No tax credit? No problem! - Columbus Board of Realtors

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New Class! FOCUS: Choosing the Right Search CBR is excited about a new class that is being offered to MLS members. The FOCUS: Choosing the Right Search class is designed to provide a starting point for creating viable and efficient MLS database searches. The 1-hour class will help students translate “client-speak”, that is, the words that the buyer says in describing where they want to live and what type of home they want to purchase. Students can take the class for free or pay $10 to get one hour of continuing education credit. So many agents get started in real estate and “learn the ropes” using the “hunt and peck” method. While many agents have successfully made the transition from “newbie” to “seasoned professional”, there are a lot of pitfalls and errors that could be avoided. Does “Gahanna area” mean corporation limit or vicinity of Gahanna? When a client says they want to live in Gahanna, do they mean Gahanna Corporate limits? Do they mean any mailing address that lists Gahanna as the city? Do they mean the general vicinity of Gahanna, which may actually be a Columbus or New Albany mailing address? Knowing EXACTLY what your client wants is the key. If they say “Gahanna area” it is very uncertain that they mean MLS Area GA, which is the Gahanna corporate limits only. You many need to explain the difference to them. Tech Support 2010 Member e-mails/calls received: January 1,393 February 1,634 March 1,727 This is particularly true when a new agent (and even some who aren’t so new) goes about the tricky business of translation. Trans-lating what the client says into a viable and efficient search is the starting point for the entire transaction. Unfortunately, any small error in that translation can turn into a big misunderstanding very quickly. This is precisely the point this new class will address. The class is a one house “jump start” into this “client-speak” translation. We will talk about some of the tough questions and tough logic that is required to make a client’s various requests work as a precise database search. We will also highlight the dangers of ambiguous and “fuzzy” criteria as well as some data fields that pose particularly risky searches. Students are highly encouraged to bring their “How would I search for THIS?” questions with them. Class participation and real world examples of “client-speak” will help all who attend. Following are just a few of the examples we will look at during this new class. Criteria that is too precise or excludes too much may accidentally remove desirable areas from the search. For years, MLS Area MP (Minerva Park) has been susceptible to being skipped when agents search by MLS Areas. Homes in Delaware county but in MLS Area 31 have also been excluded. MP and 31 Delaware County listings are “tucked away” in larger areas that may not seem intuitive or obvious when doing searches. This can make it harder for agents in those areas to get showings and could lead to a buyer asking “Why didn’t you show me that house right there?” Polygons and other geographical boundaries help eliminate accidental pockets of obscurity. 40 • May/June 2010 • In Contract Magazine • www.ColumbusRealtors.com
Survey: How do you feel about the elimination of ‘MLS Areas’? Exclude an area inside a larger area using a “Donut Search” If a client says, “I want Southwest Columbus, but I don’t want to live too close to Bolton Field, especially in the flight path.” You can create a “Donut Polygon” around Bolton Field, carefully making sure the client’s “unwanted location” is not highlighted in green when you are done. These and many other examples and questions will be answered. Students are highly encouraged to bring examples of real world “client-speak” that they are currently trying to figure out. There is also a video and PDF handout from the FOCUS: Choosing the Right Search class available on the MLS video training website. Visit www.wdwpy.com for video and PDF training materials from all of our MLS classes here at CBR. And don’t forget about our other search class – FOCUS: Map Search which addresses polygon and geocode searches. See the sidebar for upcoming classes. When the Columbus Board of REALTORS® first computerized the listings of its members over 30 years ago, the only way to search properties geographically was to create a number of unique areas, giving them searchable codes such as UA, 21, 31, 97, etc. Over the years, CBR has worked hard to keep these unique areas as functional as possible despite the high incidence of changing boundaries and uses of Area. With the increased integrity of data and technical advances, our MLS is now able to move to more efficient property search methods. Therefore, the MLS Committee and Board of Directors, after years of research, careful CBR TEMPO 5 Classes May 2010 T1 T2 T3 4 Thurs 18 Tues 27 Thurs June 2010 3 Thurs 15 Tues 9a-Noon 9a-Noon 9a-Noon T1 T2 T3 9a-Noon 17 Thurs 9a-Noon 24 Thurs consideration and system preparation, voted to discontinue what they determined is a cumbersome, controversial and expensive use of “Area” within the MLS system. However, this decision has met with some resistance from members. Because leadership places a high value on input from the members, a survey was e- mailed to MLS members (early May) so that you can provide your input on the current and future use of “Area” in our MLS. If you have not received your survey, please contact Bryan Dean at (614) 475-4000 ext. 222. 9a-Noon 9a-Noon 29 Tues 9a-Noon More New MLS Classes! FOCUS: Map Search Class May 13 (2-3p) • May 20 (10-11a) June 1 (10-11a) • June 10 (2-3p) 1 credit hour • $10 – a credit card is required to reserve your place in class (whether or not you want CE credit) FOCUS: Choosing the Right Search June 2 – 2 p.m. (1 hour of CE credit) $10 – a credit card is required to reserve your place in class (whether or not you want CE credit) Tempo FOCUS: Real Estate Data Accuracy May 26 – 2 p.m. (1 hour of CE credit) June 23 – 2 p.m. (1 hour of CE credit) www.ColumbusRealtors.com • In Contract Magazine • May/June 2010 • 41
Page 1 and 2: IN may/june 2010 • volume 37 •
Page 3 and 4: Features 6 No tax credit? No proble
Page 5 and 6: www.ColumbusRealtors.com • In Con
Page 7 and 8: married, they were still having kid
Page 11 and 12: CCIIR - Outside clean up at the Hei
Page 13 and 14: tance. That said, my greatest joy w
Page 17 and 18: Committee Report Are you aware of w
Page 21 and 22: Committee Report ALL HANDS ON DECK!
Page 23 and 24: What is NAR’s RPR (REALTORS® Pro
Page 25 and 26: can reach her toll free at (877) 62
Page 27 and 28: MEMBER Discounts / Services 1-800-G
Page 29 and 30: May-June 2010 Classes at at a a gla
Page 31 and 32: Education Classes Education Classes
Page 33 and 34: Events May 10-15, 2010 NAR MidYear
Page 35 and 36: June 27, 2010 Super Sunday Affordab
Page 37 and 38: Area Association Golf Outings Thurs
Page 39: RS Broker Members Matthew D. Cochre
Page 49 and 50: Recipients of the NAR REALTOR® Eme
Page 51 and 52: 2010 REALTOR® Salesperson of the Y

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