NOTICE about faxing document into MLXChange

If you have recently experienced trouble or failure trying to fax a document such as a seller's disclosure, plat map, or any other type of document into MLXChange so that it would attach to your listing we are aware of the problem. The local phone number used to fax in documents, (361) 356-1143, is temporarily unable to forward the fax to the long distance number 1 (714) 824-5667. Until the problem is corrected you may fax all documents, with appropriate cover sheet, directly to the long distance number

1 (714) 824-5667.

Keep in mind that standard long distance phone charges will apply though. We are working to correct the problem soon.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

MLXChange 5.0 New Features

MLXChange 5.0 New Features

Homepage

Inventory Watch is now divided as a drop down menu to show Personal or “My Office” Listings information.

Inventory Watch now displays any scheduled Open Houses for the agent or office.

Inventory Watch now displays the number of Incomplete Listings an agents has.

Search Screen

New Search Option/ Operator – “Not Containing” ex) Public Remarks/ Agent Remarks fields

Open House fields can now be added as criteria from the main search screen.

New Field - ListANDSell Agent is now available ex) shows number of sides sold is single search

New Field - ListANDSell Office is now available ex) shows number of sides sold is single search

Search Map Screen

5 shapes can now be drawn to search for listings instead of 1

Polygon shapes now have up to 15 total points they were originally limited to 10 points.

Saved Search Screen

New Option to view saved search results in a various grid formats instead of the default.

Client’s names can now be switched First to Last or Last to First

New Option - Never is now available for Auto-Notifications Frequency

Upon saving a saved search an option to View, Email, or Do Nothing with all listings that were found will now pop up.

2009 Open House Schedule

The 2009 Open House Schedule is now available. Click on the link below to open the PDF version.

https://ccar.getlamps.net/documents/2009%20MLS%20WEEKLY%20OPEN%20HOUSE%20SCHEDULE.pdf

If you don't already know what the Open House Schedule is then let me explain. Every Wednesday a area of Corpus Christi is selected to have a open house tour. An open house tour is were agents drive around to each available open house and look at the home. This schedule is how each area of town is selected. If you have a home you want on tour:

1. Check the schedule for the next available Wednesday that your home can be listed (based on what area number your home is in)

2. Login to MLXChange and schedule your listing for the appropriate date.

3. Have the Open House

Internet Explorer Security Flaw - by WIRED

IE Fans Beware: Hackers Are Exploiting a Serious Unpatched Flaw

By Scott Gilbertson December 16, 2008 9:40:31 AMCategories: Browsers

If you've never tried Firefox, Safari, Opera Google Chrome or other Internet Explorer alternatives, now might be a good time. Microsoft's flagship browser, the default choice on countless Windows machines, currently has a serious security flaw that affects all versions of the browser running on any version of Windows. The vulnerability allows hackers to gain access to any sensitive data on your PC.

Even more worrying, the exploit is already in the wild and no there's no fix in sight, leading a number of security researchers to suggested that, in the interest of avoiding malicious software, users switch to another browser.

If you're the pry-it-out-of-my-cold-dead hands sort of IE fan, there is one bright side to news that some 10,000 sites are ready to pwn your PC: so far the sites are mostly Chinese and the malicious software is mainly after passwords for computer games, which can be sold on the black market.

But given the scope of the flaw and the fact that Microsoft has yet to release a patch, don't expect that to last. Eventually far more sophisticated trojans will likely emerge with far more dangerous goals.

Obviously Microsoft isn't recommending you ditch IE (though the company didn't hesitate to suggest dumping Apple's Safari browser when it suffered from a far less serious vulnerability). Instead the company has released a security bulletin with possible workarounds, including running IE in Protected Mode and running Windows as an non-administrative user (to limit the damage an attacker can inflict).

Microsoft also says it is investigating the flaw and may push out an emergency software patch, rather than wait for the next monthly patch cycle to roll around.

Article from WIRED http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/12/ie-fans-beware.html

Remember that only Internet Explorer works with MLXChange so if you decide to use another internet browser to surf the web just make sure you keep Internet Explorer so you can still login to MLXChange.

The best way to keep your self safe is by making sure your anti virus is up to date and turning your computer off each night. Thieves can't get in when the machine is turned off.

ccaronline email changes

As you all are aware we have been experiencing issues with the ccaronline.com email addresses. In order to correct the problem, we are moving our email hosting to another company that can provide better and more stable service. The email server will be shut down and switched over Friday December 12, 2008 after 5:00 pm and should be back online Saturday morning, December 13. Please do not send emails during this time. During the switch all emails will be held until the servers have been switched and turned back on so that no emails will be lost during the change over.

If you check your email through the internet by logging on to webmail no changes are necessary. Please disregard the following. Do not read any further!
However, if you currently use a program like Outlook, Windows Mail, or Thunderbird you will need to make some changes to your email setting before it will work properly. The Outgoing mail server will need to be mail.ccaronline.com and the Outgoing port will need to be 587. I have included the steps and videos for how to make the changes in Outlook 2007, Outlook 2003, and Windows Mail below.

If you check your ccaronline.com email through your Palm phone similar changes will be required.

Thank You for your patience,
Josh Ellington



Microsoft Outlook 2007
Open Microsoft Outlook 2007
Click on Tools
Click on Account Settings
Click on Change
Change the Outgoing mail server to mail.ccaronline.com
Click on More Settings
Click on the Outgoing Server tab
Check the box "My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication" and "Use same settings as my incoming mail server"
Click on the Advanced tab
Change the Outgoing Server (SMTP) to 587
Click Ok and Exit


Click the PLAY Video

Microsoft Outlook 2003
Open Microsoft Outlook 2003
Click on Tools
Click on Email Accounts
Click on View or Change existing email account
Click on Next
Select your email account
Click Change
Change the Outgoing mail server to mail.ccaronline.com
Click on More Settings
Click on the Outgoing Server tab
Check the box "My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication" and "Use same settings as my incoming mail server"
Click on the Advanced tab
Change the Outgoing Server (SMTP) to 587
Click Ok and Exit


Click the PLAY Video

Microsoft Windows Mail (Comes with Vista)
Open Windows Mail
Click on Tools
Click on Accounts
Click on your email account
Then click on Properties
Click on the Server tab
Change the Outgoing mail server to mail.ccaronline.com
Check the box "My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication"
Click on Settings
Make sure "Use same settings as my incoming mail server" is checked
Click on Advanced tab
Change the Outgoing Server (SMTP) to 587
Click Apply and Exit



Click the PLAY Video

Palm OS Email
Go to the Palm applications
Open Email
Click on the top tab to view the menu
Click on Accounts
Click on Account Setup
Click on Edit
Change the Outgoing mail server to mail.ccaronline.com
Go to Advanced
Change the Outgoing Server (SMTP) to 587
Click Ok and Exit

Click the PLAY Video

Coastal Bend MLS Stats - October 2008

Here is the October 2008 Coastal Bend MLS statistics. The following data is based on residential closed sales and the information comes from the Coastal Bend MLS from October 1, 2008 through October 31, 2008.

Data pulled: November 18, 2008

Sales Closed: 255 (October 2008) 392 (October 2007)

Sold Dollar Volume: $42,967,125 (October 2008) $64,858,165 (October 2007)

Average Sales Price: $168,499(October 2008) $165,455 (October 2007)

New Technology Coming Soon - Supra eKey on Blackberry

GE Security’s Supra Announces December Availability of BlackBerry-Compatible eKey

New Products to Help Agents Using BlackBerry Smart Phones Improve Productivity With All-in-One Access to Listings, Showing Alerts and Market Intelligence

BRADENTON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE Security Inc., a business of GE Enterprise Solutions (NYSE:GE), today announced availability of a new version of its wireless eKEY that will enable full lockbox functionality for BlackBerry® smartphones from Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq:RIMM) (TSX:RIM). The eKEY Basic version is expected to be available for BlackBerry by mid-December 2008. eKEY Professional is expected to be launched in spring 2009.

Both eKEY Basic and eKEY Professional editions will allow real estate agents to access, manage and search listed properties using BlackBerry smart phones and can help them save time and increase productivity in today’s ultra competitive market.

“The device works great right out of the box and is very easy to set up and use immediately. It is incredibly stable, reliable and convenient,” said beta tester, Padraic Ansbro, a REALTOR® with Keller Williams in Portland, Oregon. “All the other alternatives are larger and bulkier to use. Before switching, I was so bogged down with gadgets that it was like wearing Batman’s utility belt. Simpler is definitely better.”

“We are excited about the new BlackBerry eKEY solution. We know that many of our customers are BlackBerry users and this is a great way to help them further increase productivity,” said Ron Virden, general manager, GE Security’s key control business. “Mobile technology is a very important tool in today’s challenging marketplace and the BlackBerry eKEY can provide real estate professionals with a distinct competitive advantage.”

eKEY Basic allows agents to open lockboxes, receive real-time showing notifications and view showing reports using their GE Security Supra-certified BlackBerry smart phones.
Three popular Blackberry smartphones will initially be certified by GE Security as compatible with its eKey for Blackberry solution. These include the Blackberry Curve™, Blackberry Pearl™ and Blackberry 8800. Additional smartphones scheduled for release will be tested for certification by GE Security. For up to date information on eKey-compatible smartphones, visit http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.supraekey.com&esheet=5825191&lan=en_US&anchor=www.supraekey.com&index=1 and click on “Certified eKey Devices.”

eKEY Professional provides the ability to search Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data and view a complete range of searchable criteria. New features in eKEY Professional provide access to updated MLS listings, agent roster information, real-time showing reports, customizable searches which can be saved to the phone, mapping and other Web-based competitive intelligence.

For more information, please visit http://www.supraekey.com/.

from http://www.businesswire.com/

Back from NAR Convention

If you don't know already we are back from the 2008 NAR Convention in Orlando. The forums and classes were very informative. I listened to topics on everything from economics to tablet PC’s. Many of the classes have inspired me to write my own class so I can share it with the membership. I plan on writing in the near future an Internet Security, Zipforms Online, and a Better Listing Presentations classes all for MCE credit.


Plus, if anyone is interested in knowing more about Tablet PC’s and or how to use them I would be happy to discuss them.

Good Press for Corpus Christi

It is always nice when a nationally recognized news organization such as Newsweek cites Corpus Christi Texas as a good stable economy. Click here to read more.

Then the Today show added praise by naming Corpus Christi as one of the five best national real estate markets. Click here to watch.

Not that we didn’t already know our market wasn’t bad but the good press always helps.

Coastal Bend MLS Stats - September 2008

Here is the September 2008 Coastal Bend MLS statistics. The following data is based on residential closed sales and the information comes from the Coastal Bend MLS from September 1, 2008 through September 31, 2008.

Data pulled: October 22, 2008

Sales Closed: 309 (September 2008) 313 (September 2007)

Sold Dollar Volume: $50,974,128 (September 2008) $48,058,095 (September 2007)

Average Sales Price: $164,965 (September 2008) $153,540 (September 2007)

Free website and easy design - Webon

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Photo Thursday

On Thursday October 23, 2008 here at the association office we will be discussing photo editing using Google’s Picasa.

Picasa is a free photo editing and sharing program that is easy to use and has many useful tools.





In addition, we will also be looking at Microsoft’s Photosynth, a revolutionary photo stitching software that creates a beautiful and cinematic photo experience.

MLXChange Tip

Tired of that boring MLXChange print out? Ever want to add a little “bling” to a report? You can by adding stationary to any report in MLXChange. To do so pull up any listings, go to Details, and at the top left of the page you will see a pallet with a paint brush icon. Click on the icon to bring up the stationary options. Simply click on the stationary you would like and click apply to add it to the report, then print. A little color can always liven up a boring print out and make flyers look awesome.

MLS News

We currently have over 500 pending (PEND) listings in MLXChange; almost half of those pending listings have been pending for over 6 months. In order to clean up the data we are asking that everyone check and see if they have any pending listing that they have forgotten about. Please close the listing if it has sold or provide the appropriate paperwork (ex: termination of listing agreement) to remove the listing and avoid a fine.

Currently under Coastal Bend MLS rule 12.06 any listing that is pending for more than 6 months is subject to a $50.00 fine. We would like to correct this problem before fines have to be issued.

Coastal Bend MLS Stats - August 2008

Here is the August 2008 Coastal Bend MLS statistics. The following data is based on residential closed sales and the information comes from the Coastal Bend MLS from August 1, 2008 through August 31, 2008.

Data pulled: August 15, 2008

Sales Closed:
377 (August 2008)
449 (August 2007)

Sold Dollar Volume:
$60,446,908 (August 2008)
$76,232,516 (August 2007)

Average Sales Price:
$160,337 (August 2008)
$169,783 (August 2007)

New Technology - Iterasi

Iterasi is a website saving/ bookmarking service. As I surf the internet I come across from time to time a really cool or useful website and want to share it with friends and family. With Iterasi that become very simple, I just click one button on my tool bar and the website is automatically saved to my Iterasi page. Once the website is saved by Iterasi I can see a thumbnail of the saved websites, choose from multiple sharing options, and organize my saved sites into catagories. I will begin using Iterasi to save websites that I think are cool or useful, go to my Iterasi page and save it to your favorites or bookmark it for easy access in the future. Then check the website from time to time to see what new websites I've found and posted.

https://www.iterasi.net/public/users/joshe

Look at the websites I've posted so far.

Get a Grip on Short Sales

A very helpful guide to short sales put out by the National Association of REALTORS-REALTOR Magazine Online.

Get a Grip on Short Sales

New Technology - Xobni

This is the ULTIMATE Microsoft Outlook add-on! If you use Outlook YOU NEED THIS!

Xobni is the Outlook plug-in that saves you time finding email conversations, contacts and attachments.

After a quick install, you'll see the new Xobni toolbar appear in Outlook - and suddenly information will become much easier to find. When a new email arrives, the sender's full communication history appears in the Xobni sidebar, including past conversations, attachments and contact details. Xobni also includes a blazing fast email search tool. (click below to learn more)

http://www.xobni.com/learnmore/

After seeing the amazing tools and organization this provides click on Get It Now to goto a download page. I have been using this since it came out and I am very pleased.

Coastal Bend MLS Stats - July 2008

Here is the July 2008 Coastal Bend MLS statistics. The following data is based on residential closed sales and the information comes from the Coastal Bend MLS from July 1, 2008 through July 31, 2008.

Data pulled: August 15, 2008

Sales Closed: 373 (July 2008)

487 (July 2007)

Sold Dollar Volume: $64,236,846 (July 2008)

$81,795,607 (July 2007)

Average Sales Price: $172,217 (July 2008)

$167,958 (July 2007)

New Technology - MLXChange 4.3

Key New Features and Features Enhancement

IDX Search
· Consumer-driven searches including multi-level area selection maps
· Enhanced results screens and information request (lead capture) forms
· Support for both broker and agent level sites

Themed Stationary (Only available with IE 7.0)
· Predefined stationery background images that can be applied to reports and CMA presentations at runtime.
· Examples of stationery image options include lifestyle themes (i.e. sailing, tennis) and seasonal themes (i.e. beach, autumn leaves).

The thumbnail preview library of stationery options is accessed by the new stationery icon located at:
· The Search Details screen beside the menu of available report formats; and
· The CMA Wizard, on the View Reports tab beside the Report Page controls.
· Stationery applied to listing reports in search results is displayed on screen, when printed or saved to a PDF, and when emailed.
· Stationery can be applied to a single report in a CMA or all reports in the CMA.

Enhanced Hyperlinks Capabilities in Reports
· Allows hyperlinks to application features (mapping, mortgage calculator) and external sites (schedule showings, neighborhood information, etc.) from within reports.
· Hyperlinks can be text labels, field values or images.
· Listing and member information can be included in the link variables, allowing the external site to recognize the user and identify the property.
· Where appropriate links can be included in emailed reports, such as to the property map.

Agent Web Page (MLX Pro Only)
· Ability to reset a website. Enables the 'Site Builder' again.
· Custom color settings template. Allows the user to select their own colors for specific areas of the custom template.
· Ability to determine which fields of the site owners contact information will be displayed
· Agent is able to include their designations on their site
· Ability for the site owner to determine where the lead goes
· Ability for the site owner to determine what contact info shows
· Show/hide tasks section on gateway
· Ability to show/hide the payment estimator
· Ability to show/hide the mortgage calculator button
· The contact me form, for lead generation has been improved
· Single column results replaces 2-Up results
· Client can Sort their search results on the fly
· Ability for client to be able to select properties and filter lists according to selection
· Incorrectly wrapping text on properties within results is now resolved
· Site owner is able to show/hide specific searches for their site
· Searches are now limited to prevent clients from exceeding maximum amount entered. This prevents listings from not being found
· Search Descriptions are now displayed

These are the New Tools and New Features that will be available on Thursday August 14, 2008. Let me know what features you are looking forward to the most here by posting comments.

What do you think about the NEW ActiveKEY?

Yesterday the New Supra ActiveKEY was released, now we want to know what you think about it.

What do you think about the ActiveKEY? (Likes and Dislikes)

Give us some feedback, post your comments here.

New Technology - Supra dKey Exchange

If you haven't heard already your dKeys are getting an upgrade. Say "good bye" to the old dKeys and "hello" to the new ActiveKEY. Full details on the exchange is on our website www.ccaronline.com, if you have any questions though please feel free to ask here so that everyone else reading this can benefit.

Coastal Bend MLS Stats - June 2008

Here is the June 2008 Coastal Bend MLS statistics. The following data is based on residential closed sales and the information comes from the Coastal Bend MLS from June 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008.

Data pulled: July 15, 2008

Sales Closed: 393

Sold Dollar Volume: $64,782,308

Average Sales Price: $164,840

New Technology - Jing (screen capture software)

Ever need to snap a picture of something on your desktop, record video of what you doing, or what you seeing on your desktop?

Then Jing can help you. http://www.jingproject.com/

Jing is free, simple to use, and a powerful screen shot program that allows your to take a picture or video of anything on your computer screen. The possibilities are infinite:

Use Jing to take a picture of a error message on your computer to send to a technician.
Use Jing to make a training video to demonstrate new software.

Coastal Bend MLS Stats - July Inventory

The following data comes from the Coastal Bend MLS and was pulled on July 1, 2008 @ 2:07 PM

Listings/ For Sale Properties

Residential: 3250

Commercial: 327

Lot and Acreage: 2023

Farm and Ranch: 110

Multi Family: 60

New Technology - New Website

We have just released a NEW http://www.ccaronline.com/!!!

New Design

New Features

New Information

Feel free to leave comments about our new website on this post, likes and dislikes. We are still working on it and looking for ideas.

Coastal Bend MLS Stats - May 2008

As promised here is this months Coastal Bend MLS statistics. The following data is based on residential closed sales and the information comes from the Coastal Bend MLS from May 1, 2008 through May 31, 2008. Data pulled: June 17, 2008

Sales Closed: 433

Sold Dollar Volume: $65,589,576

Average Sales Price: $169, 921

Warning to Members - CCAR Toolbar

An email has been sent out by a Michael Kelly from Arlington Texas regarding a toolbar he has created that has a Free Online PDF Creator and other Gadgets.

We at the Association don't know this person and can't verify the integrity of the toolbar. We warn our members to please not download this toolbar. No telling what else could be attached to it.

Helpful Tips - Getting the most out of every drop of gasoline

With gas prices going up up up and away I thought it would be nice to know that there are a few simple things everyone could do to help save gas and get better gas mileage out of every last drop. While most of the suggestions are good advice I wouldn't recommend turning your car off while driving or drafting. The story is from Wired, CLICK HERE TO READ.

New Technology - Outlook and Outlook Express tool

For anyone with a Palm or Windows mobile phone and synchronize with Outlook or Outlook Express I just found a amazing little program that will save a lot of work and time. Vaita's Outlook Duplicate Items Remover 1.3 automatically removes duplicate items from Contacts; Calendar; Tasks; Notes and Email folders. So if you ever found that you have some how created duplicate records and don't feel like removing each one of them one at a time this handy and FREE program is for you.

Click Here for programs website

Hello

My name is Josh Ellington, I work for the Corpus Christi Association of REALTORS in Corpus Christi Texas and this is my first blog. I have heard a lot about people utilizing blogs as a medium of communication to a large group of people and figured I’d give it a try since our organization can always improve how we communicate to our members. I will try and post regularly and make the information posted easy to read and as informative as possible. I guess I’ll start looking for my first post now . . .