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The Northwest Iowa Regional Board of Realtors® reminds members, real estate professionals and consumers that on August 17, 2024 the practice changes following NAR’s Settlement Agreement that would resolve claims brought on behalf of home sellers related to broker commissions will be implemented across the country. Locally, these practice changes will occur on August 12, 2024.
Realtor® MLSs (those owned exclusively by one or more Realtor ® Associations) – must implement the changes by this date to remain in compliance with NAR policy.
Under the settlement, the following practice changes will take effect:
- Offers of compensation will be prohibited on Multiple Listing Services (MLSs). Offers of compensation will continue to be an option consumers can pursue off-MLS through negotiation and consultation with real estate professionals. Offers of compensation help make homeownership and the benefits of professional representation more accessible to buyers, including first-time homebuyers, increase homeownership opportunities for historically underserved groups, and benefit sellers by expanding the potential buyer pool. and ensuring they receive the best offer possible for their property.
- Agents working with a buyer will enter into a written buyer agreement before touring a home. This is required by Iowa law, and was effective July 1, 2024. The practice changes do not require an agency agreement or dictate any type of relationship. Resources are available to assist with implementation of the settlement terms—such as tips on clarity and emphasizing consumer choice and a “Written Buyer Agreements 101” resource.
“Realtors® provide exceptional professional service and expertise to both buyers and sellers, and we’re excited about these changes. Our members always enjoy great conversations with our customers as we help them achieve their home and property ownership goals,” said Misty Szczech, President of the Northwest Iowa Regional Board of Realtors® and agent with Exit Realty in LeMars.
Consumers can find additional information on what these changes mean for their homebuying and selling experiences in NAR’s buyers and sellers guides. For NAR members, the practice changes are outlined in detail here, and detailed information is available in NAR’s FAQ. Please visit facts.realtor for the latest updates on the settlement and practice changes.
As the region begins to take steps to recover from devastating flooding, members of the Northwest Iowa Regional Board of REALTORS® can assist victims encountering short and long-term housing needs.
“Immediately following the weekend flooding, our organization jumped into action to gather information for our REALTOR® members about available rental properties across our 13 county service area,” said Misty Szczech, President of the Northwest Iowa Regional Board of REALTORS® and REALTOR® at Exit Realty in LeMars. “REALTORS® are proud to be the people our communities turn to when they have questions about housing, and we stand ready to help those impacted make connections for both short and long-term recovery.”
Szczech says flooding victims who have housing needs are encouraged to reach out to any REALTOR® member in their community. “Getting into a safe home is a key step in the recovery process,” she says. “Whether someone is looking for a short or long-term rental option, or if they are ready to consider a property purchase, all of our 500 professionals would count it a privilege to walk alongside and support those impacted by flooding. As the housing experts in our local communities, we have the knowledge and experience to find ways to help them take these critical steps toward recovery.”
A list of area REALTOR® members can be found here.
The Northwest Iowa Regional Board of REALTORS® encompasses nearly 500 members, who are real estate professionals in a 13 county region across the northwest quadrant of Iowa. The organization also provides the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for the region.
REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is Member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
SentriLock is discontinuing their support for one day code generation for third-party vendors, including ShowingTime, beginning March 31. This means all real estate professionals who have historically booked appointments through ShowingTime and received a one day code should expect to use SentriLock applications to receive lockbox access instead.
More information from the team at SentriLock is available here.
Changes for ShowingTime customers using SentriLock:
- Users will see in both the ShowingTime app and in email notifications that the home is using a SentriLock lockbox.
- Buyer’s agents will either need to download and use a SentriLock application or obtain a code from the listing agent directly.
- Listing agents may need to manually grant access or generate a code from the SentriLock system for all appointments.
For additional information, please contact SentriLock’s customer support line at 1-513-618-5800 or email them at [email protected].
ShowingTime sends important updates about your listing appointments via text message. Recently these messages may not have not always reached you or your clients due to mobile carriers blocking text notifications from ShowingTime.
To ensure they are taking the necessary steps to keep agents informed on listing appointments and activity, ShowingTime will have a new opt-in process to improve their text message notification system.
This new system will begin on March 12, 2024. Read more in this announcement from the team at ShowingTime.
Jennifer Jansen, Broker/Owner of Epic Realty, Inc. in Sioux Center, Iowa, has been named the 2023 REALTOR® of the Year by the Iowa Association of REALTORS®. This honor recognizes Jansen’s commitment to the real estate industry and her exceptional contributions to the community. It is bestowed annually on one Iowa REALTOR® who has contributed significantly to the advancement of the REALTOR® profession and their community-at-large during the last year.
Jansen was licensed and became a REALTOR® in 2005, opening her own brokerage in 2014. Jansen holds professional designations as a member of the Council of Residential Specialists (CRS), Graduate REALTOR® Institute (GRI), and Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR). Epic Realty serves Sioux Center, Orange City and surrounding Northwest Iowa communities with a ten member comprehensive real estate team. The brokerage will mark its tenth anniversary in February, 2024.
With a lengthy resume of accomplishments and community service, Jansen’s outstanding professionalism and dedication have earned her this prestigious honor.
“Jenn faithfully adheres to the REALTOR® Code of Ethics, and is a staunch advocate for the real estate industry,” said Tonya Vakulskas, President of the Northwest Iowa Regional Board of REALTORS®. “She brings passion, professionalism, and a sense of joy to every organization she serves.”
Jansen is a board member for the Northwest Iowa Regional Board of REALTORS®, and led the organization as President during the challenges of the 2020 pandemic.
“Jenn also serves on multiple state and national committees that engage with legislators to protect homeownership rights. She travels annually to legislative conferences in Des Moines and Washington, D.C,, and currently serves as the REALTOR® organization’s Federal Political Coordinator for Congressman Randy Feenstra,” said Vakulskas.
A strong supporter of the REALTOR® Party, Jansen is a major investor in the REALTOR® Political Action Committee, reflecting her firm commitment to the industry and protection of private property rights.
Outside of real estate, Jansen is dedicated to community service. She is a member of the Sioux Center Health Executive Board and the Ignite Leadership Committee. Active as a 4-H Club Leader and FFA Alumni Board President, Jansen has also previously served on the Sioux Center Chamber of Commerce Executive Board. A graduate of Leadership Sioux Center, Jansen invests in the community through volunteer work in a variety of organizations that support youth and families. She also spends time engaging at local schools and colleges, providing learning opportunities for students interested in the real estate industry. She is actively involved in her church and numerous civic organizations.
Under Jansen’s leadership, Epic Realty received the “Best in the Northwest” award for two consecutive years, with Jansen herself being honored as the region’s “Best REALTOR®”.
Alongside winners from other states, Jansen will be recognized at the National Association of REALTORS® membership convention taking place this November in Anaheim, California.
In response to a cyber attack recently targeting MLS systems in the United States, the following information was provided by Black Knight, provider of our Paragon MLS system.
August 17, 2023
Black Knight is aware of the recent cyber security news impacting a major MLS system provider. The security and integrity of Black Knight products, services and your data are paramount.
Black Knight has mature Information Security, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery programs. The Black Knight ransomware strategy includes detective, preventive and recovery capabilities. These capabilities include, but are not limited to 24 x 7 security monitoring, anti-phishing protections, malware detection, multi factor authentication, offsite backups, encryption strategies and numerous network perimeter controls.
In addition to our already robust security programs, Black Knight has taken additional precautions specifically designed to mitigate the risks associated with the current news and we would like to assure our partners that we are taking all of the necessary steps to prevent these events from affecting our operations. These additional precautions will remain in place until confirmation is received and we can verify that the threat has been eliminated.
In the near future we will be hosting a webinar, featuring our leadership and security team leaders to cover this information and answer any questions you may have.
An additional communication will be sent in the next several days with the webinar information.
Black Knight
Paragon has added several enhancements to the NWIA MLS with their latest software update to version 5.95. All enhancements are designed to help you navigate through the system and enhance your experience with Paragon. Find a list of the enhancements regarding the new features here on our website.
The Paragon MLS Facebook site is also a great place to find the latest news, updates and tips and trick for working in the MLS system.
Paragon has added several enhancements to the NWIA MLS with their latest software update to version 5.94. All enhancements are designed to help you navigate through the system and enhance your experience with Paragon. Find a list of the enhancements regarding the new features here on our website.
The Paragon MLS Facebook site is also a great place to find the latest news, updates and tips and trick for working in the MLS system.
NWIA is pleased to offer ShowingTime as a new service for our members. Launch of this new tool is expected to take place on March 22. In order to maximize your understanding and provide tools to get started, there will be short online training sessions (free) for all members. We highly encourage ALL members to take advantage of this opportunity.
The recommendation is to register for both a Basics session and the Offer Manager session. Each topic will be covered three times to fit your schedule, choose what works best for you. Each will have the same information.
All webinars are just 30 minutes in length. Short, sweet, and enough to get you started with this fantastic new tool!
APPOINTMENT SCHEDULING & QUICK START BASICS TRAINING by ShowingTime
- Tuesday, March 21st at 11:00am
- Wednesday, March 22nd at 9:00am
- Thursday, March 23rd at 2:00pm
Basics Class Training Registration Link: https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/4998916850611780191
OFFER MANAGER TRAINING by ShowingTime
- Tuesday, March 21st at 3:00pm
- Wednesday, March 22nd at 1:00pm
- Friday, March 24th at 10:00am
Offer Manager Training Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/8345686209538915927
More information about Offer Manager is available here.
NWIA has recently been notified that SentriLock has a new update which is requiring all outdated versions of the mobile app be updated to the latest version. If not already updated, the SentriKey Real Estate™ App is now forcing all users to update to the current version as of March 13, 2023. Agents should check the functionality of their app, and run an update if necessary. The app will not function until it is updated.
App update steps are as follows:
For Android Users:
- Open the Google Play Store app.
- At the top right, tap the profile icon.
- Tap Settings > Network Preferences > Auto-update apps.
- Select an option: Over any network to update apps using either Wi-Fi or mobile data. Over Wi-Fi only to update apps only when connected to Wi-Fi.
For iPhone Users:
- Tap your profile.
- Perform a swipe-down gesture to initiate a scan for the latest app updates.
- Tap the Update button next to an app to update it. Or tap Update All to apply all available app updates.
Agents who cannot complete the update and need to access properties will need to request a one day code from the listing agent, or contact SentriKey via the phone icon in the app and request assistance from lockbox customer support. Lockbox support can also be reached at (513) 756-2407.
If you have any questions, reach out to the NWIA board office.
