Pick 1 or 4 year Sold Data

So we went from 18 months to 4 years of sold data. But then people complained that that was too much data. Too much data!! Ok, ok, I hear you.

So now there is a checkbox option for sold data from the last 4 years, or sold data from just 2009.

Again, this is MLS data that shows the seller subsidy and the NET price.

You likey?

Frank

New "Clear" feature vs Logging out

I now set up www.FranklyMLS.com/clear which will clear all three cookies for

1) Favorite homes

2) Saved searching

3) Agent branding

This is particularly useful for agents that wish to log into their client's account and leave notes, or favorite homes. So if you are working with 3 or 4 clients, you can make sure not to mix anything up, by going to /clear each time.

If one "Logs out" that does not remove agent branding.

Frank

Best Route (kinda) your favorites.

So there is a new feature. Currently called "Route Favorites"

When you have your homes saved as Favorites, they show up on the top of the page. You then click on which homes you want to see on the map (there is a # to the right of that) and click Route Favorites. This will then show you where the homes are on the map.

Now technically it isn't a "best route" or driving directions, but the idea is you can eyeball which homes you should see first and the # will show you the address.

If people like this, I can make it better.

Anybody?
Frank

New Consolidated Login System, Any Bugs?

Ok, so people were yelling and screaming about not being able to login. The old way if you were not already logged in, you would add a home and then be prompted for your email address (no passwords required).

Now you can login, and it will give you a "welcome frank@frank..." so you know you are logged in.

Also previously the Saved Homes, called "Favorites" was a separate account and login versus the Saved Search (emailing you changes you to saved criteria). Now they are consolidated into one login.

Let me know if you get snags.

Also we had to start blocking people who are too high tech for cookies. Those that scrub cookies end up breaking the site, so if you don't use cookies, we can't help you, sorry.

Frank

(anybody know how to make it so emails to Yahoo aren't trashed into spam?)

3 Featured Comments on the front page

We are now featuring the most recent three comments from Realtors (or buyers) on the front page. This is in hope of further encouraging adding to the WIKI. More exposure for the contributor and more of a "oh now I get it" for those that don't get the Wiki concept.

Currently it only displays home reviews, that have photo albums.

Thanks!

Frank

Search for Agent's BUYING activity

Now you can put in an agent's name (start with the last name) and search under SOLD to see their sold listings (previously available) AND now their sold purchases.

The Sold homes where they were the buyer agent, that is the new part!

Soon I will make it easier to see in the spreadsheet mode how the agents did, and whether they were the buyer agent or the listing agent.

Frank

iPhone Users, add a Shortcut

Attn iPhone users. I'm working on making your site experience better. Maybe an APP, but who needs another app if you can just add a bookmark which is essentially the same thing (on my site).

Because the iPhone browser is so powerful, and people want ALL the data, I stopped rerouting iPhone users to the faster cell mode.

If you want an icon to the front page, then go to www.FranklyMLS.com on your iPhone and press the + button at the botton of the page and this icon: will become your shortcut.

For iPhone users that prefer the faster trimmed down version, you can go to www.franklymls.com/cell and press the + to save this image as your shortcut.

I know the graphic is ugly, but FranklYMLS isn't known for graphics right? (not one graphic on the site). My designer will get on it shortly though.

Now off to fix the screen resolution (anybody know how to do that?) for phone users.

Frank

MLS Under Contract Types. We show all 3

There are three stages of Under Contract on the MRIS MLS system. At FranklyMLS.com in Virginia, DC, MD we show all three. As of tomorrow, we will make it more clear which is which.

In 22201 right now there are 55 homes for sale under some sort of "Under Contract".

- 4 are: Under Contract/KO (Kickout) (These are pretty rare, 10%)

- 33 are: Under Contract/NoKO (No Kickout) (These are the most common at 60%)

- 18 are just plain: "Under Contract" about 30%

Under Contract/KO (w/Kickout)
This means that the home for sale has a contract that has been signed by the buyer and seller. However there is some terms in it that make it a "KICKOUT."
For example, if there is a home sale contingency, the seller is effectively saying in the kickout: "Ok, you can keep in that annoying home sale contingency, but if we get another offer, we will give you 3 days to 'sh*t or get off the pot.' " So when the other offer comes in, the buyer has to decide if they want to take on the risk of not selling their home, or if they want to let the seller sell to somebody else.

The downside for the seller is when it hits this stage, it gets dropped from many MLS sites and agents and buyers stay clear of it. Which is a shame.

This type of contract is only for about 10% of the homes for sale. If you have a GREAT agent, they should be looking for these as well. They are prime candidates. Why? The buyer has already been beaten down on the price (which is not posted publicly) and now all you need to do is come in with better terms (read my blog on terms terms terms). Nothing is guaranteed, but you have a shot.

Under Contract No/KO (No Kickout)
This is the most common Contract type. It doesn't have a particular term in it that will allow a buyer to easily get kicked out. However there are still some contingencies such as a Home Inspection or HOA Docs or an appraisal contingency. So a home buyer can put in a back up offer on these. Many agents will not because they think it is a waste of time, but you can still do it. The best approach is to make an offer with strong terms (and maybe a tad higher, if you can find out the other offer amount) and make it clear to the seller that if the buyer so much as sneezes or asks for anything unreasonable, you will be there and close quickly and not be a pain in the neck. Then you might have a shot.
Note that you can pull a back up offer at anytime before it becomes the prime offer. Ie if you plan to pffer elsewhere.

Just: "Under Contract" Regular
I added the word "regular." It is actually just listed on the MRIS system as "Contract."
Some agents are lazy and skip the first two steps and put it in like this. Why? It takes 1 more step to enter into the MRIS system when it has gone from one stage to another stage and they can get fined by the MRIS if they forget to update it.

Listing Agent tip: Never ever list it as just "Under Contract- Regular" Why? The MRIS system is wacked and it shows other potential buyer agents who the listed buyer agent is! Who cares? Why in the world would you want to tell the world WHO the buyer is, before you close? This is private information and MRIS should change their policy on displaying this (only on the back end).

Written by Frank

4 Years Sold Data and Crosslinking

Due to multiple requests, we now have sold data for almost 4 years back! We were 1 year, and then 18 months.

Also we have crosslinked the sold data. So if you see an active listing that was previously sold within the last 4 years, there is now a link to show you what the house used to look like and information when it was previously sold.

Now I am working on data to make it easier to search for an agent's track record.

Frank

iPhone And Cell Mode for MLS Searching

So FranklyMLS.com is probably the easiest way to view the MLS on your cell phone. Previously I was routing all cell phones to www.franklymls.com/cell. However iPhone users felt their browser could support the regular page.

So at the request of a client, I have made it so iPhone users that enter through FranklyMLS.com will see the normal front page AND (this is the latest tweak) when they click on a listing, they will see the regular computer version, and not be switched over to the cell mode.

But if you are on an iPhone, or another phone, and you enter in on www.FranklyMLS.com/cell (faster/smaller images), when you click on any listing you will see the cell mode. SOon there will be a link at the bottom of the cell mode for you to see the regular CPU version.

To those that don't use their cell phone to follow the MLS, this might seem like minor tweaks, but to hard core users, it can be very frustrating when some of the data that you come to expect isn't as easily accessible.

Frank

INMAN Innovator of the Year Winner: FranklyMLS

Many of you might not know what INMAN is, but it is the leading real estate news organization outside of the official Realtor association.

Anyhow, Frank, the creator of FranklyMLS.com won the 2009 Innovator of the Year award to a crowd of 1500 people two days ago at Inman Connect in San Fran.

Kinda cool that they noticed our little ole MLS site here on the east coast. Thanks Inman. And thank you if you are one of the many that have sent in suggestions for making the site better.

Inman Article: View Annoucement

Watch video:

I will have a more detailed blog post on how everything unraveled out in San Fran and I will post it on Blog.FranklyRealty.com, so make sure to subscribe to that blog.

Post written by Frank

(Photo by Tim Suh)

(Video by Ray from VideosByAddress.com)