RealTown's MLSInformation

We are interested in finding out about Associations and MLSs that have completed a MLS Conversion in the last twenty four months.

If you would be willing to share, we are interested in the following information:


Did you use a MLS Consultant firm to help you in selecting a new MLS Vendor?


What MLS vendor you converted to and why you made that choice?


What triggered your decision to change MLS Vendors?


Who was your former MLS vendor and the issues you had with them (if any) to make you change vendors?


How long did the conversion take and the ups and downs you experienced?

Did you do a side by side conversion for any length of time prior to the conversion?


Thank you,

Sharon Hubbard
MLS Director
Toledo Board of Realtors
Toledo Ohio
sharon@toledorealtors.com

Wow! My experience using two different MLS software platforms Tempo and Rapattoni in Southern California is nothing of the sorts. For example, in Rapattoni I could create and customize an endless amount of Hotsheets. I have 20 different hotsheets saved in Rapattoni. Both systems come with an array of reports and flyers. My clients love both client portals from Tempo and Rapattoni.

When our MLS changed software to a different version of Tempo, members were screaming. Change is hard on anyone, "Tech Savy" or not. I'm sure Flex has had its share of "change" complaints. Good luck,and get some training.

Change is difficult for most of us in this profession, especially with the MLS. I recall that the Arizona Regional MLS had a slew of upset members when they changed to FBS last year (you can see the reactions on the FBS Blog at http://blog.flexmls.com/?p=415 )

My point is, it's like cafeteria food -- you can't please everyone all of the time. All of the major MLS vendors have their strengths and weaknesses, but in the end they do a pretty good job.

Rapattoni has been around for a long time in this industry (almost 40 years) and provides a lot of very experienced and talented staff that will work with the customer. I think this is one of the most overlooked criteria when evaluating a vendor. You are selecting a vendor who will provide one of the most critical services you provide. As part of your due diligence you should determine thier level of experience and expertise. Are they a stable company that won't go out of business? (as oppposed to a startup company like Concentric that may have interesting new technology, but no proven track record, only one customer after alomost three years in the business and recycled employees from another MLS vendor).

Once you make a decision to change, you can't communicate enough with your membership or provide enough training. You need to be prepared for those that will complain no matter what you do, simply because they don't like the change. And you need to be sure your vendor can demonstrate to you that they will be there no matter what to help you through the process, especially the rough spots that will almsot certainly occur.

Just my two cents.

Good luck!

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Comparing Rapattoni to Flex leaves Rapattoni far far behind. Yes, as one person states, you can have 20 - 100 'customized' hot sheets - - but NOT with information specific to each agent. You can NOT pull in the specific fields that you might need. With Flex, I could bring in ANY field (beds, baths, sf, age, lot number, subdivision, basement, original list price, current list price,listing agent/company AND selling agent/company, etc.) that was important to me and my clients - - AND still have a one-liner that was easy to read WITH a thumbnail photo in a 1-2 line well defined hotsheet grid. RAP cannot do the thumbnail on the 1-3 liner. A photo is worth a 100 words - especially in this business. RAP simply does not have the features of FLEX.

Each agent should in this day and age be able to pull in information specific to their needs. As a Broker, I rely on statistics as a marketing tool. RAP's 'statistics' capabilities are so lacking that they are worthless. I suggest that for those of you using Rapattoni, you take a look at the customer satisfaction surveys on MLS programs of Clareity Constulting. I think before you claim that Rap is a good system, you need to at least have experience with another system - be that Flex or any other of several more sophisticated systems. Having experience now with both Flex and now RAP has left members here frustrated and quite angry. This is the home of Virginia TECH in Southwest VA. We are not challenged in the technology field.

Shirley,

Being a user of the Rapattoni system for 3 years, previously using Tempo in San Diego, I can say with certainty you can create a hotsheet on any amenity and field in Rapattoni. For example, I have a hotsheet created using field such as: bedrooms, bathrooms, View, Lot Size within a zipcode. I can even drill down a create a hotsheet on a subdivision or tract code.

Also, your comment about photos. Rapattoni has multiple views/displays. If you like photos, than use the MultiLine with Photos view. My daughter taught me that. I personally like looking at the detail, so I use that view. Finally, in Pasadena our MLS(Rapattoni) just recently added Parcel Mapping which creates layered views integrating tax data within our maps. A great feature. One thing I forgot to mention, the interface of Rapattoni compared to Tempo is a lot easier to work in. I've never used Flex so I couldn't say. Since I'm still paying for MLS fees in San Diego, I can say Tempo doesn't have good consistent flow.

Like I said in a previous post, I have never had a major issue with Rapattoni or Tempo. Different software platforms, with slightly different features, all producing the same net result. I search, get my information and log off the MLS. Finally, I think the LA area qualifies as a Tech Savy area with mulitple universities (UCLA, USC, LMU, Occidental, Northridge)

Kaden

PS. I'm not trying to argue with you, I just disagree with your viewpoint.

If I could, I would attach here the hotsheet (that I created with Flex) that provides the information that my clients need. It cannot be reproduced in Rapattoni. Even RAP says that they cannot manage the thumbnail photos and informational fields as I was able to do with FLEX. It is not just me saying this - - it is RAP itself. I would love to show you the hotsheet that I sent to my clients each morning from FLEX. - - I asked RAP support about how to customize their hotsheet as I could do with FLEX. "NOT possible - case closed' was always the answer from RAP support. I wish you were right - - but sadly, the hotsheet customization that I need just does not exist with RAP.

This is not a failure on my part to navigate the RAP system. I can assure you that I (and most of the upset members here) am very computer and software literate. It is a failure of RAP to measure up. I am glad you like it but I would hope that one day you will have the opportunity to see a better program and what it can do. The satisfaction surveys speak for themselves. Members here are trying desparately to get this mistake fixed.