Mid-Year Membership Reminders

Important information for primary brokers prior to the billing cycle that begins July 1, 2015.

MEMBERSHIP CHANGES & WAIVER DEADLINES

For questions regarding Membership, including status changes or waivers, please contact our Membership Department at 599-4224 or 1-800-628-3121 (Neighbor Islands only), ext. #160, or email sueann@hiinfo.com.

For any subscriber who is planning to inactivate or surrender his/her license:

• We must receive a copy of the completed Real Estate Change Form that is filed with the DCCA.
• To ensure that changes or cancellations are processed before the July 1st billing, change forms must be received by Wednesday, June 24, 2015.
• Once we charge a credit card or debit an account, there is no refund for unused services.

Waiver applications and renewals are DUE NOW!

• Anyone who is currently under a full waiver or wants to continue accessing the MLS service under a licensed support status must submit a new waiver application annually.
• Agents, assistants or other staff who are not currently under waiver but are seeking waiver status must also submit a waiver application. This applies to all licensed support subscribers, property managers and time-share agents.
• Waivers are also required for partners, officers, directors or shareholders who are located on the Big Island or Kauai, who are licensed but do not engage in sales activity, and do not need access to the service.
• The deadline for submitting Waiver Applications for the new fiscal year (July 1, 2015through June 30, 2016) is June 30, 2015.
• Click here to obtain the Waiver Application form.

Please note that:

• Any licensed broker, salesperson or appraiser who is employed by a Principal Broker Subscriber or Principal Appraiser Subscriber who reside on the Big Island or Kauai, must subscribe to the MLS service.
• Anyone who appears as a Principal Broker or Broker-in-Charge in the DCCA PVL License search site is not eligible for a waiver.
• All waiver applications are subject to the HIS Board of Directors approval.
• Waivers may be revoked upon discovery that a waiver applicant has engaged in sales activity or received commissions or referral fees associated with real estate sales. In this event, subscription fees may be assessed retroactive to the effective date that the waiver was granted.

EARLY BILLING REMINDERS

For questions regarding billing, please call our Accounting Department at 599-4224 or 1-800-628-3121 (Neighbor Islands only), ext. #454, or email michelle@hiinfo.com.

If you would like to make changes to your billing:

• Print and complete a new Exhibit C – Pre-authorized Payment Agreement (click on the link). Your broker’s signature is not required if you are only changing your account information.
• Return the form by either:
  • Emailing it to michelle@hiinfo.com
  • Faxing it to (808) 524-6874
• The deadline to make any changes to your billing is Wednesday, June 24, 2015.

If you are the Principal Broker (PB) for your office:

It is the responsibility of the PB to insure that the fees for all agents in his/her office are due are paid on time. If payment is not made by the 10th of the month, service may be interrupted for the entire office.

If an agent is not able to pay the required MLS fees, the PB has the following options:

• Release the agent, by placing their license on inactive status with DCCA, and providing a copy of the release form to HIS before the July 1st billing (the agent’s signature is not required). Fees will continue to be billed until a copy of the DCCA Change Form is received by HIS.
• Loan the agent sufficient funds to pay their MLS fees.
• Pay the fees due on behalf of the agent.

As always, we appreciate your cooperation and your business!

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

Our office will be closed in observance of Kamehameha Day on Thursday, June 11, 2015. Normal office hours will resume the next day, Friday, June 12, 2015.

In observance of Independence Day, our office will also be closed on Friday, July 3, 2015. Normal office hours (Monday – Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) will resume on Monday, July 6, 2015.

In the event of emergency, you may leave a message in our emergency voice mailbox by calling the main office number and pressing * (star) – 1-800-628-3121 from the neighbor islands, or 599-4224 on Oahu. Leave a message and our phone system will notify our on-call staff that there is an emergency message.

Office Closed on Memorial Day

The Hawaii Information Service office will be closed on Monday, May 25, 2015 in observance of Memorial Day. Normal office hours will resume on Tuesday, May 26.

Should you require urgent assistance during the long weekend, please call our emergency line at (808) 599-4224 or (800) 628-3121 from the neighbor islands, and press * (star). Our phone system will notify our on-call staff, and someone will return your call as soon as possible.

All of us at Hawaii Information Service would like to wish you and your colleagues a peaceful holiday weekend.

NAR Mid-Year Drone Update

Here’s a quick video update from the National Association of Realtors annual Mid-Year conference, wrapping up in Washington, D.C.

For more information, check out the NAR Field Guide to Drones and Real Estate, visit KnowBeforeYouFly.org, or browse the drone topic at Realtor.org.

If the embedded player above doesn’t work, click here to watch it on YouTube, or click here to watch it on Facebook.

REsearch 6 Preview: Video Guides

In order to make it as easy as possible to familiarize yourself with REsearch 6, we are excited to debut the first set of REsearch 6 videos. These videos, each only two to five minutes long, will cover what you need to know about the next version of our integrated MLS and public records system.

REsearch 6: Key Objectives An overview of the four key objectives of REsearch 6, with a quick preview of the modernized design, improved user interface, shorter input form, and infrastructure upgrades.

User Interface & User Experience Updates to the user interface and user experience in REsearch 6, including easy access to settings, your basket, and email features.

Mobile Responsive Design An overview of the four key objectives of REsearch 6, with a quick preview of the modernized design, improved user interface, shorter input form, and infrastructure upgrades.

Improved Input Form An overview of the improved listing input form in REsearch 6, featuring a classic form and a wizard form, as well as a “required-fields only” feature.

Better Performance & Reliability An overview of the four key objectives of REsearch 6, with a quick preview of the modernized design, improved user interface, shorter input form, and infrastructure upgrades.

More videos are coming soon, including quick how-to and training clips. If there’s something you’d like to see covered this way, please drop us a line!

We’re happy to add videos to our toolbox, and hope you’re enjoying this new way to stay connected and informed. Up Next: REsearch 6 beta testing is starting soon!

REsearch 6 Preview: What’s New

With the next version of REsearch, you won’t have to learn a whole new system. REsearch 6 is the same powerful system you rely on today, but with a fresh new look and a number of enhancements to make it easier to use.

In this email, we want to highlight the most noticeable changes coming in REsearch 6. We’ve made improvements to some features, as well as removed some less-used features.

And don’t worry, all of this will also be covered in upcoming demonstrations, updated training (both online and in-person), and our expanded and improved online help — which you can preview right now. We are working hard to ensure that the transition is as seamless as possible for you!

Highlights: Top Changes in REsearch 6

• Bye bye ‘Modify’ — the ‘Back Button’ will work!
  As part of our adoption of updated, modern web frameworks, it will finally be possible to use the back button on your browser to go back to a previous screen. As an added benefit, REsearch will no longer need the “Modify” button to make changes to search settings.
• No more pop-up windows and tabs!
  We’ve also eliminated our reliance on pop-up windows, which are commonly blocked by default in web browsers, as well as sidebar tabs. This, coupled with back button support, will greatly simplify navigation.
• A better photo loader!
  We’re excited to be introducing a new photo loader, and to be building it seamlessly into the listing entry process. You can select photos from your computer, drag-and-drop photo files from another window, and even take and upload photos directly from your smartphone!

To Be Continued: Features Coming Later

• Search Customization
  Experienced REsearch users have been able to customize their search screens by adding, removing, and relocating search fields and form elements. But as part of our transition to a mobile-friendly interface, we are still evaluating how to best implement this feature in REsearch 6. At launch, your current customized search screens will be retained, but you will not be able to edit them or create new ones.
• Quadrant/Split Screen View
  Again, with our new mobile responsive system, which adjusts to fit a wide range of screen sizes, the current ability to split your browser window into two or four separate panes will not be available in REsearch 6 at launch. We are continuing to explore better ways to provide this functionality.

The End: Features Being Retired

• REsearch Calendar
  The calendar feature in REsearch, which has not been used by any member for some time, is finally being retired. Today’s Realtors have their own effective tools to set and manage their appointments.
• REsearch Rentals
  Two years ago we transitioned from rental listings inside REsearch to a separate system on Aloha Living. Even then, this section of REsearch was again not heavily used.
• Closing Costs Estimates
  One of our less used RETools, this feature will also be dropped, although we are looking into better ways to provide specialized calculators.
• Download to PDA
  Does anyone remember what a PDA is?

With REsearch 6, our system is better than ever, but will still feel familiar to our valued users. Up Next: New REsearch 6 Video Guides!

REsearch 6 Preview: Infrastructure Upgrades

Plumbing isn’t the sexiest part of real estate, but it’s still important. Similarly, while we’ve been telling you about the improvements that we’re making on the software side of REsearch, we are also making several upgrades to our infrastructure as well. This behind-the-scenes work may not be immediately visible, but you will still notice better system speed and reliability. As much as we love our poi pounder, you will be seeing less of it in REsearch 6!

The important infrastructure upgrades we’re planning for this year include:

• Participation in Hawaii’s only commercial internet exchange. We will be able to take advantage of peering partnerships in our datacenter that will keep local internet traffic local, eliminating delays that can be associated with traffic routed outside the state.
• Investing strategically in new hardware and software to deliver solid performance to users as well as to make system administration more efficient.
• Taking our first steps into the cloud, starting the transition from maintaining physical servers and maximizing the benefits of distributed, large-scale computing. This means better scalability, reliability, and redundancy.
• Upgrading our network for greater bandwidth, both through increased speeds and a new software-optimized firewall.

With these plumbing upgrades, you can rest assured that REsearch 6 will be built upon a solid foundation, and will continue to help you grow your business.

These infrastructure upgrades are the last of the four primary objectives of REsearch 6. Up Next: What’s new in REsearch 6!