MLS News

MLS Fines - update

As has been advertised for several months now, fines for MLS violations began on April 1, 2006. Although the April numbers were not available at press time, below is a chart showing first quarter violation activity. Important to note is the percent change. Total warnings issue decreased by almost 60 percent over the three-month period.

Part of this decrease is because violations for incorrect/missing map grid and page numbers were removed as fineable offenses in March. But, even if those violations are removed completely, violations have decreased 45 percent from the first of the year.

As the objective for implementing a system of fines was to improve the accuracy of the MLS data, reducing the number of inaccuracies by roughly half is great news. Our hope is that these numbers will drop enough over the next couple months to make this subject non-newsworthy!

Right is a list of the violations and fines in place. For a full description of each violation, please see the `MLS Fines List' available at ColumbusRealtors.com.

Important Note: If you realize you've made an error in a field that is locked, please send an e-mail to MLSCorrection@columbusrealtors.com to avoid being fined for a violation.

Tax Roll Update Schedule

Tax roll updates are expected on the following dates for the 9 counties covered by Realist. These will be applied to Realist shortly after they are available from the Auditor. Until such time as these updates are applied, you will need to manually adjust the tax figures so they are in line with 2005 taxes. Otherwise, the numbers may be significantly lower than actual tax rate for 2005, as the numbers auto-populated by Realist are from 2004.

CBR TempoTM only compatible with Internet Explorer

By Frank Koch, CBR Systems Analyst

This year the CBR TempoTM system will be going through an entire version upgrade. This upgrade will make it essential that MS Internet Explorer be used for CBR TempoTM access. CBR TempoTM is designed to explicitly work with Internet Explorer 6+ only and no other browsers including AOL, Netscape, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera, and Safari will work fully.

One of the first phases of this upgrade was the new CLS (Client Listing Site), which was added last year. Many members using the AOL browser, or members using shortcuts or favorites, started experiencing issues with CBR TempoTM, especially when emailing from CBR TempoTM. AOL officially became non-compatible with CBR TempoTM after the CLS upgrade to the system.

The MLS technical support staff highly discourages using AOL's browser to access CBR TempoTM. You can use AOL to get the Internet, but use Internet Explorer 6+ to access CBR TempoTM.

AOL generates an error when sending out email to clients from CBR TempoTM. The AOL's error says "Error in Server Application" and there is no way to recover. If this problem does occur with AOL, for example, all staff members can do is recommend using the latest version of Internet Explorer.

Microsoft Windows with Internet Explorer is the only operating system and browser officially supported by CBR TempoTM. Operating system platforms such as Mac OS, Linux, Solaris, and BSD will not be able to fully access CBR TempoTM since Internet Explorer 6+ doesn't exist on these systems. Earlier versions of Internet Explorer are not guaranteed to work either especially the earlier versions of Internet Explorer created to be compatible with Macintosh. Programs that emulate Windows do exist on the Internet that will allow you to use Internet Explorer 6+ on other operating systems, but we will not support the installation of these programs and we will give no technical support when problems do occur.

The proper, and only supported, way to log into CBR TempoTM is to first establish your Internet connection (CBR TempoTM doesn't care which one is used), if AOL is being used the software at this point needs to be minimized, then locate and double left click the Internet Explorer icon (normally it's a big, blue "e") to launch Microsoft Internet Explorer. Finally remove whatever is in the address line and type columbusrealtors.com and click on the Login button on the right.

Internet Explorer comes automatically with Microsoft Windows. You can check to see which version of Internet Explorer have by clicking on Help > About Internet Explorer. Under the logo there is a text field called "Version:" which should display 6.0 (or higher). Make sure you have the most current version of Internet Explorer. You can download the latest version of Internet Explorer at: www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/.

Is a contract without signatures considered `in contract'?

It appears that, when a relocation company is involved, it can take extra time (perhaps even weeks) before an offer to purchase actually gets signed and returned. During this period, should the listing be entered as `in contract' in MLS? After legal review and much discussion, the MLS Committee recommends that all unsigned offers remain in MLS with an ACTIVE status. That said, there are situations where, although unsigned, an agreement (and ultimately a signed contract) is likely. Under such circumstances, agents may change the status to `in contract'.

In the works. . .

Although info/details weren't available at press time, the following items are coming down the pike. The MLS Welcome Screen will provide details when available.

Community Development Charges - CBR will be updating the list of known community development charges and making this information available on the web site.

Next Publish - the next set of modifications/improvements (called a `publish') for the CBR Tempo^TM MLS will be in mid-late June.

Upcoming CBR TempoTM and related software classes

Click here to view/register for upcoming TempoTM and related software classes.