Check Out the new Client Portal!

We’re excited to release the new Client Portal in open beta! After a first look and a preview of the best features, this beautiful new tool to engage with your clients is now available! Here’s how to get started quickly, learn more about what it can do, and what comes next!

Portal-Branding

What is the Client Portal?

The new Client Portal gives you:

  • A great new way to share listings with your clients
  • More ways to interact with your clients
  • Deeper insights into your clients’ interests

The new Client Portal gives your clients:

  • An elegant, visual place to browse and rate listings
  • The power to perform and save their own MLS searches
  • Easy ways to contact you, with your branding front and center

And it does not change or replace any of the other REsearch features that you rely on today. It’s simply another tool that you can use to better meet the needs of your clients!

How do I get started?

Portal Admin Beta Menu ArrowThe best way to explore this new tool is to create your first portal. Just look under the “Contacts” section of the main REsearch menu for a new option labeled “Portal Admin (Beta)“! Clicking it will take to the Portal Admin page.

On the Portal Admin page, you can set your Portal Preferences (including setting up your default branding and notification preferences), Create a Portal, and find information on each of the portals that you’ve set up for individual contacts.

Quick Tip! As you explore this new tool, you can set up and test portals for contacts without sending it to them. Each portal is accessed by a unique link, which you can use yourself and only send it to your client when you’re ready!

portal-3-search-mlsWhen you open a portal from the Portal Admin page, you will have the ability as the agent to directly add listings for your client in listing “collections.” Just click “Add Collection” and you can add listings to the collection via a brand new search tool, or by simply entering MLS numbers.

And yes, you can also send listings to your contact from inside REsearch in a simple and familiar way. Once you’ve run a search and selected the listings you’d like to add to a portal, just click the “More” button and choose the new “Email Via Portal (BETA)” option!

EmailViaPortal

Where can I learn more?

We think you’ll love how the portal works and looks, but there is a lot more under the hood! We’ve only scratched the surface so far, but you can take a deeper dive into the many features of the Client Portal by browsing our new Client Portal Help Site!

Visit the Client Portal Help Site!

As the Client Portal beta continues, we’ll be expanding and updating these guides, including video tutorials! And as more features and enhancements roll out, you can look forward to training webinars and in-person demos!

portal-2-browse-rate

What comes next?

Portal-Chat-Zoom-Border-FixWe designed the Client Portal to give you yet another way to serve your clients, inspired by suggestions from members, guided by a ton of research into the best tools available in the market, and refined with the generous help of a select group of practitioners who participated in a portal pilot program leading up to today’s release.

We’re thrilled to be launching the Client Portal in beta, putting this new tool directly in the hands of all of our members. During this beta period, your feedback is critical! We are eager to learn through real-world use how well this new tool supports your important work, and how we can make it even better.

We will be working continuously to improve this agent tool over the next few months, driven by your real-world use and honest feedback.

And the Client Portal is only the first new tool built entirely upon our new tech infrastructure with the latest software frameworks. Stay tuned for more great news from HIS!

Please tell us what you think!

What do you love about this new agent tool? What could make it even better? We strongly encourage you to share your thoughts, as feedback is the best way to ensure the Client Portal provides the best value for everyone! Please send your comments to us via email:

portalfeedback@hiinfo.com

Kauai Residents Eligible for Housing Assistance

kbr-rrf

Kauai residents affected by the devastating flooding that struck the Garden Island in April can get help paying their housing bill, under a new assistance program offered through the Kauai Board of REALTORS®.

The funds come from a $100,000 grant awarded to the Kauai Board by the REALTORS® Relief Foundation, a national charitable foundation dedicated to providing housing-related assistance to victims of disasters.

“This grant represents another important way the REALTOR® community steps up in times of need, wherever or whenever it arises,” said Karen Ono, Executive Officer of the Kauai Board of REALTORS®.

This award will allow us to help Kauai residents affected by the devastating floods make their rent or mortgage payment, up to $1,800 per household,” Ono added. “Natural disasters are unpredictable and disruptive, and this program will make a real difference to local families.”

Unprecedented rains and flooding last month resulted in nearly $11 million in damage on Kauai, according to a preliminary assessment by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. More than 350 homes were damaged, 12 destroyed, prompting a federal disaster declaration on May 8.

Affected Kauai residents can apply for assistance with their monthly mortgage payment if their homes were damaged by the Kauai flooding disaster, or with their rent if they were displaced from their primary residences by the flooding. Applicants will need to provide proof of residency and a copy of their mortgage or rent statement or agreement.

This REALTORS® Relief Foundation grant supports financial assistance for housing relief only, and does not apply to other expenses. Recipients must be full-time Kauai residents and either be U.S. citizens or legally admitted for residence in the U.S.

The Application for Disaster Relief Assistance can be found on the Kauai Board of REALTORS® website at KauaiBoard.com. All applications must be submitted by July 31, 2018, and will be reviewed anonymously (without applicant names).

For more information, call (808) 245-4049 or email kbr@kauaiboard.com.

6 Best Features of the Client Portal

We’ve built dozens of great features into our new Client Portal, wrapped in a beautiful new design. Here are just six of the ways that our new Client Portal, which will be released in beta next week, can help you better engage with your clients!

1. Puts you front and center

portal-1-brandedEvery client portal is prominently branded with your name, headshot, and contact information, and you can show your certifications, set a tagline, and include an intro and even a full biography!

2. Clients can browse and rate listings

portal-2-browse-rateThe heart of the Client Portal is a great new way to share, browse, and rate listings. Whether it’s a collection of specific listings that you’ve sent them (“Great 3BR Homes for Kids”) or a saved search, your client can easily browse through them, and then rate them with simple “Like,” “Love,” or “Dislike” buttons… giving you insights into your clients’ preferences!

3. Clients can search the MLS

portal-3-search-mlsIn addition to viewing and rating listings that you’ve shared with them, clients will be able to do their own searches and set up saved searches. And as their agent, you will be able to see what searches your clients set up — valuable information you can use to provide even better service. For this, we’ve built a brand new search experience that we think you’ll love!

4. Useful and flexible notifications

portal-4-notificationsWith a range of notification options, the Client Portal can keep you up to date on your clients’ level of interest. From icons and drop-downs that give a quick rundown of recent activity, to daily or immediate email alerts, you’ll know when a client is engaged. (Coming soon: text message notifications!)

5. Looks great on any device

portal-5-looks-good-any-deviceHave we mentioned that the Client Portal is beautiful? Not only did we design it to be clean, elegant, and intuitive, but we built it to adapt to any screen size. Whether your clients use a computer or laptop, tablet or smartphone, the Client Portal will look great.

6. Works with REsearch

portal-6-works-in-researchYou can set up and manage portals, share listing collections with clients, and set up saved searches from inside REsearch. The Client Portal is a complementary addition to your toolbox, and does not change or replace any REsearch features or tools that you may already rely on!

Ready for the Client Portal beta?

The new Client Portal will be released in beta on May 31, 2018! We’ll be providing more information and putting together extensive guides to help you get started. While this is a beta release, subject to the occasional unexpected quirk, we’re excited to put the Client Portal in your hands to see what you think, and hear how we can make it even better.

June 2018 Training Schedule

gotomeeting-logo-orangeThis is the schedule of upcoming online training classes for the month of June. Even if you’ve participated in a session before, it’s often a good idea to get a refresher. Our live trainers can answer your questions and help you get the most out of REsearch. Descriptions of each HIS webinar can be found here.

To sign up immediately, simply click on the links below. If you are going to attend online classes as a group, only one person needs to sign up. We recommend registering for classes even if you cannot attend live, as most are recorded and made available the next day.

June 4-8, 2018:

June 11-15, 2018:

June 18-22, 2018:

June 25-29, 2018:

Remember, after you have participated, please make sure to fill out the survey or e-mail us your feedback so we can continue to improve upon our training efforts!

System requirements for online classes:

  • PC-based attendees – Required: Microsoft Windows® XP or newer
  • Macintosh®-based attendees – Required: Mac OS® X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or newer
  • Mobile attendees – Required: Apple iOS 8 or newer, Google Android 4.0 or newer System requirements apply only to the GoToMeeting webinar service, not to the REsearch system.

Questions? Comments? Please feel free to contact us via support@hiinfo.com or call (808) 599-4224 or (800) 628-3121.

Office Closed May 28 for Memorial Day

arizona-memorial-flag-tallThe Hawaii Information Service office will be closed on Monday, May 28, 2018 in observance of Memorial Day. Normal office hours will resume on Tuesday, May 29.

If you need help using REsearch over the long weekend, we encourage you to search our Knowledge Base or check out our library of YouTube videos.

If you are unable to access the system due to an outage, please call our system 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.

Our next observed holiday will be Kamehameha Day on Monday, June 11, 2018.

FIRST LOOK: New Client Portal Coming Soon!

We’re excited to announce that we will be releasing our new Client Portal in beta in two weeks! We will be sharing more details in the days ahead, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, here’s a first look that says a lot about what’s coming:

Portal-One-Page-2

The new Client Portal gives you:

  • visually striking way to share listings with your clients that looks great on computers, laptops, and smartphones.
  • More ways to interact with your clients, including a built-in listing chat feature.
  • Deeper insights into your clients’ interests and level of engagement, with activity reports and flexible notification options.

The new Client Portal gives your clients:

  • A new and elegant way to easily browse listingsrate them, and contact you, all keeping you front and center.
  • The power to do their own MLS searches, and save their favorite searches.

And the Client Portal does not change or replace any of the other REsearch features that you rely on today. It’s simply another tool that you can use to better serve your clients!

Want to see more?

Portal-Collection

Portal-Detail

Stay tuned for more on the many benefits of the new Client Portal, and watch for special guides and videos that make it easy to get started. We think you’ll love the new Client Portal, and we can’t wait to release it into open beta on May 31!

Eruption Updates and Resources

In response to the developing emergency in Leilani Estates in Puna, Hawaiʻi Island REALTORS® is providing updates to members via email bulletins and a new page on its website:

eruption-updates-resources

https://www.hawaiiislandrealtors.org/eruption/

In addition to recent news, there is also a collection of links to helpful resources, including Hawaii County and USGS information. Submission of relevant information and additional links is welcome.

Latest REsearch Enhancements

tulips_in_bucketHappy May Day! We thought we’d brighten your day with a mixed bouquet of recent improvements that we’ve made to REsearch, inspired by valuable feedback from members like you!


listing-input-street-name-box

The “Street Name” and “City” fields on the listing input form now provide a lookup function to help confirm spelling.

vacation-rental-2-box

The Vacation Rental Information section, including the VDA Zone selection, will now also appear when entering a Vacant Land listing.

zip-code-on-mls-mid

The ZIP code is now included in the standard header on the MLS Mid format.

back-on-market-price-change-box

You can now change the price as part of putting a listing back on the market.

over-100-matches-3x5-box

You will now be notified when trying to save a Prospects search with over 100 matches, as it will not send auto emails.

customer-format-confirmation-box

We’ve added a confirmation that emails were sent in customer format, when that format is selected.

export-links

When you select both Customer Format and Download Format to generate an Excel file, links will point to customer-formatted pages.

middle-name-box

We’ve expanded the middle initial field in your profile to accommodate middle names.

If you have a suggestion to make REsearch work better for you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch! As we hope these updates demonstrate, we’re proud to be able to be responsive to your needs and deliver improvements to better support you!

REMINDER: Email your fellow agents with care!

email_iconThe contact information of your fellow agents is provided to facilitate real estate transactions.

Working with other MLS members is a critical part of your business, and to help you connect, REsearch provides a “Search Roster” feature that allows you to look up other agents and offices. This MLS benefit is designed to support your work in helping clients buy and sell real estate.

Whether exported from REsearch or acquired elsewhere, however, we’d like to remind you that MLS member roster information (including email addresses) should not be used to send unsolicited messages or mailings that are unrelated to real estate. This includes commercial and political announcements.

If you have questions about this reminder, please get in touch.

Mahalo for your consideration!