June/July 2004 Issue
Page 3

SUPRA Hot Tips and Info

• Do you ever find your Display Key stuck in the “searching” mode? In other words, you’ve gone through the motion of opening a keybox with your key, but didn’t actually finish the process and the key sits there for 5 minutes “searching” for a box. Many folks are not aware that when their key is in this mode, they can reset it. Simply push and hold the “enter” button; then press “1” and release them both. Your key will reset itself and you can go about business.
• Did you know that you can make the screen on the DisplayKEY light up for easier viewing? The DisplayKEY has a backlight that is easily turned on so you can see the screen better. Turn the key on by pressing "enter" then, after the key comes on, hold down the "enter" button again for about 2-3 seconds. This will turn on the backlight.

SUPRA’s question of the month:

"If an agent who has their key registered with a cooperating MLS (such as South Bend) accesses one of my lockboxes to view a property, does Supra capture that information on showings where I can pull off a report that shows EVERY AGENT that has been inside one of my properties?"

ANSWER: You and your homesellers can rest assured that the system tracks showing activity on every agent who accesses the keybox. Even when areas cooperate, every participating agent has a key with a unique serial number. The Supra system associates this unique serial number with the date and time of access each time the key container is released from the keybox. This information is reported by Supra's server after the showing agent updates his or her key.

June Lock Box Audit

The Rules and Regulations of the MLS of Elkhart County require a periodic audit of the lockbox inventory. The audit is done to verify how many lock boxes are on loan to the offices and how many lock boxes the MLS requires returned. Each office must verify the accuracy of the attached inventory and return the number of boxes requested.

On June 7, 2004, an audit was taken of the active & pending listings currently in the Elkhart County MLS. The Audit formula consists of all property types except vacant land located in Elkhart and St. Joseph County that are entered into the MLS system at the time of audit.

Please remember lock boxes are the property of the MLS and are on loan to the offices. The audit is not negotiable and offices are required to return the boxes requested in order to complete the audit. If lock boxes are not returned or cannot be accounted for, a $95.00 per lock box fee will be assessed on the next MLS statement.

Requests for additional boxes should be submitted in writing and disbursements will be made upon completion of the audit. Please remember offices are able to purchase lock boxes at any time.

Thank you for your cooperation. We were able to reallocate over 100 lock boxes and therefore avoiding an additional expenditure of over $9,500.

Expiration Date Policy to Change - 5-day Grace Period Ending Soon

The National Association of REALTORS® has recently reviewed the MLS rules and regulations. During the review they found our policy regarding expired listings was not in compliance with NAR policy. Therefore, the five-day grace period between when a property expires and when it shows expired in the MLS will not be offered. Association Executive, Julie Alert is working with Fidelity on incorporating these required changes into the new MLS system.

NAR has also reviewed our policy on treating expired listings as a Back-On-Market. They would prefer that an expired listing be treated as new instead of a Back-On-Market. The Board of Directors is reviewing the impact of this on the budget and the MLS data. They will make a decision on the policy change to co-inside with the new computer system.

Although we don’t have a specific date set or a specific policy change we wanted to alert you in advance. We estimate the change to occur late this year or early next year. Until further notice, the current policy will be need to be followed.

ECBOR Annual Realtor Dues and RPAC

The 2005 Annual REALTOR® Dues will be mailed out to the Brokers on August 16, 2004 and will be due October 1, 2004. This year an opportunity to donate to RPAC will be a part of the dues billing. We hope this will make it more convenient for you to contribute to RPAC.

Contributions to RPAC are voluntary and are used for political purposes. You may contribute more or less than the amount suggested or refuse to contribute without affecting your membership rights.

Remember, your contribution is an investment in your business and a commitment to preserving the future of your industry. RPAC helps elect officials at the national, state and local levels who support private property rights and the free enterprise system.

MLS Quarterly Statistics - 2nd Quarter 2004