V o l 8 / 1 0 N E W S A N D M O R E... NJMLS Highlights Mission Statement: To provide cost e!ective and comprehensive real estate information using the latest proven technology. Our Public Website, njmls.com Named One of the Top Performing MLS Websites in the Country!!See Page 4 fordetails" O C T O B E R 2 0 1 1 The Hotsheet In This Issue: Understanding IDX We detail what you need to know on page 5. New Look to Realist Maps See page 4 for details. What s New in XL Paragon? Go to page 2 to see what s new. Each October we invite Designated REALTORS to join us at an Annual Membership meeting. This is a great opportunity to meet our Board of Directors and experience "rst#hand what happens at these meetings. This year, we look forward to previewing our new User Interface for XL Paragon. It has a more contemporary appearance and enhanced functionality. which includes: Quick Search on the Desktop, type#aheads for town and street name searches, expanded pick lists in Property Search, and larger viewing area on map searches. Our recommended vendors, NJ Access and Image Maker Media will also be here that day to discuss their products, including IDX and Video Tours. More details about the Annual Membership Meeting can be found on page 3 of this newsletter. Our public website, njmls.com, once again received some industry recognition, being named one of the Top Performing Consumer Websites for July 2011. The WAV Group analyzed performance of MLS consumer sites across the country based on four membership categories, according to size. Based on website visits, njmls.com was ranked #1 in MLS groups with 5,000#9,999 members. It is hard to believe that we$re already in the 4th quarter of the year, when many of you are preparing for the Circle of Excellence. Please take time to look at your inventory to make sure you$re current on reporting closed listings. The sooner you can do this, the easier it will be for you at the end of the year when you need to complete your application for this distinction.!!!!!!! Michelle Contact Us: HAWORTH Mon - Fri 9:00am - 5:00pm (by appointment from 5:00-7:00pm) 160 Terrace St. 2nd floor, 07641 Phone: 201-387-1150 Fax: 201-387-2535 RUTHERFORD Mon - Wed 9:00am - 5:00pm (closed from 12:00-1:00pm) 97 Chestnut St., 07070 Phone: 201-842-6144 Fax: 201-842-6146 Find Us on Facebook
What$s New In XL Paragon? Two New Reports Available to You Customer Showing Report: You now have the ability to print all information pertinent to showing a property on one report, including photos, a map, listing information, and a place to write notes. This report option is available on the Search Results page. You can print up to 10 Customer Showing Reports at once. Customer with Brief Tax: This new report option is available to email to your customers, as well as for use when presenting comps for a CMA. It includes some tax data at the bottom of each report, including current tax amount and assessment values. Uploading Stock Photos: If a stock photo is available for a building complex, it will automatically be uploaded when a listing is saved for that building %additional photos can still be uploaded by the listing agent&. The NJMLS plans to continue to build the library of stock photos available for buildings in our market area so that they$ll be available for use on your listings. Agent Mobile: When you go to newjerseymls.com on your mobile device, you will now be directed to our agent mobile login. If you would like to login to XL Paragon, simply click the XL Paragon Full Site Login link. 2
NJMLS Annual Membership Meeting for Designated REALTORS Designated REALTORS are invited to attend our Annual Membership Meeting to be held during the Board of Directors Meeting on Tuesday, October 18, 2011. The meeting starts at 9:30am in our Haworth o'ce. Meet your Board of Directors, hear the latest NJMLS news including a demonstration of our new User Interface for XL Paragon, and learn more about IDX and Video Tours. Enjoy a continental breakfast courtesy of the NJMLS beginning at 9:15am. Location: 160 Terrace Street, 2nd (oor. Please park in the Municipal lot %the upper lot& or on the hill behind our building. Parking in the spaces directly against the building is not permitted. Circle of Excellence It is hard to believe that 2011 is shortly coming to a close. This means it is just about time to start thinking about the Circle of Excellence Report. This is a tool the NJMLS provides to make it easier for you to compile what you need to qualify for this distinction. Here#s how to use it: Click on Toolkit and then choose Circle of Excellence. Enter the dates that you would like to include in the report, and whether you would like to include leased properties. Click Search. Your results will consist of a list of your closed transactions, with the MLS number, address, buyer#s name, date sold, listing o$ce, listing agent, the o$ce and agent that worked with the buyer, and the value of the sale towards your Circle of Excellence status. Don#t forget, this is also a good time to make sure that you#ve checked your inventory to make sure you#re current on reporting closed listings. If you have any questions about these status updates, please call us as soon as possible. Redesigned ekey Fob is Coming Soon! Supra has redesigned their ekey fob for Blackberry and Android devices. The new fob is half the size of the current fob and more than 60) lighter. It also has a longer battery life and uses two replaceable coin cell batteries, which are included. The cost of the new ekey fob is *55.00. The NJMLS will soon have these available for purchase at both our Haworth and Rutherford o'ces. Beware of Solicitors You Don#t Recognize If you receive email or other correspondence from companies that you don$t recognize which imply that the vendor has a relationship with the NJMLS, please check with us before entering into any type of agreement based on this association. As a reminder, our recommended vendors are currently and solely NJ Access/RE/Advantage and Image Maker Media. 3
Public Website Named One of the Top Performing Consumer MLS Sites Our public website, njmls.com, was named one of the top performing MLS Consumer Websites for July, 2011. The WAV Group, a professional consulting "rm to the Real Estate industry, analyzed online performance of MLS consumer sites across the country based on four membership categories, according to size. Based on website visits, njmls.com was ranked #1 in MLS groups with 5,000#9,999 members. For more information on this honor, please click on this link: http://waves.wavgroup.com/2011/09/19/top#performing#mls#consumer# websites#for#july/ A New Look to the Realist Flood Maps You may have noticed that the (ood maps in Realist have a di!erent color#coded appearance. Floodplains are indicated by their varying degrees in purple and yellow, while areas that are not typically a!ected by (ooding are represented in orange. Realist also marks special areas within those gradations that may be treated di!erently, such as a speci"c home that is determined to be outside the 500 year (oodplains, marking them with an +X500., Just a reminder, the map is for informational purposes only and the information is reliable but not guaranteed. To check about (ood areas in a speci"c neighborhood, it is always a good idea to call the town or county. 4
New Real Estate Commission Requirement for Continuing Education The Real Estate Commission will begin requiring continuing education for license renewals. The NJMLS will keep you apprised of any available updates, but if you would like information immediately, please visit the State of New Jersey$s Department of Banking and Insurance website at: http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/division_rec/licensing/continuingeducation/faqs.htm What does IDX mean? IDX stands for Internet Data Exchange. IDX is an agreement between Brokers to share their listings with each other for the purpose of Internet display on individual websites. What does it mean when I agree to participate in IDX? When you choose to participate in IDX, you are able to integrate listings into your site from the NJMLS, making it likely that visitors will spend more time on your website. More listings equals more time spent looking. What is the bene%t of IDX? A recent NAR study said 87) of home buyers used the internet as a resource during their home#buying process, and nearly one#third say they "rst learned about their newly purchased home by researching online. By using an IDX solution on your website, you are able to capture some of this market because any request for information on a listing generates a lead directly to you. Understanding IDX Does a listing automatically get sent to IDX sites? No, "rst the listing agent must get permission from the seller%s& to display listings on the internet; this question appears as part of the listing agreement. When the listing is entered into the NJMLS, you$ll be asked to indicate whether the listing will be added to the internet. If you choose +yes,, the listing will be sent to njmls.com, realtor.com, and IDX sites. How complicated is it to set up IDX? There are just a few simple choices to make on how you would like to set up IDX. Simply decide between a Smart Frame search engine and Data Feed option. Smart Frames allow quick and e!ortless set#up and is the less expensive option. Data is pre#formatted and updated every 15 minutes. IDX Data Feeds rely on a web aggregator or a web designer for programming and site development. Coming Soon: Mobile Smart Frame for IDX Add this feature to your IDX Smart Frame or Data Feed agreement and make it easier for your customers to search for listings using a web#enabled wireless device or smart phone by using a streamlined version of IDX. Only available as an add#on with a new or existing agreement. This is not a stand#alone product. For more information about IDX, go to newjerseymls.com and click on the Services link on the teal blue tool bar, and then choose Internet Data Exchange. Please call us at 201#387#1150 with any questions. 5
On The Move NJMLS would like to welcome the following new o'ces and Designated Realtors: DeSimone Realty, LLC in Florhan Park and their Designated Realtor, Gail DeSimone. ARC Real Estate, LLC in Millstone and their Designated Realtor, Thomas C. Mulligan. Miller & Co. Real Estate in Hackensack and their Designated Realtor, Marjorie Miller. Casale Realty in Belleville and their Designated Realtor, Sally Ann Wilhovsky. Park Lane Realty, LLC in Wallington and their Designated Realtor, Lester Garcia. Absolute Appraisal Service in Staten Island, New York and Appraiser, David Cropper. RE/MAX Legend, LLC/Mahwah in Mahwah has named Daniel Weixeldorfer as their Coldwell Banker in Clifton, has named Gary Silberstein as their Coldwell Banker in Oradell has named David C. Anthony Jr. as their Mark Deluca & Co. in Secaucus has named Jakki Price&Deluca as their Mark Deluca & Co. in Hackensack has named Lawrence J. Greenberg as their Mark Deluca & Co. in Teaneck has named Roosevelt Hall as their Coldwell Banker in Fort Lee has named Juan Rivera as their RE/MAX Village Square in Short Hills has named Judith Langheld as their Designated Realtor Streets and Modes When entering street name information into XL Paragon, whether entering a listing, or performing a Street Name or Property Search, you should only enter the name of the street, such as +Central,, or +Main, in that "eld. Abbreviations such as +Ave,, +St,, and +Rd, are entered into the Mode "eld. Entering those into the street "eld may culminate in zero search results or an error message. Food for Though! October means that we$re well into Fall, and one of the most spectacular presents that we$re given during this time is the changing leaves. Here is an excerpt from a poem by James A. Kisner which beautifully describes what is hopefully an inspiring e!ect of nature: As I shu-e down the path leading through the park, As the days grow shorter now and soon it will be dark. I realize that life is like the seasons we live through, Life is like the changing seasons always changing too. Life is like a changing tree with brightly colored leaves, Your family and your friends and you can be compared to these. In autumn when the leaves start changing colors, they will fall, One by one until the branches have released them all. If I be like a changing leaf among one of life$s trees, And all my friends and family were also such as these. And autumn was not just for me as counted by my birth, But autumn season spoken here was for the entire earth. I only want to realize that in this autumn season, I had a purpose in this would and my life had a reason. To live and love and enjoy life for all that it is worth, But only if the lives I$ve touched had meaning and a purpose. No one knows whose life they touch or who they will embrace, Just by actions they they do or being face to face. But your life will be noticed as the brightly colored trees, As either brilliant beauty or a pile of dried up leaves. 6