Did you know Paragon uses Bing Maps? Bing Maps and Google Maps use Geo-Codes (latitude and longitude) as a way of mapping properties and locations, which makes them extremely accurate. Using Mapping in Paragon is much more effective, because you can search exactly where your client would like to purchase their new home.  Paragon will find the properties that match the criteria specified in that geological location.

MLS “Legacy” map coordinates have been around since the days of the “map books” as a means of property location.  However, searching by map coordinates is obsolete by comparison to more accurate forms of location based searching such as Map Searching.

Let’s face it ~ you cannot sell a property if the cooperating agent and buyer can’t find it!   Geocodes or GPS coordinates are the globally recognized standard of location identification using latitude and longitude.  All mapping software uses it including Google, Bing and Yahoo as well as Realtor.com, Zillow and Trulia.  Geocodes are a required component of Paragon, Paragon Mobile, Cloud CMA, Listingbook, RPR and Realist (Public Records).  While they are generated automatically in Paragon through listing entry, it is recommended to “validate” that the property is properly located in the system.

VALIDATE YOUR LISTINGS ~ Listing Entry or Listing Maintenance

Have you felt like Mobile technology is out of your league?  Do you feel like Mobile technology is passing you by? Do you want to make Mobile technology part of your selling tools? MiRealSource wants to provide some simple tips to help you succeed with your Mobile technology because… if you haven’t figured it out by now…

It’s time to embrace Mobile technology because it’s here to stay!

Paragon has some of the best photo features around! The new “Slide Show Feature” can not only be forwarded to your buyers and sellers, but you can also display the “slide show” at an open house, or even use this great feature to create a virtual tour! MiRealSource also allows up to 30 photos with 255 characters to add detailed descriptions.  Paragon has been top-rated to be a user-friendly system and it is only going to keep getting better!

Are you a VIP Member at MiRealSource?  All of our members are “Very Important People” and we have a card to prove it!  Any time you attend a class at MiRealSource, you can get your VIP Member Card.  What does the card do, besides stating the obvious?  The VIP card allows you to receive SPECIAL MEMBER PRICING at the Apple stores located at either Partridge Creek or The Somerset Collection.

If you are considering purchasing a new Apple product (Mac or an iPad), be sure to take your 2013 MIREALSOURCE VIP MEMBER CARD with you.  Even if you are not looking for a new computer today, you can still use your VIP Member Card to buy a new carrying case or any other accessories.

 Is it time to write a purchase agreement or did you get a new listing? Congratulations! Now you need to fill out the correct forms. If you elected to use Instanet these forms are already available to you.

Instanet has so many more features than just the forms. You can auto populate the MLS data, with just one click from within the listing to write up your purchase agreement and other additional documents.

Authentisign is another great feature that not only saves you time and money ~ perhaps you can close the deal quicker!  Perhaps your buyer is out of town, now you can use Authentisign to send the documents to your client to obtain a digital signature!

When your buyers are touring homes, its important to understand what makes one home stand out from the others?  What do Buyers feel they need vs. what they feel is a bonus to them? We all try to assist our Buyers with what they “think” or “say” they want.  However, what is the average buyer actually purchasing?

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is trying to answer those questions and more with the 2013 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences survey. The survey was completed by buyers who purchased a home between the years 2010 and 2012.

The survey reports:

Starting out in the real estate industry is not always easy, but with the proper tools, training and networking, breaking into the industry can be a lot easier! The buzz about the new social networking website, LinkedIn cannot be ignored. It definitely should not be ignored by new professionals and agents that are looking to meet other agents, brokers or better yet buyers and sellers.

MiRealSource has a long history of assisting and educating REALTORS® in east Michigan.  In 1921, an alliance of real estate brokers in eastern Detroit joined together to form the Eastern Detroit Realty Association (EDRA).  This alliance created a subsidiary corporation in 1966 to act as a multi-listing service known as McEDRA.

In 1979, the broker-owned McEDRA merged with the Metropolitan Listing Service, also a broker-owned company.  This newly merged entity became known as the Macomb Multiple Listing Service, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Macomb Association of REALTORS®.

Our real estate world seems to be in a constant state of flux and that statement has never been truer than today. Between Instanet, Zipforms, Mobile Apps, and the Great Lakes Repository (GLR) (to name a few) we are in for the ride of our lives.