed and provides links for adding new listings, updating existing listings, or generating listing reports. Getting Started 11 Process Overview — Adding a New Listing Process Overview — Adding a New Listing The following chart provides an overview of the steps you take to add a new listing. For details, see “Listing Properties,” on page 17. Listing Management includes a navigation bar to guide you on how to add a listing. Required items you must include in a listing are marked with a red asterisk (*). 12 Listing Management User’s Guide Process Overview — Adding a New Listing Listing Roadmap — Class 1 Property New Listing To add a new listing: Start Step 1. Enter the APN number (or the address). Overview Step 2. Include location and financial information. This can include school districts, list price, and commission. Interior Step 3. Add information about the property interior. This can include bedrooms, bathrooms, and heating/cooling. Exterior Step 4. Add information about the property exterior. This can include foundation, deck, view, pool, and garage. Additional Step 5. Add additional details about the property. For example, appliances, homeowner protection, flood information. Remarks Step 6. Add remarks about the property. This can include tour dates and showing instructions. Open House Step 7. Create an open house schedule for the listing. Photos Step 8. Add photos and virtual tours to your listing. Note: You can save a draft of your listing, then reopen the listing and continue your edits at a later time. Step 10. Listing Management guides you through any errors or omissions. You can return to any page in the listing to make changes. Summary Step 9. When you have finished adding information to your listing, the listing is checked for completeness. Step 11. When the listing is complete, click Submit to post the listing. Getting Started 13 Navigating a Listing Navigating a Listing Use the My Listings page as a starting point for managing your listings. From this page, you can: • Use the navigation bar at the top of a listing page to move to a specific page. Click to navigate to a specific page. • Use the buttons at the bottom of each listing page. These buttons include: Button Description Click to save any changes you have made and proceed to the next page. Click to save changes you have made and return to the previous page. Click to save changes you have made and remain on the current page. Click to cancel any changes you have made since you opened the page or since you last saved your changes. Click to submit your listing. Click to return the page to its default settings. This button appears in listing drafts only. Note: To log out, click the Sign Off link located on the upper right corner of the page. Click to log out. 14 Listing Management User’s Guide Navigating a Listing For more information about navigating the MLSListings Professional Edition web site and searching for property listings, refer to the MLSListings Professional Edition User’s Guide. Getting Help To get help on using Listing Management: • Click the My Listings tab. • Click the Help link at the top of the page to open Listing Management Help. Click to open Help. Getting Started 15 Saving a Draft Copy Saving a Draft Copy At any time when you are adding a new listing, you can create a partial draft of your work, then return later to finish and submit your listing. Information you enter on each listing page is saved automatically when you navigate to another page. You can also click Save to save your draft. Listing drafts are saved for 30 days. Whenever you make a change to the draft, the 30-day timeout is reset. Drafts are stored as part of your login account and are available from any computer that has a web connection. Listing drafts Mandatory Updates for Your Listings Important: Listings created with Listing Management, Version 2 must be updated to Version 3.x before you can make any changes (for example, record a sale). This update is mandatory. When you start working in Version 3.x make sure your existing listings are updated. For more information, see Mandatory Updates for Listing Management, Version 3.5. This document is available on MLSListings Professional Edition. 16 Listing Management User’s Guide 3 Listing Properties This chapter describes how to use Listing Management to list properties. Detailed information on how to manage listings and create listing reports is included in the following chapter. Topics discussed in this chapter include: • “Preparing to Add a Listing,” on page 18 • “Starting a New Listing,” on page 20 • “Submitting Your Listing,” on page 36 • “Fixing Listing Errors,” on page 38 Listings and Listing Drafts appear on the My Listings page. Listing Properties 17 Preparing to Add a Listing Preparing to Add a Listing When you add a listing, you are presented with a series of pages that contain lists of possible property features. Use these pages to enter details about the property you are listing. Before you add a new listing: • Be familiar with the kind of information you need to add for the class of property you are listing. To get started, refer to the hardcopy listing forms available from Reference Library > Subscriber Information Center > Forms on MLSListings Professional Edition. • If possible, make sure you have access to a complete description of the property you plan to list. The more details you have before you start, the faster you can complete your listing. • If you want to add photos to your listing, make sure you have a copy of the photos on your computer. For virtual tours, make sure you have access to the web address where the tour is located. Using the Listing Interface • When you are adding or editing a listing, you can use the navigation bar at the top of the screen (or the Previous and Next buttons at the bottom of the page) to move between pages in the listing. Information you enter is saved when you navigate between pages. • You can enter a partial listing, save your changes, then return later to add additional information. Your listing isn’t posted until the information is complete and you submit your listing. 18 Listing Management User’s Guide Preparing to Add a Listing • Required fields are marked by a red asterisk (*) at the beginning of the field. Required fields are marked by a red star. • To help you fill out a listing, listing fields are automatically filled-in whenever possible, (for example, entering an APN number causes the street address to be filled in automatically) and many choices are presented as drop-down menus instead of text fields. Listing Rules and Regulations Listings you add and update on the My Listing tab are subject to rules and regulations outlined by MLSListings Inc. The My Listings interface is designed to track the changes you make to help ensure your listings meet the required MLSListings guidelines. For more information, see “Listing Rules,” on page 81. Listing Properties 19 Starting a New Listing Starting a New Listing This section describes how to add a listing for a Class 1 property, but you can use it as a model for adding other types of listings. To add a new listing: 1 Log on to MLSListings Professional Edition and click My Listings. 2 When the My Listings page appears, click Add New Listing. A new listing page appears. Click to add a new listing. 20 Listing Management User’s Guide Starting a New Listing Entering Basic Information To enter basic information: 1 When you first add a new listing, a Start page appears. Use this page to add basic information about the listing: Item Description Listing Agent Listing agent responsible for the listing. Select an agent from the drop down menu. By default, your name appears as the listing agent. Listing Office Office associated with the listing. Listing offices you have entered on the My Info page appear here. Listing Agent Preferred Phone The listing agent’s preferred phone number. This number you enter here appears on listing reports and other public listing documents. Class Property class for the listing. You must select a property class before continuing to add listing information. Listing Region Region associated with the listing. Choices are: • County Within MLSListings • Out of Area County Listing County County associated with the listings. You can enter a listing from any county in California (or outside of California). For properties within the 5-county MLSListings area, choices include: • Monterey • San Benito • Santa Clara • Santa Cruz • San Mateo • Merced • San Joaquin • Stanislaus • San Francisco • Contra Costa • Alameda For counties outside the area, select “Out of Area County” then type a county name. As you type, a list of counties appears that match the characters you type. Listing Properties 21 Starting a New Listing 2 Enter an APN number (or address) for the listing. Tip: If you don’t know the listing APN number, click Search for APN to look up the APN number based on the property address. Enter an APN number. Alternatively, you can click Search for APN to find an APN number based on the property address. Searching for for an APN number Note: For some property classes, an address (instead of an APN number) is required to add a new listing. 3 When you have finished entering the basic listing information, click Next & Save to proceed to the next page. The following sections describe each listing page and the type of information you enter. 22 Listing Management User’s Guide Starting a New Listing Entering Overview Information Use this page to enter overview information about the property. 1 When the Overview page appears, verify the location information for the property. Location information is filled-in automatically based on the APN number you entered when you started the new listing. Location information includes: Location Information Item Description APN Assessor's parcel number (APN). For example, 175-038-013. Address, City, State, and Zip Property address (including street name, city, state and county information) for the listing. Map Image Property location shown on a map. Note: If the property location that appears on the map is not correct, contact MLSListings Customer Support. Listing Properties 23 Starting a New Listing 2 Additional Overview Information 3 Enter additional overview information as required. This information includes: Item Description Description The property description includes zoning, tract name, year built and builder. When you enter the year built, the property age is computed automatically and appears in the description. The property description also includes lot size and square footage. Note: If the property is under construction, you do not have to enter the year built. Map Information Cross street and (optionally) Barclay or Thomas Brothers coordinates. Listing Agent Information Use this section to enter the name, phone number, and other contact information for the listing agent. Listing Information Use this section to enter the type of listing agreement. Also, enter an expiration date for the listing. The listing date is filled-in automatically. Schools Elementary, Middle, and High schools and school districts associated with the property. Financial Information List price, sales commission, and association fees (if applicable) associated with the property. Annual property tax fees appear automatically based on the APN number or property address. When you have finished entering overview information, click Next & Save to proceed to the next page. 24 Listing Management User’s Guide Starting a New Listing Entering Interior Information Use this page to enter information about the property interior. 1 Interior Information Use this page to add information about the interior of the property. This information includes: Item Description Bedrooms Enter the number of bedrooms. You can also provide bedroom location information, floor plan, and master bedroom. Bathrooms Enter the number of bathrooms, showers, and tubs. You can also provide optional features such as the number of partial bathrooms (for example 1/2 baths), sunken tubs, bidets, and saunas. Informal Dining Area Enter descriptions of informal dining areas (if any). For example, informal dining areas can be a dining area in the family room, breakfast nooks, and breakfast bars. Formal Dining Area Enter a description of formal dining areas (if any). Family Room You can enter a description for the family room (if any). Other Areas Enter descriptions for other rooms such as dens, offices, libraries, or utility rooms. Other areas can include basements, guest houses, laundry areas, and so on. Listing Properties 25 Starting a New Listing Interior Information 2 Item Description Fireplace Enter descriptions of fireplaces (if any) including the fuel type (wood, gas, and so on). Floor Coverings Enter descriptions of the types of floor coverings included in the property (for example, granite, hardwood, tile, or slate). Amenities Enter any additional amenities included with the property. For example, water heaters, wet bar, electrical and gas hookups, and so on. Heating and Cooling Enter available heating and cooling options including furnace type and air conditioning. Fireplace descriptions are included in a separate section. Insulation Enter information about wall and ceiling insulation. Listing Includes Enter built-in appliances or other items include with the property. For example, ovens or ranges, dish washers, refrigerators, or washers and dryers. Also include window coverings and alarm systems (if any). When you have finished entering interior information, click Next & Save to proceed to the next page. 26 Listing Management User’s Guide Starting a New Listing Entering Exterior Information Use this page to enter information about the property exterior. 1 Exterior Information Use this page to add information about the property exterior. This information includes: Item Description Characteristics Enter the property type (for example, attached or detached) and the number of stories in the building. You can also enter the building style (for example, Ranch, Cape Cod, Spanish, Tudor, or Colonial). Foundation, Roof & Exterior Enter the foundation type (for example, concrete perimeter, concrete slab, pillar) and roof type (for example, tile, shingle, slate). You can also include a description of the property exterior (for example, stucco, brick, wood, stone). View & Lot You can enter information about the property view (for example, ocean, bay, or golf course view) and lot configuration (for example, cul-de-sac, flag lot, corner). Yard & Grounds You can enter information about the property yard and grounds. This includes decks, patios, tennis courts, boat docks, barns, stables, and so on. Garage & Parking Enter the garage or carport type (for example, 1 car or 2 car). You can also include additional parking descriptions such as attached or detached garage, street parking only, underground parking, and so on. Listing Properties 27 Starting a New Listing Exterior Information 2 Item Description Pool & Sauna Enter information about the pool and sauna (if any) on the property. You can enter the pool type (for example, in-ground concrete) and heating options (no heating, solar, and so on) along with additional information such as black bottom, pool cover, lap only, association pool, and so on. Water Enter water resources for the property. For example, city/public water, agricultural well, and so on. Sewer You can also enter the sewer or septic system available on the property. When you have finished entering exterior information, click Next & Save to proceed to the next page. Entering Additional Information Use this page to enter additional information about the property. 28 Listing Management User’s Guide Starting a New Listing 1 Additional Information 2 Use this page to add additional information about the property. This information includes: Item Description Documents Available In this section, you can enter information about reports and documents available for the property such as pest control reports, property inspection reports, and so on. Enter a web address (if available) and login information (if required) for property disclosure documents (for example, http://www.abcprop/homes/docs). Special Info In this section, you can enter any special information about the house such as corporate ownership, leased land, and so on. Homeowner’s Protection, Energy Features & Special Features In this section you can enter information about homeowner’s protection agreements (if any), energy-saving features such as insulation or low flow toilets, or special features such as handicapped bathrooms or wheelchair ramps. Earthquake Fault Zone & Flood Area This section is for entering earthquake and flood zone information. These items are required. Horse Property In this section, you can enter equestrian-specific information (barn, pasture, stalls, and so on) about a property. When you have finished entering additional information, click Next & Save to proceed to the next page. Listing Properties 29 Starting a New Listing Entering Remarks Use this page to enter remarks and other comments about the property. 1 Owner, Tour, and Remarks 2 Use this page to add owner information, tour information, and remarks about the property. Remarks include: Item Description Owner, Occupant & Possession Enter the owner name, occupant name (if applicable), and contact information. Existing Loan & Financing Enter the existing loan information and financing terms for the property. You can include information for up to three mortgages. Showing Instructions & Special Information Enter showing instructions such as key location. Also include restricted hours or advance notice requirements (if any). Internet Options In this section, enter details about how the listing should appear on the web (such as full or partial address) and advertising options. Property Remarks & Internet Remarks Enter any additional remarks you would like to include about the property. You can enter: • Property Remarks • Agent Remarks • Internet Remarks (Caption and Comments) Property Remarks appear in client reports. Agent Remarks do not; they are intended for MLSListings subscribers only. Internet Remarks (Caption and Comments) are available to the general public. When you have finished entering property remarks, click Next & Save to proceed to the next page. 30 Listing Management User’s Guide Starting a New Listing Open House and Tour Information Use this page to schedule open houses and manage tours for your listing. Use this page to schedule open houses and add tour information to the listing. Scheduling Open Houses You can schedule open houses when you first add a listing and you can also add open houses to existing listings. Open House scheduling provides a valuable way for you to market your listings and make open house information available to consumers. Listing Properties 31 Starting a New Listing When you schedule an open house, the Notes column in search results will include an icon to show that an open house is coming up. Upcoming open houses you add to your listing appear in search results. Indicates an open house occurs this week. For details on scheduling an open house, see “Scheduling Open Houses,” on page 63. Note: If you do not schedule an open house, a reminder appears when you submit your listing. You can successfully submit listings without an open house, but MLSListings Inc. recommends including open houses to maximize exposure for your listings. Adding Tour Information Tour information you can add on this page includes: • tour associations • tour dates • tour remarks Note: When you choose a tour association, select the tour association where the listing should appear (not the association where you are a member). 32 Listing Management User’s Guide Starting a New Listing Adding Photos and Virtual Tour Links Use this page to add photos and virtual tour links. 1 Use this page to add photos and virtual tour links to your listing. At least one photo of the front of the property is required for Class 1-4 properties. This page gives you a choice to upload your own photos and/or order photos from a photo service. 2 If you choose to upload photos: The photo upload feature in Listing Management enables you to add and manage photos for your listings. With photo upload, you can: a You can load and manage up to 9 of your own digital photos. b You can add photos individually or add an entire folder of photos at the same time. Listing Properties 33 Starting a New Listing c You can use the photo organizer to change the order photos appear in a listing and you can rotate and crop photos. d Photo upload supports a variety of popular photo formats including bmp, gif, jpe, jpeg, jpg, png, tif, and tiff. You can also use this page to include links to branded or unbranded virtual tours of the property. 3 Details about adding photos are included in a separate chapter. For more information, see “Including Photos,” on page 67. 4 To add a virtual tour link: a Locate the Links section of the page. b Enter a web address for the virtual tour. Then, click Verify Link to make sure the address you entered is correct. Enter the web address here. Then, click to verify the link you entered is correct. 34 Listing Management User’s Guide Starting a New Listing You can upload two separate links to virtual tours: one for branded tours and one for unbranded tours. Branded tours include the identity and contact information of the listing agent and broker. Unbranded tours do not identify the listing agent or broker within the virtual tour. Most virtual tour vendors should be able to provide both versions for you upon request. 5 When you have finished adding photos and virtual tour information, click Next & Save to proceed to the next page. Viewing the Listing Summary The last page includes a summary of the listing information you have entered on the previous pages. Review the listing summary, then click to submit the listing. 1 Review the summary to make sure the information you entered is correct. If you need to make changes, use the navigation bar or the Previous and Next buttons to return to any of the previous pages and make the changes. 2 To preview the listing report, click Preview Full Report. 3 When you have finished reviewing the listing summary, click Submit Listing to submit your listing. Listing Properties 35 Submitting Your Listing Submitting Your Listing When you submit your listing, the information you entered is checked for completeness. If the information is incomplete or incorrect, a list of errors appears at the top of the listing. Listing errors (if any) appear at the top of the summary page. Click to correct a listing error. 1 To correct an error, click the link associated with the error. The listing opens to the page that contains the correction you need to make. Information that needs to be corrected is highlighted in red. For more information, see “Fixing Listing Errors,” on page 38. 2 Make all the necessary changes and click Submit. When the listing is complete and verified, a “Successfully Submitted” message appears. 36 Listing Management User’s Guide Submitting Your Listing Listing submitted successfully Click to view the Agent Full report for the listing. After you successfully submit a listing, it appears in the My Listings section of your listings page. Congratulations! Your listing is complete and submitted. At this point: - An MLS number is assigned. - A link to the Agent Full report is provided. - The listing status changes to active on the My Listing page. - The listing date is fixed and the DOM clock starts. - Where applicable, the listing appears in search results on MLSListings Professional Edition. Listing Properties 37 Fixing Listing Errors Fixing Listing Errors Any errors or corrections that need to be made to a listing are highlighted at the top of the listing. Errors appear at the top of the listing. Click to make a correction. Errors are highlighted in red. Listing errors include: • A link to the page that contains the error. • A link to the error. • A description of the error. To fix listing errors: 1 Locate an error at the top of the summary page. 2 Click the error link. The page on which the error occurs appears and the error is highlighted in red. Listing errors are highlighted. 38 Listing Management User’s Guide Fixing Listing Errors 3 Fix the error as described, then click Save (or Next & Save) to save your changes. 4 Continue to click the error links at the top of the page until all your errors are corrected. 5 When all your errors are corrected, navigate to the Summary page and click Submit. If you are still having trouble: If you have trouble completing a listing, do the following: • See “Listing Rules,” on page 81 to make sure your listing adheres to the listing rules described in this chapter. • See “Troubleshooting,” on page 93. • If you are still having trouble, contact MLSListings Customer Support. Listing Properties 39 Fixing Listing Errors 40 Listing Management User’s Guide 4 Managing Listings This chapter describes how to manage listings. Topics include: • “Viewing Listings,” on page 42 • “Editing Listings,” on page 46 • “Changing Listing Status,” on page 47 • “Relisting Properties,” on page 49 • “Saving Listings,” on page 49 • “Manually Closing a Listing,” on page 50 • “Managing a Short Sale,” on page 51 • “Automatically Closing a Listing,” on page 50 • “Working with Assistants,” on page 55 • Chapter 4, “Working with Teams” Managing Listings 41 Viewing Listings Viewing Listings Your listings and listing drafts appear on this page. Your listing drafts and active listings appear on the My Listings page. Use this page to manage your listings, make updates, change listing status, and so on. Mandatory Updates for Your Listings Important: Listings created with earlier versions of Listing Management may need to be updated before you can make any changes in the current version (for example, record a sale). When a listing needs to be updated, the following message appears in the Action column of the listing. 42 Listing Management User’s Guide Viewing Listings To update a listing: • Click the “Click Here to Fix” link. • Follow the update instructions. Items that need to be updated appear at the top of the listing. Searching for Listings If you have a lot of listings you can use the following features to view information on the My Listings page. Item Description Enter an MLS number and click Search to find a specific listing. When you search, you can enter new, 8-digit MLS numbers or older, 6-digit MLS numbers. Click to view your most recent listings (submitted within the last 30 days). Click to view all your listings. For active listings, you can also use the Search tab to enter detailed search criteria and find listings. For more information, see the MLSListings Professional Edition User’s Guide. Sorting Listings You can sort listings that appear on the My Listings page. For example: • Click the top of a column to sort by that column. • Click again to reverse the sort order. Click to sort listings by MLS Number. Click again to toggle between ascending and descending order. Managing Listings 43 Viewing Listings Viewing Listing Details To view details about a listing or listing draft: 1 Log on to MLSListings Professional Edition and click My Listings. 2 Select the listing (or listing draft) you want to view. 3 Click Edit. The listing opens for viewing or editing. Use the navigation bar or the Previous and Next buttons to view different pages of the listing. Viewing Listing Reports You can view reports based on your listings. Listing reports come in a variety of formats. To create a listing report: 1 Log on to MLSListings Professional Edition and click My Listings. 2 Select the listings you want to include in the report. To select an item, click the checkbox that appears to the left of the item. Select the listings you want to view, then choose a report type from the menu. 3 Choose a report type from the Select Reports drop-down list. 44 Listing Management User’s Guide Viewing Listings The following report types are available. Report contents vary depending on the type of property (class) selected. Agent: Client: Agent reports include support material specifically for agents (such as financial and listing office information). Agent reports are not recommended for client viewing. Full A multiple-page, detailed report for each property you selected. It includes support material specifically for agents, including listing history and tax information. Page A single-page report for each property you selected. This report contains less information than the Agent Full report, but more than the 1/2 page report. Client reports are similar to agent reports, but they do not include agent-specific material. These reports are appropriate for client viewing. Page A single-page report for each property you selected. 1/2 A half-page report for each property you selected. Two separate property descriptions appear on each page. 1/4 A report with four separate property descriptions on each page. Click to print an HTML version of the report. Listing report Click to create a PDF version of the report. Click to email the report. For more information on reports, see the MLSListings Professional Edition User’s Guide. Managing Listings 45 Editing Listings Editing Listings To edit a listing: 1 Log on to MLSListings Professional Edition and click My Listings. 2 Select the listing (or listing draft) you what to edit and click Edit. Click to edit a listing. Click to add or change an open house. a If you are editing an active listing, the listing opens to a Common Edits page. The Common Edits page contains items that are typically edited for a listing (for example, tour and open house information, remarks, and so on). You can edit the listing quickly without having to navigate from page to page. When you edit an active listing, a page with the most commonly-edited fields appears first. b If you are editing a listing draft, the Start page appears. 46 Listing Management User’s Guide Changing Listing Status 3 Make listing changes as desired. 4 When you have finished making changes, click Submit Change. Alternatively, if you are working on a listing draft, you can click Save to save your changes and keep the listing in draft format. Changing Listing Status When a listing status changes, you are required to report the change within 48 hours. To change the status of a listing: 1 Log on to MLSListings Professional Edition and click My Listings. 2 Select the listing whose status you want to change and click Change Status. A Change Status page appears. Information on this page varies depending on the current status of your listing and the status change you are making. Managing Listings 47 Changing Listing Status 3 Enter new status information for the listing. The information required varies depending on the current status of your listing and the status change you are making. It can include: Item Description Current Status Current status for the listing. Change Status Enter a new listing status: • Report A Sale • Withdraw From Market • Cancel Listing • Active Sale Type When you report a sale, the following choices appear for sales type: • Pending, W Release • Pending, W/O Release • Pending, Do Not Show Temp Off Market Date Off market date for withdrawn listings. Off Market Date Off market date for cancelled listings. Sale Date Sale date for the listing. COE Date Close of escrow date for the listing. Expiration Date When you bring an expired listing back to active, you enter a new expiration date. Sale Price Sale price for the listing. Financing Use this menu to set a financing option for the listing (for example, Auto Close (Y/N) Specify if you want the listing to close automatically when the COE date is reached. For more information, see “Automatically Closing a Listing,” on page 50. Sell Agent ID DRE number of the selling agent. • When you enter the DRE number, contact information for the selling agent (office, branch, phone, email, and so on) automatically appears on the page. • You can click Search for Agent to enter an agent’s name and search for their DRE number. Remarks Public and agent remarks about the status change. 48 Listing Management User’s Guide Relisting Properties 4 When you have finished changing a listing status, click Submit. When you change the status of a listing, certain rules are enforced based on the current listing status and the change you want to make. For more information, see “Rules: Changing Listing Status,” on page 84. Relisting Properties This feature is not supported. You cannot relist properties. For listings posted by the same brokerage firm, a listing must be cancelled or expired for more than 30 day for the CDOM clock to be reset. For listings posted by another brokerage firm, a listing must be cancelled or expired before a new listing for that property can be created. Saving Listings Listing information you enter is saved automatically when you click the Previous or Next button to move from one listing page to another. You can also explicitly click Save to save the information you’ve entered on a page. In addition, listing information you enter is saved automatically every three minutes. • You cannot save more than 100 unfinished listings. • Listings can be saved for 30 days after the last update or change. Managing Listings 49 Manually Closing a Listing Manually Closing a Listing If the listing is set for manual closing (Auto Close = N), it is your responsibility to report the listing closed. When the property has closed escrow, you must edit the listing and change the listing status to Report a Sale. When you edit the listing, you must include the following: • Close of Escrow Date • Selling Price • Financing Type • Selling Agent’s Name and Broker Code Automatically Closing a Listing You can set the listing to be closed automatically (Auto Close = Y). The listing will be closed based on the estimated COE date for the listing. When the listing closes, a notification appears on the My Listings page and you must update the listing to include the following: • Close of Escrow Date • Selling Price • Financing Type • Selling Agent’s Name and Broker Code If the property has not closed escrow by the estimated COE date, you must edit the listing and enter a new estimated COE date. Note: The same information is entered when a listing is manually closed or automatically closed. The only difference is the selling price doesn’t show on an auto-close listing until it closes. 50 Listing Management User’s Guide Managing a Short Sale Managing a Short Sale When you enter a new listing for a short sale, the procedure is the same as for any new listing — with a few exceptions. See below for details. To manage a short sale: 1 When you enter a new listing for a short sale: a Navigate to the My Listings > Overview page. b In the Additional Listing Information section, select the Short Sale/Lender Approval required option. Select this option to indicate a short sale listing. 2 When the seller has accepted a signed offer, change the listing status to Pending. When a seller has accepted a signed offer for a short sale, the listing status must be changed to Pending. Lender approval of a short sale is treated as a contingency. It does not impact the rules required to report a change from Active to Pending. All listings with accepted offers must be reported as Pending by the end of the next business day. Managing Listings 51 Managing a Short Sale To change the listing status: a Navigate to the My Listings page. b Locate the listing and click Change Status. Click to change the listing status. c When the Change Status page appears, update the page to show the following values: d Click Submit Change. Specify the following options when the seller accepts a signed offer on a short sale. The property status changes from Active to Pending w/ Release. This indicates that the seller has accepted an offer on a property that is a potential short sale and the offer has been submitted to the lender. The listing status changes to Pending w/ Release. 3 When the lender approves an offer: a Navigate to the My Listings page. b Locate the listing and click Change Status. 52 Listing Management User’s Guide Managing a Short Sale c Update the listing status to Pending, do not show. Select this option when the lender has approved an offer. d Click Submit Change. The listing status changes to Pending, do not show. The listing status changes to Pending, do not show. This change helps to prevent further calls for showings or questions about the property. It also helps prevent cooperating brokers from submitting offers. 4 When the sale closes, change the listing status to Report a Closed Sale. Select this option when the sale closes. The listing status changes to Sold. Managing Listings 53 Managing a Short Sale Viewing the Status of Short Sales In search results, short sale listings include a Short Sale icon in the Notes column. When used in combination with the property status icon, you can tell the status of a short sale: Status Short Sale Description If no offer has been accepted by the seller, the listing status is Active. If the seller has accepted a signed offer, the listing status is Pending, continue to show with a release clause. If the lender has approved the offer, the listing status is Pending, do not show. When the sale closes, the listing status is Sold. Active short sale Seller has accepted an offer. Lender has approved an offer. Property is sold. 54 Listing Management User’s Guide Working with Assistants Working with Assistants Subscribers can work with MLSListings Inc. to create a special type of user called an assistant. Assistants can act on behalf of other users to help brokers and agents add, edit, and manage their listings and perform other tasks. If enabled by MLSListings Subscriber Services, assistants can act on behalf of other users to help manage listings or update other account information. When acting on behalf of an agent, assistants have full access to view and edit the agent’s listings, modify saved searches, and so on. Types of assistants include: • Office assistant. These assistants can add or edit listings associated with any agent in the office. They can also add or edit listings for the office broker. • Personal assistant. These assistants can add or edit listings only for specific individuals or the team they support. Managing Listings 55 Working with Assistants Assistant permissions are based on profile information managed by MLSListings Subscriber Services. This information includes a list of agents an assistant can emulate (act on behalf of). For details, contact MLSListings Subscriber Services. Note: In addition to assistants, brokers and office managers can act on behalf of other users, including: - All agents in an office. (If the broker is responsible for a single office.) - Agents in multiple offices. (If the broker is responsible for multiple offices.) For more information, see “Acting on Behalf — Brokers and Office Managers,” on page 60. Acting on Behalf — Assistants Assistants (as defined above) have the ability to login to MLSListings Professional Edition and act on behalf of other users. To act on behalf of an agent, assistants do the following: 1 Use your own personal login and password to log on to MLSListings Professional Edition. Assistants must have a valid, personal login account before they can act on behalf of an agent. 56 Listing Management User’s Guide Working with Assistants When an assistant logs in, an Agent Search page appears. Enter the name (or DRE number) of the agent to emulate. Then, click Start Assisting. 2 Select an Office (if applicable), then enter the name (or DRE Number) of the agent you want to emulate. As you type, a list of agents you can emulate appears to match the text you type. 3 Click Start Assisting. The top of the home page shows you are acting on behalf of another user. This message remains until you stop acting on behalf of the user. Indicates you are acting on behalf of another user. Click to stop acting on behalf of the user. Managing Listings 57 Working with Assistants 4 Make changes as desired. When an assistant acts on behalf of an agent, the following MLSListings features are available: - You can use the My Info link to edit office and contact information for the agent. - You can add and edit listings for the agent. - You can use the My Listings page to search and view listings associated with the agent. - You can view and modify items on the agent’s My Clients page. - You can add or edit saved searches for the agent. - You can add or edit automated email notifications for the agent. When you emulate another user, listings associated with that user appear on the My Listings page. 5 When you have finished acting on behalf of the agent, click Stop Assisting. 58 Listing Management User’s Guide Working with Assistants More About Assistants A limited set of tabs and features are available when an assistant is not acting on behalf of an agent. • Assistants do not have to be licensed real estate agents, but they must have their own MLSListings login accounts. • When they are not emulating other users, assistants have limited capabilities. They cannot: - Search for listings - Enter listings - Create clients - Save searches - Schedule automated email notifications - Use premium services such as CA Alliance or Advanced CMA and Buyer’s Tour. • Only one level of emulation is allowed. Assistants cannot emulate someone who is currently emulating someone else. • Changes assistants make are tracked my MLSListings Inc. to ensure that an accurate record exists for: - Changes made. - The person who actually made the change. Managing Listings 59 Working with Assistants Acting on Behalf — Brokers and Office Managers Brokers and office managers also have the ability to login to MLSListings Professional Edition and act on behalf of other users. Brokers and office managers can emulate: - All agents in an office. (If the broker is responsible for a single office.) - Agents in multiple offices. (If the broker is responsible for multiple offices.) Brokers and office managers are automatically granted this permission by MLSListings Subscriber Services. No special sign up is required. Brokers click here to act on behalf of another user. Enter the name (or DRE number) of the agent to emulate. Then, click Start Assisting. To emulate another user, brokers do the following: 1 Log on to MLS Listings Professional Edition. Unlike assistants (who see the Agent Search page when they log in), brokers see their usual login page. 2 Click the Start Assisting button at the top of the home page. 60 Listing Management User’s Guide Working with Teams 3 Then, use the Agent Search page to login as another user. When a brokers or office manager acts on behalf of an agent, they have access to all features available to the agent. They can add or edit the agent’s listings, add or edit saved searches for the agent, pay an agent’s bill, and so on. 4 When you have finished acting on behalf of the agent, click Stop Assisting. Working with Teams State law requires MLSListings Inc. to provide visibility into the names and DRE numbers of agents that comprise Team accounts. For Team accounts, you must specify the names of listing agents to appear on reports and other listing documents. • When you use a Team account to add a new listing, a list of the team members appears on the My Listings > Start page. You must specify at least one listing agent. You can specify up to three listing agents. • The listing is kept and managed by the Team account (as indicated by a 7* or 07* login ID), but the names and DRE numbers of the individual listings agents are used in reports. Managing Listings 61 Working with Teams 62 Listing Management User’s Guide 5 Scheduling Open Houses This chapter describes how to schedule open houses for your property listings and make this information available to agents. Agents use the My Listings > Open House page on MLSListings Professional Edition to schedule open houses. Listings with upcoming open houses are noted in search results. Scheduling Open Houses 63 Scheduling an Open House Scheduling an Open House To schedule an open house: 1 Make a list of the open house times you want to schedule and collect the names of the agents who will host the open house. 2 Log on to MLSListings Professional Edition and click My Listings. You can schedule open houses for a new or existing listing. Click to add or change an open house. 3 You can schedule open houses when you create a new listing or when you or edit an existing listing: a For new listings, click Create New Listing, then navigate to the Open House page of the listing. b For existing listings, locate the listing on the My Listings page, then click the Manage Open House button. 64 Listing Management User’s Guide Scheduling an Open House The Open House page appears. Use this page to schedule open houses for your listings. 4 Enter Open House remarks. You can enter up to 100 characters for the remarks. These remarks will appear in reports and in Open House search results on the MLSListings Public site. 5 Enter a date for the 1st Open House. When you enter a date, a default start time, end time, and host for the open house are filled in automatically. You can change these items as desired. 6 Continue to add open house dates as desired. You can schedule up to 5 open houses at a time for each listing. Scheduling Open Houses 65 Scheduling an Open House 7 After you submit your listing, open house information is available for your listing. - For MLSListings Professional Edition, an Open House icon appears in search results for listings that have open houses. Also, agents can specify open houses as part of their search criteria. Note: If you do not schedule an open house, a reminder appears when you submit your listing. You can successfully submit listings without an open house, but MLSListings Inc. recommends including open houses to maximize exposure for your listings. 66 Listing Management User’s Guide 6 Including Photos This chapter describes how to include photos in your property listings. Topics include: • “Overview,” on page 68 • “Uploading Photos,” on page 69 • “Photo Upload Reference,” on page 78 Including Photos 67 Overview Overview With photo upload you can add photos to listings and organize your photos. You can add up to nine photos for each listing. With photo upload, you can: - Add up to 9 photos. - Rearrange, delete, or reorganize photos. - Rotate or crop photos. Note: At least one photo of the front of the property is required for Class 1-4 listings. When you submit a listing, the photo must be posted within 72 hours. Features and Benefits Features and benefits of photo upload include: • You can load and manage up to 9 of your own digital photos. • You can add photos individually or add an entire folder of photos at the same time. • Photo upload services are provided free of charge. • You can rapidly add photos as soon as you create a listing — no waiting. 68 Listing Management User’s Guide Uploading Photos • You can use the photo organizer to change the order photos appear in a listing. • You can rotate and crop photos. • Your photos are automatically resized (to 320 x 240 pixels) and optimized for web display. • Photo upload supports a variety of popular photo formats including bmp, gif, jpe, jpeg, jpg, png, tif, and tiff. Uploading Photos This section provides step-by-step instructions on how to include photos with your listings. It also describes how to edit and preview the photos you add. . Photo organizer Detailed view. When you select a photo, a detailed view appears here. Including Photos 69 Uploading Photos Preparing to Add Photos 1 Collect the photos you want to add. Make sure a copy of each photo you want to add is available on your computer. You don’t need to reformat your photos before using photo upload. Photo upload supports a variety of photo types (including bmp, gif, and jpeg). 2 Log on to MLSListings Professional Edition and click My Listings. You can add photos to a new or existing listing. 70 Listing Management User’s Guide Uploading Photos 3 4 Create a new listing or edit an existing listing. a For information on creating new listings, see “Listing Properties,” on page 17. b For information on editing existing listings, see “Editing Listings,” on page 46. Navigate to the Photos page of the listing. Use this page to add photos to your listing. To add photos, select this option. 5 Choose the “I’ll upload up to 9 photos FREE” option. This option enables you to upload your own photos. MLSListings Inc. recommends choosing this option. Including Photos 71 Uploading Photos Note: If you prefer not to add your own photos, you can select the “I will pay OBEO...” option and make arrangements with an outside service agency to provide photos for your listing. After you select a photo option, you’re ready to add photos. See “Adding Photos,” on page 73. Note: If you see this message, your web browser requires additional plug-in software to use photo upload. Follow the installation instructions. For details, see “Installing the Web Browser Plug In,” on page 78. 72 Listing Management User’s Guide Uploading Photos Adding Photos Use the Photos page to add and manage photos for your listing. You can add one photo at a time or add a folder with multiple photos. Click to add photos. To add photos: 1 Click the Add button. 2 Navigate to the photo you want to add. Including Photos 73 Uploading Photos 3 Select the photo you want to add and click Open. The photo you selected appears in the photo organizer. You can add up to 9 photos for each listing. Note: You can also add photos by dragging them to the photo organizer section of the page. To add more than one photo at a time, drag a folder of photos. Rotating Photos To rotate a photo: 1 Select the photo you want to rotate. 2 Click the Rotate icon. The photo rotates 90 degrees to a new orientation. You can continue to click Rotate until the photo is in the desired position. Select an image. Click Rotate. The image rotates 90 degrees. Note: If you don’t see a Rotate icon, you may be using an alternative version of photo upload. (See “Using the Alternative Version of Photo Upload,” on page 80..) 74 Listing Management User’s Guide Uploading Photos Cropping Photos You can crop photos to change the focal point of the image. Cropping enables you to select which part of the photo you want to appear in the listing. To crop a photo: 1 Select the photo you want to crop. 2 Place the mouse pointer over a corner of the photo. The pointer changes to an arrow. 3 Drag to define the area you want to crop. Position the mouse pointer over a corner of the photo. Drag to crop the photo. After you upload, the darkened area outside the rectangle will not appear in the photo. To move the cropping rectangle, place the pointer inside the rectangle and drag. Including Photos 75 Uploading Photos When the photo is uploaded, the darkened area outside the rectangle will not appear in the photo. Note: If you don’t see a Crop icon, you may be using an alternative version of photo upload. (See “Using the Alternative Version of Photo Upload,” on page 80.) Rearranging Photos The photos you add to a listing appear in the order shown on the photo organizer. You can use this page to rearrange photos as desired. Note: Photo order is important. The photos you place in the upper-left corner of the photo organizer should be a front facing photo of the property. It is the main photo featured in flyers, reports and so on. Main photo You can rearrange photos by dragging them to a new position. 1 Click to select the photo you want to move. 2 Hold down the mouse button. 3 Drag the photo to a new location. 76 Listing Management User’s Guide Uploading Photos Deleting Photos To delete a photo: 1 Select the photo you want to delete. 2 Click the Delete button or the Delete icon. Note: To delete more than one photo at a time, use Shift-click or Ctrl-click to select multiple photos, then click Delete. Starting an Upload When you’ve finished organizing photos for the listing, you are ready to upload them. • To upload, click Upload All. Click to cancel your changes. Any changes you made since you opened the photo page will be lost. Click to save your changes and upload photos for your listing. Including Photos 77 Photo Upload Reference When you upload photos, they are automatically added to your listing and optimized for viewing on the web. The photos you added will appear in property search results and property reports. Photo Upload Reference This section includes background information on using photo upload. Topics include: • “Installing the Web Browser Plug In,” on page 78. • “Using the Alternative Version of Photo Upload,” on page 80. Installing the Web Browser Plug In If you see the following message when you start photo upload, you need to install a web browser plug-in to use the full version of photo upload. 78 Listing Management User’s Guide Photo Upload Reference To install the plug in: 1 Click Continue to start the installation. You’ll see a series of messages about the installation. The messages may vary depending on the type of browser you’re using. 2 Follow the installation instructions. 3 When installation is complete, you should see the MLSListings photo page. Note: You may need to redraw the browser window or click Manage Photos on the Listing Management home page to see the photo page. 4 When the photo page appears, you’re ready to add photos to your listing. (See “Adding Photos,” on page 73.) If you don’t want to install the browser plug in, you can use an alternative, limited version of photo upload. See “Using the Alternative Version of Photo Upload,” on page 80. Including Photos 79 Photo Upload Reference Using the Alternative Version of Photo Upload If you don’t choose to install the plug-in or if your browser doesn’t support this plug-in, you can still upload photos using an alternative version of photo upload. Alternative version Click to add a photo. With the alternative version, use the file browser to select the photos you want to upload and click Upload All. You can select up to nine photos to upload. With the alternative version, you cannot: • Reorganize photos • Rotate or crop photos • Preview photos 80 Listing Management User’s Guide 7 Listing Reference This chapter contains background and reference material for Listing Management. Topics include: • “Listing Rules,” on page 81 • “Terms and Calculations,” on page 89 • “Accepted Values for Text Fields,” on page 89 Listing Rules This section contains a summary of the most common listing rules that are enforced when you create and manage listings. For detailed listing rules, contact MLSListings Inc. If you submit a listing that violates one of the listing rules, an error message appears. You must correct all errors before an listing can be successfully submitted. Rules: Creating New Listings • Once a listing contract has been signed, you have 48 hours to add the listing into the MLS. • With a few exceptions, you can create a new listing if: - No current listings are found that match your listing’s street address or APN number. Listing Reference 81 Listing Rules - A previous listing exists but the listing status is expired, cancelled, or sold. • For listings within the same brokerage firm, a listing with the same street address or APN number should be expired or cancelled for more than 30 days before the new listing is created. Otherwise, the CDOM clock is not reset. • If the listing is a new development and no APN number is available, you must contact MLSListings Customer Support to submit the listing. • You cannot create a new listing if the street address you enter for the listing cannot be found. • Only licensed users (agents or brokers) can add new listings. • New listings you create are considered Draft copies until you successfully submit the listing. • An MLS number is not assigned until you submit the listing. • When you enter a new listing, fields are automatically populated wherever possible from County Assessor Tax Data and School Data (CDE). • Choices for High School Districts are determined by the County/City combinations you specify for a listing. School choices are determined by the High School District you select. Rules: Viewing Listings • Agent can edit listings owned by the agent or the agent’s team. • Brokers can manage listings for individual agents, a team or agents, or all agents in an office. • By default, listings viewed by the agent (or the agent’s team) include: - Active listings - Pending listings - Listings cancelled within the last 30 days 82 Listing Management User’s Guide Listing Rules - Listings expired within the last 30 days - Withdrawn listings - Listings saved as work in progress - All listings from that office Rules: Saved Listings Drafts • You cannot save more than 100 unfinished listings. • Listing drafts can be saved for 30 days after the last update or change. • You will be automatically notified seven days in advance before a saved, unchanged listing draft is removed. Rules: Listing Photos • At least one photo of the front of the property is now required for Class 1-4 listings. When you submit a listing, the photo must be posted within 72 hours. To add a photo to a listing, use the My Listings > Photos page. Rules: Listing Submission When a listing is successfully submitted: • The listing submission date is locked. • A new MLS number is assigned. • The DOM and CDOM calculations begin. • A transaction history is created and tracked by the MLS number. • An notification is automatically sent to the listing agent and broker (if applicable). Listing Reference 83 Listing Rules Rules: Out of Area Agents Out of area agents who want to post a listing must be approved by MLSListings Customer Support before the listing can be submitted. Rules: Changing Listing Status Agents and brokers can make changes to listings as follows: • Status: Active can be changed to any of the following: - Status: Pending (with release) - Status: Pending (show) - Status: Pending - Status: Expired - Status: Cancelled - Status: Withdrawn • Status: Pending (with release) can be changed to any of the following: - Status: Active - Status: Pending (show) - Status: Pending - Status: Sold • Status: Pending (show) can be changed to any of the following: - Status: Active - Status: Pending (with release) - Status: Pending - Status: Sold • Status: Pending can be changed to any of the following: - Status: Active - Status: Pending (with release) 84 Listing Management User’s Guide Listing Rules - Status: Pending (show) - Status: Sold • Status: Sold cannot be changed. • Status: Expired can be changed to Status: Active (within 10 days) • Status: Withdrawn can be changed to Status: Active or Status: Cancelled. Rules: Editing Listings • You can modify listings that are active, pending, or withdrawn. • Items within a listing that you cannot modify include: - Property class - Street address - Zip code - City, area, and county - APN number - Listing creation date - Listing contract date - Listing agent - Broker participant - Days on market (DOM) and cumulative days on market (CDOM) - Revision date - Sale date - Expiration date - Original list price - Original list date - Original tour date - Office information Listing Reference 85 Listing Rules • You cannot modify sold (Status: Sold) listings. • You can bring back an expired listing (within 10 days of expiration) with a new expiration date if the listing is not already active or pending under a different owner. • You can modify a listing with Status: Withdrawn and keep the listing withdrawn. Or, you can change to Status: Active or Status: Cancelled. Rules: Reporting a Sale • If you change an active listing to pending, pending with release, or pending show, you must: - Enter a close of escrow date. - The sale date is generated automatically. • If you change a listing with Status: Pending (with release) or Status: Pending (show) to a listing with Status: Pending (show) or Status: Pending, you must: - Confirm the close of escrow date. - The sale date stays the same. • The close of escrow date cannot be before the sale date. • The transaction history for the listing is updated. • DOM and CDOM stop at the sale date. • Length of escrow calculation begins at the sale date. This calculation ends when the property status changes to Sold. • You must reconfirm a Status: Sold change if the listing price and sale price differ by more than 20%. 86 Listing Management User’s Guide Listing Rules Rules: Closing a Sale • When you close a sale, you must provide the following information: - Sale price - Type of financing - Selling agent • If the closing date does not occur by the close of escrow date, you can enter a new close of escrow date. • The listing status changes to Closed. The sale price, selling agent, and sold date appear on the listing. • A sale price and listing price that differ by more than 20% must be confirmed. • If the close date is more than 5 days past the close of escrow date, MLSListings must confirm the closing. • If the close of escrow date is more than 5 days from the day you report the status as sold, MLSListings Inc. must confirm the closing. Rules: Cancelling a Listing • Only listings with Status: Active or Status: Withdrawn can be cancelled. • You can not re-activate a Cancelled listing. You need to add a new listing and receive a new MLS number. Rules: Withdrawing a Listing • Only listings with Status: Active can be Withdrawn. • You can re-activate a Withdrawn listing. The MLS number is retained. • If the listing expiration date occurs while the listing is withdrawn, the listing is automatically Expired. Listing Reference 87 Listing Rules Rules: Expiring a Listing • You cannot expire a listing. A listing is expired when the expiration date passes (unless the listing has Status: Pending). • Listings expire at midnight on the day listed (not the day after). • Listings with Status: Pending with Release or with Status: Pending, Show change to Status: Pending when they expire. • When you put a property back on the market, you must include a new, future expiration date. Rules: Placing a Property Back on the Market A listing must be expired (within the last 10 days) or withdrawn to be placed back on the market. Rules: Public Remarks • Public remarks must not include contact information (no email addresses, phone numbers, or web sites). • After a listing is submitted, public remarks are checked for violations. 88 Listing Management User’s Guide Terms and Calculations Terms and Calculations The following table shows some common calculations used in listings. Term Calculation Gross Profit Gross Annual Income - Cost of Goods Rent Per Unit Area Rent Price / Building Square Footage Total Expenses Sum of All Expenses Capitalization Rate Net Income / List Price Gross Income Gross Scheduled Income - Vacancy Amount Gross Rent Multiplier List Price / Gross Scheduled Income Gross Scheduled Income Gross Scheduled Income = Sum of Rental Income, Laundry Income, and Other Income. Vacancy is Not Deducted. Net Income Gross Income - Annual Expenses Accepted Values for Text Fields The following table shows the range of values you can enter for fields in a Single Family Residential listing. You can use information presented in this table as a model for other types of listings. Note: Only text fields that require you to type in values are listed in this table. All other fields can be filled-in using check boxes, radio buttons, or drop-down menus. Also, text fields that are automatically populated (for example, Street Address based on APN number) are not included. Category Field Name Values Bathrooms Full Baths Whole number to indicate the number of full bathrooms. Do not use decimals. For partial bathrooms, use the Partial Baths field. Bathrooms Partial Baths Whole number to indicate the number of partial bathrooms. Do not use decimals. For example, a house with two full bathrooms and one half-bathroom would be listed as Full Baths = 2, Partial Baths = 1. Bedrooms Beds Number. Do not include decimal points. Description Builder Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 32 characters long. Description Tract Name A combination of letters or numbers. Up to 50 characters long. Listing Reference 89 Accepted Values for Text Fields Category Field Name Values Description Year Built 4-digit number. Examples: 2004, 1905. Description Zoning A combination of letters or numbers. Up to 5 characters long. Documents Available Disclosures Link Any valid web address (for example, http:///www.re.net/prop/docs). Existing Loans & Financing Cash to Assume Number. Do not include commas, decimal points, or dollar signs ($). Existing Loans & Financing Monthly Payment Number. Do not include commas, decimal points, or dollar signs ($). Existing Loans & Financing Total Loans Number. Do not include commas, decimal points, or dollar signs ($). Financial Information Association Fee (Monthly) Number. You can include decimal points. Do not include commas or dollar signs ($). Financial Information Association Name Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 50 characters long. Financial Information Association Phone Any 7-digit or 10-digit phone number. For example, 978-0955 or 650-788-7645. Financial Information Commission Rate Number. You can include decimal points. Also, choose Commission Units from the drop-down menu (for example, Percentage). Financial Information Current Rent Number. Do not include commas, decimal points, or dollar signs ($). Financial Information List Price Number. Do not include commas, decimal points, or dollar signs ($). Internet Remarks Internet Caption Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 255 characters long. Internet Remarks Internet Comments Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 3000 characters long (with HTML). Links (Virtual Tour) Unbranded Virtual Tour Any valid web address (for example, http:///www.re.net/prop/tour). Link Links (Virtual Tour) Virtual Tour Link Any valid web address (for example, http:///www.mylist.com/tours). Listing Information Expiration Date Any upcoming date in mm/dd/yy format. For example, 10/15/07. Map Information Barclay Horizontal Any valid Barclay horizontal coordinate. For example, 19. Map Information Barclay Page # Any valid Barclay page number. For example, 52. Map Information Barclay Vertical Any valid Barclay vertical coordinate. For example, 66. Map Information Cross Street Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 256 characters long. Map Information Description Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 250 characters long. Map Information Thomas Brothers Grid Any valid Thomas Brothers grid identifier. For example, B1. Map Information Thomas Brothers Page # 90 Listing Management User’s Guide Any valid Thomas Brothers page number. For example, 852. Accepted Values for Text Fields Category Field Name Values New Listing APN Any valid APN number (for example, 357-11-025 or 788-034-876). New Listing Draft Name Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 256 characters long. New Listing Listing Agent Preferred Any 7-digit or 10-digit phone number. For example, 978-0955 or Phone 650-788-7645. Open House Information Open House Host Open House Information Open House Remarks Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 100 characters long. Owner Occupant & Possession Additional Owner Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 50 characters long. Owner Occupant & Possession Occupant Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 50 characters long. Owner Occupant & Possession Occupant Phone Any 7-digit or 10-digit phone number. For example, 978-0955 or 650-788-7645. Owner Occupant & Possession Owner’s Name Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 50 characters long. Property Remarks Agent Remarks Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 256 characters long. Property Remarks Public Remarks Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 400 characters long. Schools District Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 50 characters long. Schools School Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 256 characters long. Tour Information Tour Date 1 Any upcoming date in mm/dd/yy format. For example, 05/15/07. Tour Information Tour Date 2 Any upcoming date in mm/dd/yy format. For example, 05/31/07. Tour Information Tour Remarks Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 100 characters long. Any combination of letters or numbers. Up to 50 characters long. Listing Reference 91 Accepted Values for Text Fields 92 Listing Management User’s Guide 8 Troubleshooting This chapter includes a description of common problems and solutions that may occur when you use MLSListings applications. Topics include: • “Listing Management: Common Problems and Solutions,” on page 93 • “Photo Upload: Common Problems and Solutions,” on page 94 Listing Management: Common Problems and Solutions Problem Listing Management Help freezes and will not accept input. Solution This problem can occur if you are using the Safari browser on a Macintosh computer. To fix the problem, choose the Empty Cache command from the Safari menu, then reload the page. Problem A pop-up blocking message appears when I open Listing Management Help. Solution This problem can occur if you are using Internet Explorer 6.0 running on Windows XP Service Pack 2. To allow this content to run without getting blocked, follow these steps: Troubleshooting 93 Photo Upload: Common Problems and Solutions 1 Open Internet Explorer. 2 Go to Tools > Internet Options > Advanced Tab. 3 Scroll down to the section labeled Security. 4 Check the box labeled “Allow active content to run in files on My Computer.” 5 Click OK and then close the Internet Options window. 6 Restart the browser. Photo Upload: Common Problems and Solutions Problem When you add a photo, you see a red X instead of a photo on the Photo Upload page. Solution The photo may be in an unsupported format. Photo upload supports most photo file formats, but not all. Use a program such as Microsoft Paint to save the photo in JPEG/JPG format. Problem When you add a photo, the Photo Upload page freezes and will not accept input. Solution Refresh the browser and try again with a different photo. Problem After uploading photos, the preview images do not appear below the “successfully submitted” message. 94 Listing Management User’s Guide Photo Upload: Common Problems and Solutions Solution This problem can occur if your browser (for example, Netscape 7.1 on Windows 2000 or Mozilla 1.7.11 on Windows 98 SE) does not include the latest plug-in software from Macromedia. To fix this problem: 1 Right click on the empty space where the preview image should appear. 2 Select “About Macromedia Flash Player” from the context menu. A description of Macromedia Flash Player appears. If you are using version 6.x or earlier, you need to install version 7.x. 3 Follow the instructions to download the latest version. Problem I get an error message when I try to install the browser plug in. Solution If you’re using Internet Explorer, you must have Active X controls enabled to install and use the plug in. Contact your local system administrator for instructions. Optionally, you can use an alternative version of photo upload. See “Using the Alternative Version of Photo Upload,” on page 80. Problem I added multiple photos to a listing. When I upload the photos and choose Print, not all the photos print. Solution All the photos you added will appear in the listing. However, depending on the size and format of the photos, sometimes not all of them will print. Problem The Rotate and Crop icons don’t appear on the photo page. Troubleshooting 95 Photo Upload: Common Problems and Solutions Solution You may be using an alternative version of photo upload. To use the full version of photo upload, you must install the web browser plug-in. See for “Installing the Web Browser Plug In,” on page 78 for details. 96 Listing Management User’s Guide A Appendix: Terms and Definitions This appendix includes useful terms and definitions for property listing options that are not commonly understood. Term Definition Additional Listing Information Choices include: • Auction-Absolute. Property will be sold at the auction event to the person with the highest bid. • Auction-Reserved. Property has a minimum sale price that is not disclosed. The person with the winning bid must meet or exceed the reserve price and have the highest bid. The seller is not obligated to sell the property if the reserve price is not met. • Bank-Owned/REO. Property that is institution owned. • Court Confirmation Is Required. Property listing as a result of an estate sale, probate sale, or bankruptcy. For the sale to close, the applicable court must approve the sale. • Court Confirmation May Be Required. Property listing as a result of an estate sale, probate sale, or bankruptcy. For the sale to close, a court may need to approve the sale. • Lender Approval Required/Short Sale. Property sale with a mortgage balance that is higher than the market value of the property. For the sale to close, the lender must approve the contract terms. • Notice of Default (NOD). A property where payments are in default (or soon to be) and the process of foreclosing has begun. • Not Applicable. A standard listing. Additional Owner A second owner of the property. Additional Tour Association The name of the association assigned to the second property tour. AITD All-Inclusive Trust Deed. A refinancing technique involving the creation of a new deed of trust that includes the balance due on the existing note plus new funds advanced; also known as a wraparound mortgage. Association Fee Monthly homeowner’s association fee. Bidet Bathroom fixture, similar in appearance to a toilet, which has water jets for cleaning the perineal area of the body. Appendix: Terms and Definitions 97 Term Definition Branded Virtual Tour A virtual tour that includes the listing agent name, listing office, and contact information. These links are for display on public web sites like REALTOR.com and MLSlistings.com and are used in MLS agent reports. Commission Rate Number to indicate a fixed dollar amount or percentage. In this release, commission rate and commission type are two separate fields. Commission Type Type of sales commission. This can include: • Standard. Cooperative compensation is offered as a fixed dollar amount or as a percentage of the contract price. • Dual/Variable. Also referred to as In-House Commission Values. A dual or variable rate commission agreement where the seller agrees to pay a specified commission if the property is sold by the listing broker and a different commission if sold by a cooperating broker. • Unconfirmed Cooperating Broker's Compensation. Compensation to cooperating brokers on estate sale, probate or bankruptcy listings to the broker whose contract is ultimately successful and confirmed by the court (if court confirmation is required). Commission Units Sales commission units. Choices are: • Dollar Amount. Fixed dollar amount (not a percentage). • Percentage. A percentage of the sale price. Disclosures Link A web address (for example, http://www.abcpros/documents) to specify the location of disclosure documents. You can also enter login information (if required) to access the link. Fireplace Insert A heating unit that slides into an existing masonry or zero clearance wood burning fireplace. Full Baths Whole number to indicate the number of full bathrooms. For partial bathrooms, use the Partial Baths field. For example, a house with two full bathrooms and one half-bathroom would be listed as Full Baths = 2, Partial Baths = 1. Inverted Floor Plan Living space on the upper floor, bedrooms on the lower. Listing Agreement Type Types of listing agreements. Choices include: • Exclusive Right to Sell. The broker has the exclusive right to earn a commission by representing the owner and bringing a buyer, either through another brokerage or directly. The owner pays both the listing and selling broker fees. Owners cannot sell the property themselves without paying a commission, unless exceptions are noted in the contract. • Exclusive Agency. Allows an agent to list and market your home, guaranteeing them a commission if the house sells through any real estate agent or company. It also allows sellers to seek out buyers on their own. • Open (Non-Exclusive Agency). Allows the owner to execute open listings with more than one real estate broker and pay only the broker who brings an able buyer whose offer the owner accepts. • Exclusive Right to Sell with Reservations. Reservations are the “exceptions noted in the contract” (as mentioned above). Typically, this is a list of names (for example, family members or prospects from a previous listing agreement). If the named person buys the property, the agent does not receive a commission. 98 Listing Management User’s Guide Term Definition Load Factor The multiplier to a tenant's usable space that accounts for the tenant's proportionate share of the common area (restrooms, elevator lobby, mechanical rooms, etc.). The load factor is usually expressed as a percentage and ranges from a low of 5% for a full tenant to as high as 15% for a multi-tenant floor. Lot Size Source Information source the agent used to supply lot size data. LR/DR Combo Living Room/Dining Room combination. The living room and dining room are connected with no separating wall. Mansard Type of roof. The slope of a mansard roof from eaves to ridge is broken into two portions. The lower portion is built with a steep pitch, sometimes almost vertical; the upper portion has a low pitch or is nearly flat. MLS City In previous releases, MLS City was the primary city shown in listing reports. Because an MLS city may not correspond to a city recognized by the U.S. Postal Service, Postal City is now the primary city shown in reports (with MLS City shown in parenthesis). Mudsill A wood foundation where the lowest sill, block, or timber supporting a building is located at or below ground level. Number of Seats Seating capacity for a place of business such as a restaurant or bar. Open House Host Agent hosting an open house. Does not have to be the listing agent. Out of Area County Designates that the property is located outside the 5-county MLSListings area. Property listings can be from any area within (or outside of) California. Park Phone Phone number of the Mobile Home park. Partial Baths Whole number to indicate the number of partial bathrooms. For example, a house with two full bathrooms and one half-bathroom would be listed as Full Baths = 2, Partial Baths = 1. A house with five full bathrooms, two half bathrooms, and one quarter bathroom would be listed as Full Baths = 5, Partial Baths = 3. Pellet Stove A type of fireplace made of steel or cast iron that burns wood bio-mass pellets. They have forced exhaust blowers, thermostats and can be horizontally or vertically vented. Post & Beam A foundation that uses walls and columns tied together to form the structure of a building. The side-to-side bracing that protects a building from wind or seismic events is provided by the material that connects the structural components. Post & Pier A foundation that includes spot footings of gravel or concrete under wood posts or concrete piers which support beams. These, in turn, support the floor platform. Postal City City where the property mail is received. For example, a property in Woodside might have a postal city of Redwood City. Postal city is the primary city shown in reports (with MLS city shown in parenthesis). Preferred Phone Designated the agent’s preferred phone number. This number appears on listing reports and other public documents. Appendix: Terms and Definitions 99 Term Definition Property Within City Limits Choices include: • Yes. The property is incorporated within the city limits (subject to city rules and regulations). • No. The property is incorporated outside the city limits (subject to county rules and regulations). • Unknown. The property location with respect to the city limits is not known. Sale Type Choices for sale type include: • Not applicable. A standard sale (not a Short Sale or a Probate Sale). • Lender Approval Listings (Short Sale). Property sale with a mortgage balance that is higher than the market value of the property. For the sale to close, the lender must approve the contract price. • Unconfirmed Cooperating Broker's Compensation (Probate Sale). Property sale triggered by the death of the owner, with proceeds divided among heirs or creditors. For the sale to close, the applicable probate court must approve the sale. Sell Agent DRE DRE number of the Sell Agent. Sell Office Office location of the Sell Agent. Square Foot Source Information source the agent used to supply square foot data. Tandem Type of garage where one car is parked in front of the other. Tour Date (1st and 2nd) Dates of the Realtors’ tours. Two Way Fireplace A fireplace that separates two rooms and includes openings on both sides. Unbranded Virtual Tour A virtual tour that does not include the listing agent name, listing office, or contact information. These links are permitted for use on IDX web sites and client reports. Unincorporated Designates that the property is located in an unincorporated part of a county. 100 Listing Management User’s Guide Index A B acting on behalf 5, 56 See also assistants Active X controls 95 Add button 73 Add New Listing button 20 adding listings overview 12 preparing to 18 starting 20 submitting 36 Additional information, adding 28 Additional Listing Information, definition 97 Additional Owner, definition 97 Additional page 28 Additional Tour Association, definition 97 Address field 23 agent reports 37, 45 AITD, definition 97 Amenities field 26 APN number 22, 23 searching for 22 application security 4 assistants 5, 55 Association Fee, definition 97 asterisk (*) 12, 19 audience vii Auto Close (Y/N) 48 automatic closings 48, 50 Barclay coordinates 24 basic information, adding 21 Bathrooms field 25 Bedrooms field 25 bidet, definition 97 branded virtual tours 35 definition 98 broker participants 5 emulating other users 60 browser plug-in 72, 78 requirements 6 C Cancel button 14, 54 Capitalization Rate calculations 89 Characteristics field 27 Class 7, 18, 21 client reports 45 close of escrow 50 Comission Rate, definition 98 Commission Type, definition 98 Commission Units, definition 98 counties, supported 6, 21 Crop icon not appearing 95 pointer change 75 cropping photos 75 Customer Support, contacting x 101 D H defaults, restoring 14 Delete button (and icon) 77 deleting photos 77 Description field 24 Disclosures Link, definition 98 documentation set ix Documents Available field 29 drafts, listing editing 46 saving 13, 16, 83 viewing 17, 42, 44 DRE number 10 Sell Agent 48, 100 Heating and Cooling fields 26 Help for Listing Management 15 troubleshooting 93 Homeowner’s Protection, Energy Features & Special Features fields 29 Horse Property fields 29 Informal Dining Area field 25 Insulation field 26 Internet Options field 30 Inverted Floor Plan, definition 98 E L Earthquake Fault Zone & Flood Area fields 29 Existing Loan & Financing fields 30 Exterior information, adding 27 Exterior page 27 license agreement 10 Listing Agent field 21 Listing Agent Information fields 24 Listing Agent Preferred Phone field 21 Listing Agreement Type, definition 98 Listing County field 21 listing errors 36, 38 listing forms (hardcopy) 18 Listing Includes field 26 Listing Information fields 24 Listing Management features and benefits 3 MLSProfessional Edition integration 2 overview 2 See also listings and listing rules Listing Office field 21 Listing Region field 21 listing reports 35, 44, 45 F Family Room field 25 Financial Information field 24 Fireplace field 26 Fireplace Insert, definition 98 Flash Player, Macromedia 95 Floor Coverings field 26 Formal Dining Area field 25 Foundation, Roof & Exterior fields 27 Full Baths, definition 98 G Garage & Parking field 27 Gross value calculations 89 102 Listing Management User’s Guide I listing rules cancelling a listing 87 changing listing status 84 closing a sale 87 creating new listings 81 editing listings 85 expiring a listing 88 listing photos 83 listing submission 83 MLS 19 out of area agents 84 placing a property back on the market 88 public remarks 88 reporting a sale 86 saved listings drafts 83 viewing listings 82 withdrawing a listing 87 listings closing 50 correcting errors 36 drafts 13, 16, 42 editing 46 managing 41 mandatory updates 16, 42 navigation 12, 14 partial (draft) 18 preparing to add 18 process overview 12 reference information 81 required items 12 saving 16, 49 searching for 43 starting 20 status changes 47, 84 submitting 13, 14, 35, 36 summary 11, 17, 35, 42 viewing 11, 17, 43 Load Factor, definition 99 Location information, adding 23 Location page 23 log in 10 log out 14 Lot Size Source, definition 99 LR/DR Combo, definition 99 M Macromedia Flash Player 95 Mandatory Updates for Listing Management 16 mandatory updates, for listings 16, 42 Mansard, definition 99 Map Image field 23 Map Information 24 MLS City, definition 99 MLS number 37 MLS rules and regulations 19 Mudsill, definition 99 multiple photos, adding 74 My Listings tab 2, 11, 17 N navigation bar 12, 14, 18 Net Income calculations 89 Next & Save button 14, 22 Next button 18 no photo option 71 Number of Seats, definition 99 O office assistant 55 open house adding 31, 63 host 65, 99 icon 32, 66 remarks 65, 91 reminder 32, 66 scheduling 31, 63 Open House page 31, 65 ordering photos 72 Other Areas field 25 Out of Area County, definition 99 Overview information, adding 23 Overview page 23 Owner, Occupant & Possession fields 30 103 P Park Phone, definition 99 Partial Baths, definition 99 Pellet Stove, definition 99 personal assistant 55 photo formats supported 34, 70 unsupported 94, 95 photo upload alternative version 80 feature list 68 page 69 Photo Upload page 69 photos adding 33, 63, 67, 73 adding multiple 74 collecting 64, 70 cropping 75 deleting 77 ordering 72 preparing 18 printing 95 rearranging 76 requirement for Class 1-4 33, 68 rotating 74 selecting options 71 supported formats 34, 70 uploading 77 Photos page 33 plug-in, installing 72, 78 Pool & Sauna field 28 Post & Beam, definition 99 Post & Pier, definition 99 Postal City, definition 99 Preferred Phone, definition 99 Previous & Save button 14 Previous button 18 product requirements 6 properties, relisting 49 104 Listing Management User’s Guide property classes 7, 21 description 18 listing 17 listing rules 81 See also listings Property Remarks & Internet Remarks fields 30 Property Within City Limits, definition 100 R rearranging photos 76 red X, instead of photo 94 relisting properties 49 Remarks page 30 Remarks, adding 30 Rent Per Unit Area calculations 89 reports 35, 37, 44, 45 requirements browser 6 for listings 12 product 6 required fields 19 Restore Defaults button 14 Rotate icon not appearing 95 to rotate photos 74 rotating photos 74 rules. See listing rules. S Sale Type, definition 100 Save button 14 Schools field 24 security, Listing Management 4 Sell Agent DRE, definition 100 Sell Office, definition 100 selling price 50 Sewer field 28 short sale managing 51 viewing status 54 Showing Instructions & Special Information fields 30 sign in. See log in. sign off. See log out. Special Info field 29 Square Foot Source, definition 100 Start page 21 status changes 47, 84 Submit button 14 Subscriber Information Center 18 Summary information, viewing 35 T V View & Lot field 27 View All Listings button 43 View Recent Listings button 43 virtual tours 18, 33 Virtual Tours page 33 W Water field 28 web access 4 Y Yard & Grounds field 27 Tandem, definition 100 Team accounts 61 text fields accepted values for 89 automatic fill in 19 Thomas Brothers coordinates 24 Total Expenses calculations 89 Tour Date (1st and 2nd), definitions 100 Tour information, adding 31 Tour page 31 troubleshooting 93 Two Way Fireplace, definition 100 U unbranded virtual tour adding 35 definition 100 Unincorporated, definition 100 uploading photos 77 users agent 5 broker participant 5 types 5 105 106 Listing Management User’s Guide