June 2005 Issue
Page 3

2005 IAR MEDIATION TRAINING CLASSES

The dates for the 2005 IAR Mediation Training class are November 17th and November 18th , 2005.

The class will be held at the Indianapolis Sheraton, Keystone at the Crossing.  There is a reserved room block at the Sheraton that expires on October 21, 2005.  Room availability or rates cannot be guaranteed after that date.

The direct number for Sheraton reservations is (317) 846-2700.  The group name is: Indiana Association of REALTORS®-Mediation Training, November 17 th and November 18 th .  Let the Sheraton know that you are part of this group in order to receive the most favorable room rate.

Again this year, they will be able to accommodate 33 students, and there is still a chance to attend the class on a first-come basis.  The class and training materials are free to IAR members. Click here for registration form.

SUPRA & ECBOR UPDATE CODE POLICY CHANGE

The Elkhart County MLS will be moving from a weekly eSync to a nightly eSync effective August 1, 2005. This will allow members to access any box, AEII boxes or the new Iboxes without any additional manual updating. This will also allow the Elkhart County MLS to order the new Iboxes as needed without causing a lot of disruption and need for disclaimers on listings.

In any case, to help implement the conversion from weekly to nightly you will be receiving many notices so you can be prepared. Several agents have asked why it is not possible to just call for the update code and the answer is the esync not only updates the keypad but it transfers the listing information from the key pad to the main system so agents can obtain records showing who has entered the home and when. It's a two-way information exchange. When you use the phone the critical showing information does not get sent to the main system. However, Supra has made a policy change to help agents in the field who have not done the required nightly esync before showing a house and are standing with the buyers unable to show the home.

Supra recognizes agents are human and they may forget to esync their key. This can put the agent in an unfortunate and embarrassing situation of not being able to enter a listing. Supra is focused on getting agents into properties and this is a situation that Supra wants to minimize as often as possible.

For this reason, Supra is implementing a new policy. If an agent with "Active" status calls Supra Support but has exhausted their Voice/Web Update Codes; support will issue ONE Exception Update Code over the phone. This Code will update their key, however, an eSYNC will be required for the next update. The issuance of the Exception Update Code will be logged in their Call Management System, and no further Exception Update Codes will be issued until an eSYNC is recorded in the system.

Support's primary focus is to provide technical assistance to those agents having difficulty with their key. Providing Update Codes to keyholders will be reserved for those rare instances when you are truly stuck, and cannot get into a listing. Supra believes this service will avoid situations that cause unnecessary frustration for agents and MLS staff.

This should really help with the conversion from weekly to nightly. The MLS office is trying to obtain some extra cradles to put in the strategically located offices. This way agents who need to do a manual esync can find a location close to them and not have to drive all the way back to their home or office.

MLS SYSTEM IS NOW RETS COMPLIANT

The MLS Board of Directors voted to update the Paragon system to make it RETS compliant. The update was completed on Tuesday, June 14, 2005 and is available to members and vendors appropriately applying. Anyone accessing the RETS site will need an account in Paragon (User name and Password) and the URL.

What is RETS? RETS Real Estate Transaction Standard. This makes it much easier to work with the MLS Data to build IDX sites, work with industry software such as Top Producer and Realtor.com

For example: When you bring home a new toaster you don't worry whether of not the plug will fit in the kitchen outlet or if the house has the right kind of electricity. That's because the power company and appliance manufacturers developed a set of standards to assure things would work together.

So in the software industry, standards perform a similar function. It is not a program that gets installed on your computer but rather a set of rules independent software developers use to create software that will work with other software. These standards don't define what a program will do, just as electricity standards do not tell the appliance whether it should brew coffee or make toast.

What can it do for Me?

A standard will make it easier for software vendors to enter the real estate arena and sell their wares into a national market. This will create more choice for real estate agents that create competition and helps to keep costs in line. Offices and agents who want the MLS data on their websites will find more vendors can work with the system because its RETS compliant and therefore it may cost less, take less time and improve performance. Agents may also find some vendors could not offer their services unless a MLS was RETS compliant.

If you have any questions, please give us a call or visit http://www.rets.org for a complete explanation of RETS.

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