As of May 1, 2018, RAHB’s photographer, REAL Services, is changing its delivery platform. This will result in the following changes for members requesting photos through Matrix:
As of May 1, 2018, members will no longer be billed through their RAHB account for photos and virtual tours produced by REAL Services. Invoices will be issued by REAL Services directly to members.
Between May 1 and May 31, REAL Services will continue to take front and back photos requested through Matrix. REAL Services will send invoices directly to members during this time.
After May 31, the option to request photographs through Matrix will be discontinued – the Photographer’s Instructions field will no longer be available.
After May 31, all photography and virtual tours will need to be arranged with and paid for by members directly with service providers.
Please note that REAL Services will still be available as a photography/virtual tour service – please contact them at 905.319.9399 or via e-mail at photos@realservices.ca. Other real estate photo and virtual tour services are available in our area; a Google search for “real estate photo services (city/town) Ontario” yields a sizable number of service providers.
If you have any questions about this change in photography service, please contact our MLS® Department at 905.667.4650 or support@rahb.ca.
The Board of Directors recently approved changes to various sections of the MLS® Policies, as noted below.
The second column notes changes made. Sections in bold indicate amended or added wording; sections struck through with a line (e.g. struck through) indicate the section was deleted.
The full, updated set of MLS® Policies can be found under External Links in Matrix and on REALTOR Link®, under the MLS® tab.
Former Policy Wording
Amended/Deleted Policy
Sales
1. When broker loading any sales where the selling salesperson is a non-board broker, members will be required under Selling Salesperson field to enter “NONMEM” on on the comment line (“SOLD BY NAME OF SELLING SALESPERSON) – (NAME OF SELLING BROKERAGE)”.
AMENDED Sales
1. When broker loading any sales where the selling salesperson is a non‐board broker, members will be required under Coop Representative 1 MLS® ID field to enter “NONMEM” and under the NONMEM Info tab enter the name of the Coop Representative and Brokerage name in the spaces provided.
MLS® MARKETING OPTIONS
2. The Listing Salesperson will be required to determine which property type is to be considered the “primary” type. The primary listing will be the property type calculated in the Listing & Sales stats program.
DELETED 2. The Listing Salesperson will be required to determine which property type is to be considered the “primary” type. The primary listing will be the property type calculated in the Listing & Sales stats program.
3. If the listing salesperson presently has a listing on the system: it is their PRIMARY
LISTING and any additional property types can be added as SECONDARY LISTINGS by submitting the Property Information Forms only for those listings affected.
AMENDED
3. If the listing salesperson presently has a listing on the system, : it is their PRIMARY LISTING and any additional property types can be added as SECONDARY LISTINGS by submitting the Property Information Forms only for those listings affected.the original listing MLS® number and the MLS® numbers of any additional listings must be entered in the “AlternateMLSNumber” field of each listing.
4. If the listing salesperson is processing a new listing on the system: he/she simply decides at the time of signing, which property type their wish to be your PRIMARY LISTING by completing the Property Information Form for that property type along with an Agreement Form. At the same time, up to 3 other property types can be submitted as SECONDARY LISTINGS by completing ONLY the Property Information Form for the property types they feel appropriate to market the property.
DELETED 4. If the listing salesperson is processing a new listing on the system: he/she simply decides at the time of signing, which property type their wish to be your PRIMARY LISTING by completing the Property Information Form for that property type along with an Agreement Form. At the same time, up to 3 other property types can be submitted as SECONDARY LISTINGS by completing ONLY the Property Information Form for the property types they feel appropriate to market the property.
5. The Listing Salesperson will also complete the Property Information Form for each of the additional property types they would like to have appear on the system, which will be the secondary listings. It is imperative that the relevant information be identical; for example, listing date, list price, address, lot size, legal description, city/town, Seller name(s), expiry date, Listing Brokerage(s), Listing salesperson(s), selling commission and Agreement Change.
AMENDED
5. The Listing Salesperson will also complete the Property Information Form for each of the additional property types they would like to have appear on the system, which will be the secondary listings. It is imperative that the relevant information be identical; for example, listing date, list price, address, lot size, legal description, city/town, Seller name(s), expiry date, Listing Brokerage(s), Listing salesperson(s), selling commission and Agreement Change.
6. If the relevant information is not identical, the primary listing will be processed and the secondary listings that are not identical will be returned unprocessed. If there are discrepancies in any other fields (not mentioned in #5 above), they will be input as received.
DELETED 6. If the relevant information is not identical, the primary listing will be processed and the secondary listings that are not identical will be returned unprocessed. If there are discrepancies in any other fields (not mentioned in #5 above), they will be input as received.
12. When you send the group of listings to be processed, you will already have determined which will be primary and which will be secondary by the forms you use. These primary and secondary designations may not be changed, either with Amendment to Listing Agreement or at time of reporting the sale.
DELETED
12. When you send the group of listings to be processed, you will already have determined which will be primary and which will be secondary by the forms you use. These primary and secondary designations may not be changed, either with Amendment to Listing Agreement or at time of reporting the sale.
13. When the property sells, the sale will be reported to the Association, using the “primary” listing MLS® number and that property type will be the listing used for the statistics. Each of the other MLS® numbers will appear in the sold database under their specific property type, but will not be recorded in the statistics.
AMENDED
13. When the property sells, only one of the listings shall be reported Sold and all additionally marketed listings shall be reported Cancelled. the sale will be reported to the Association, using the “primary” listing MLS® number and that property type will be the listing used for the statistics. Each of the other MLS® numbers will appear in the sold database under their specific property type, but will not be recorded in the statistics.
Miscellaneous #22
This policy was originally created by the Joint MLS® Committee. The committee was formed to deal with issues that may arise within the shared MLS® system between RAHB, the Niagara Association of REALTORS®, the Brantford Regional Real Estate Association and the Simcoe Real Estate Board or more commonly known as “STARRS” for (Shared Technology and Regional REALTOR® Services). The Fusion MLS® system has now been retired and the STARRS group disbanded nearly two years ago when the other associations cut over to the Regional Matrix system making it unnecessary for this committee or rule to exist.
DELETED Miscellaneous #22 This policy was originally created by the Joint MLS® Committee. The committee was formed to deal with issues that may arise within the shared MLS® system between RAHB, the Niagara Association of REALTORS®, the Brantford Regional Real Estate Association and the Simcoe Real Estate Board or more commonly known as “STARRS” for (Shared Technology and Regional REALTOR® Services). The Fusion MLS® system has now been retired and the STARRS group disbanded nearly two years ago when the other associations cut over to the Regional Matrix system making it unnecessary for this committee or rule to exist.
When you create your listing supplements, you should avoid using special characters – that is, anything other than numbers and letters – in the file name.
Many characters have special meanings to browsers and operating systems, so if you include them in a file name, a web browser may attempt to perform that function instead of opening the file.
So play it safe and avoid using these special characters:
# (pound/hashtag/number sign)
% (per cent)
& (ampersand)
{ (left curly bracket)
} (right curly bracket)
: (colon)
\ (back slash)
@ (at sign)
< (left angle bracket)
> (right angle bracket)
“ (double quotes)
* (asterisk)
? (question mark)
/ (forward slash)
(blank spaces)
$ (dollar sign)
! (exclamation point)
‘ (single quote/apostrophe)
Some additional considerations:
Don’t start or end your file name with a space, period, hyphen or underline
Keep your file names to a reasonable length
Avoid using spaces; use a hyphen instead
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our MLS® Help Desk at (905).667.4650 or support@rahb.ca.
Q: Is there a way that I can search for a wheelchair accessible home in Matrix?
A: Yes! In Matrix, you can add a field called “VisitAble” to your search criteria and then select “yes” to enable it. Here is a description of a VisitAble home:
If you have any further questions about VisitAble Homes, please contact our MLS® Help Desk at (905).667.4650 or support@rahb.ca.
Are your clients missing auto e-mails? Do you know how to disable and then re-enable auto e-mails? What about sending individual listings from one of your auto-searches? RAHB Instructor Eric Meek covers it all in RAHB’s latest Matrix video tutorial.
If you have any questions, concerns or difficulties with auto-emails, please contact our MLS® Help Desk at 905.667.4650 or support@rahb.ca.
ShowingTime, the showing management system, is now LIVE in RAHB Matrix! Have you read and watched our ShowingTime training resources yet? In addition to the training resource archive, we have also put together some FAQs from our ShowingTime webinars below.
If you have any additional questions not covered in our ShowingTime training materials, please e-mail support@rahb.ca or call 905.529.8101 ext. 241.
ShowingTime Training Webinar Recording
ShowingTime Training Webinar Questions
If you enter your Buyer’s name in the ShowingTime “optional field” is it visible to the listing REALTOR® or just for your own records?
A: The buyer’s name in the “optional field” won’t be visible to the listing REALTOR®. This would be for your reference only to track your buyer’s activity (e.g. buyer tours you created, which properties you’ve shown them, etc.).
hat happens if you don’t answer the ShowingTime automated call?
f you are unable to answer the ShowingVoice call, the system will leave an automated voicemail message with a call back number so you can confirm or decline the appointment.
Can you overlap showing times?
ou can overlap your appointments in ShowingTime using the “Appointment Calendar”. If the time slot you clicked on has another appointment scheduled, clicking on it will open up some options for you to overlap your appointments or cancel your previous appointment.
Will we still be able to book a showing by calling brokerages or will we only be able to book through ShowingTime going forward?
they would like to accept showing requests.
Can you sync the ShowingTime calendar to your personal calendar (i.e., Outlook)?
es. In your ShowingTime “Agent Profile” there is a “Calendar Sync” button under your photo that will provide options for you to sync your ShowingTime appointments with your personal calendar.
If we are using Matrix for Mobile, are we still able to click multiple listings to add to cart? Will this open our app on our phones, or bring us to ShowingTime in a web browser?
n order to set up ShowingCart tours, you’ll need to be on your desktop for Matrix or the desktop version of the site on your mobile device.
hat happens if a listing doesn’t use ShowingTime?
f a listing doesn’t use ShowingTime, you will see a note letting you know the listing is not accepting online appointments. You can still add it to “ShowingCart” to help plan your buyer tour, but you’ll need to view the detail report in Matrix and follow the scheduling instructions entered by the listing REALTOR® there.
When using ShowingTime’s “SmartRoute”, how does the system know if we want to start at the office?
hen setting up your buyer tour, whatever you set as the first stop will be your number one stop. So if you want to keep your office as your first stop when using “SmartRoute”, you will just need to set it to your number one stop.
What happens when an appointment is declined and you have to reschedule?
he listing REALTOR® has the ability to propose a new time or give you instructions when to request a new appointment. You can then request a new time, or change the time based on the listing REALTOR’s® notes.
ow can I change an appointment in ShowingTime?
ou can go into ShowingTime and click the “I Have Requested” button under the “Showings” tab. From there you can propose new times, or cancel your existing appointments.
Q: Is there an option to have office staff book showings during office hours or do appointment requests have to go through REALTORS® only?
ShowingTime is a REALTOR®-to-REALTOR® scheduling tool, but if you have front desk managing appointments for your office’s listings, you can add their email address in the “Office Setup” tab from the side menu (visible to office users such as a broker or record) to be copied on appointment request notifications.
ShowingTime, our new showing management system, is coming to RAHB Matrix this Wednesday (March 7, 2018)! Don’t miss out on our comprehensive training webinars that cover everything you need to know. Click here to register.
If you would like some extra learning resources on the ShowingTime mobile app, we encourage you to watch the following video tutorials:
Attention Brokers of Record/Managers!
Is your office currently using a showing management system (Lone Wolf, QOC or others)? If you have not already done so, can you please let us know which system you are using? Contact Rosanne Horansky at rosanneh@rahb.ca.
Keep watching NewsReal and Matrix News & Alerts for more information about ShowingTime! For an archive of RAHB’s ShowingTime resources, click here.
ShowingTime, the showing management system, is coming to RAHB Matrix Wednesday, March 7, 2018! We have some great training webinars scheduled March 6, 7 and 8, 2018 that cover everything you need to know. Click here to register.
Meanwhile, we have compiled some frequently asked questions about ShowingTime Appointments below:
How do I choose different “Appointment Types”?
Being able to identify what type of appointment you are scheduling can help get the appointment confirmed faster. You can choose from several appointment types, such as Showing, Appraisal, Walk-Through, Photography and more! Click here to view the video tutorial explaining how to choose the right “Appointment Type”.
How can I tell the Seller that the showing is over in ShowingTime?
In the ShowingTime mobile app, you can visit the “Appointment” screen or navigate from the confirmation to click on the “I’m Done or Done Showing” button.
How do I see the Feedback on my listings?
When the showing REALTOR® fills out the feedback form, you are able to see it in the ShowingTime feedback section located under the “On my Listings” tab. When you are a sent a feedback request form you will be able to answer it and track it via the “Listings I have Shown” tab.
Keep watching NewsReal and Matrix News & Alerts for more information about ShowingTime! For an archive of RAHB ShowingTime resources, click here.
Did you know that ShowingTime, the showing appointments request system, will be integrated into RAHB Matrix on Wednesday, March 7, 2018? If you’ve never used ShowingTime before, don’t worry – you can register for one of our three FREE training webinars on March 6, 7 and 8, 2018.
In the meantime, we have compiled some frequently asked questions about the ShowingCart tool and ShowingTime Listing basics below:
What is ShowingCart?
ShowingCart is a way to schedule multiple showings all in one place in ShowingTime. Once you have selected the showings you want to schedule, the map will allow you to see where the listings you selected are located so you can create the best possible route for your buyer. In addition, you can see all of the confirmed requests in one place and send directions as well. There will be two ways to schedule showings using ShowingCart: through the RAHB Matrix system or through the ShowingTime mobile app. To learn more, watch the ShowingCart video tutorial here.
What kind of attachments can I add to my listing?
You can add any disclosures or forms that need to be shared with a showing REALTOR®. ShowingTime accepts .PDF, .JPG, .GIF, or .PNG file uploads only (20MB max).
When should I merge a listing?
If a property is re-listed or comes back on the market you may have two in your inventory. You may also have a duplicate listing if you are a member of more than one Association. Merging the listings will keep all the history and future showings together.
How does ShowingTime save space in my “REALTOR® Remarks”?
Showing instructions such as “please close all blinds” or “please leave card” are often included in the “REALTOR® Remarks” section of listings. ShowingTime frees up that space by having some pre-defined notations that will display while in the ShowingTime appointments screen. Some examples of what instructions are available are listed below:
Do I have to use ShowingTime for my listings?
We certainly encourage you to use ShowingTime, but ultimately, choosing to use ShowingTime is up to you.
Keep watching NewsReal and Matrix News & Alerts for more information about ShowingTime! For an archive of RAHB ShowingTime resources, click here.
ShowingTime, the showing request system, will be integrated into the RAHB Matrix system on Wednesday, March 7, 2018, and your sellers may have some questions regarding how the software works.
Third, we recommend that you keep the following FAQs on-hand so you are prepared for any follow-up questions your sellers may have:
As a seller, will I be notified when a ShowingTime showing is scheduled?
Yes, you can receive email notifications so you know when an appointment is scheduled. Appointments fall into two categories:
Go & Show – this is when no appointment is required and a showing request can be immediately confirmed.
Appointment Required – this is when a confirmation must be obtained from you as the seller, your tenant and/or Listing REALTOR® before a showing may occur.
In both cases, you may choose to receive notifications.
Why is more than one REALTOR® showing my home at a time?
Your Listing REALTOR® can set up appointments to be “exclusive” or “overlapping”. An exclusive showing will allow only one REALTOR® and buyer in your home at a specified time. Overlapping showings will allow more than one REALTOR® and buyer to view your property at the same time.
Can I share showing appointments with a family member?
Yes, your Listing REALTOR® can add multiple people to your property information in ShowingTime so your family members can receive notifications for upcoming showings. An additional setting can also allow one or more family member to have the ability to confirm or decline showings.
What if I don’t want showings at a certain time?
ShowingTime allows REALTORS® to create appointment restrictions for specific days and times. This is known as “Setting an Appointment Rule”, which is anything that will change the normal outcome for confirming showings based on preferences set in the listing’s instructions.
Keep watching NewsReal and Matrix News & Alerts for more information about ShowingTime! For an archive of RAHB ShowingTime resources, click here.
In the meantime, you may have some questions about how ShowingTime notifications work. We have compiled some frequently asked questions below so you can be prepared and have an extra resource on hand for the ShowingTime launch date:
How will I be notified of a showing request on my listing?
In your ShowingTime profile there will be a section titled “Listing Agent Preferences”. This is where you can select how you would like to be contacted for requests on your listings. These settings will be defaulted on all of your listings.
What are my options for being notified in ShowingTime?
You have three options to choose from for ShowingTime notifications:
Email
Text Messaging
Push, which is a notification directly from the ShowingTime mobile app
You can choose one of these options, two or all three, depending on what best fits your preferences.
How do I enable text message notifications for myself?
At the top of your Profile under the “Profile Basics” section, you can enter your mobile phone number in the “Text Message” field. Then select “Long SMS” or “Short SMS”.
The “Short SMS” will provide a short, single text message with an external link you can click to see further information.
“Long SMS” will provide all of the ShowingTime notification information via text message (no external link), but be mindful that this information may span more than one text message.
What if my seller wants to be notified about requested showings?
A seller can be added to any listing under an “Appointment Required” appointment type. This allows sellers to be part of the selling process by either confirming requests or simply being notified of showings.
To add your seller, go to the “Listing Setup” tab and click “Add New Owner/Occupant”. Be sure to indicate the seller’s notification preferences for requests, confirmations and cancellations.
Do not forward your “Listing Agent” version of emails to your sellers; they have a separate template with limited access.
Why am I not receiving email notifications for my listings?
The most common reason why emails are not received is because they get caught in your spam/junk email filter. If this is the case, please make sure your email provider is not blocking inbound emails from ShowingTime. In addition, check to make sure that your email address is correct in your profile.
Keep watching NewsReal and Matrix News & Alerts for more information about ShowingTime! For an archive of RAHB ShowingTime resources, click here.
Have you seen the new CREA WEBForms®? Before you start using the new and improved WEBForms®, make sure that your device meets the new system requirements. (Please note that the new WEBForms® is notcompatible with the Microsoft Edge browser).
WEBForms® System Requirements
Operating Systems
Recommended operating systems:
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows Vista Service Pack 2
Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Mac OS 10.7, 10.8, 10.9, or 10.10
Operating system that meets the minimum requirements:
Mac OS 10.6.8
Browsers
Recommended browsers:
Internet Explorer 10 or 11
Safari 6, 7 or 8
Firefox latest version
Google Chrome latest version
Browsers that meet the minimum requirements:
Internet Explorer 9
Safari 5.1.10
If you have any difficulties or encounter an error on WEBForms®, please contact CREA Member Support at support@crea.ca or 1.888.237.7945.
When you create your listing supplements, you should avoid using special characters – that is, anything other than numbers and letters – in the file name.
Have you seen the new CREA WEBForms®? Before you start using the new and improved WEBForms®, make sure that your device meets the new system requirements. (Please note that the new WEBForms® is not compatible with the Microsoft Edge browser).