WVMLS Year-in-Review 2024

2024 was a year of change for our industry. We started the year by preparing for these changes with four regional outreach meetings attended by 350+ members. We also threw a member party in March to celebrate WVMLS’s 75th Anniversary.

2024 saw us double down on our commitment to in-person events, increasing from the 5 events held in 2023 to 14 in 2024. These events included Outreach Meetings, In-Person Classes, Paragon Intensive Workshops, the CRS Tax Pro Series, and the food fund drive kick-off, Trunk or Treat.

This year also brought significant improvements to the member benefits you enjoy as a WVMLS member, all provided at no additional cost.

CRS Data added new fields to their property reports, providing insights on Internet Access and how the property characteristics on county records compare to WVMLS records. CubiCasa introduced vertical scanning and new upgrades, such as a detailed home report and virtual tours, all from one scan. These updates make these impressive tools even better, and along with the already outstanding Domus Analytics benefit, contribute to an impressive array of tools available to our members.

In appreciation of your membership, we created this Year-in-Review list to remind you of the wonderful year we shared:

Paragon Professional

• Increased limits of certain fields and features:

  • Closing Notes 50 -> 75 Characters

  • Associated Documents 10 -> 20 Docs

  • CMA retention time increased from 6 Months -> 87 Months

  • Partial Listings Expiration Time from 3 Months -> 6 Months

  • Photo Limit was increased from 42 -> 50

• Removed Buyer Brokerage Fee Fields

  
  

Paragon Connect

• Many additional features were added to Paragon Connect including: A customizable dashboard, a reverse prospecting tool, and a lot of quality-of-life updates across the application.

  
  

WVMLS Changes

• Listing Profile forms went through 2 large revisions, one in March and the other in August.

• To help members navigate the changes, a Commission FAQ was created.

  
  

Training Improvements

• Monthly in-person classes were added (in place of their webinar counterparts)

• CRS Data’s Nikki  Morgan visited in November to teach the Tax Pro Series

• Paragon Intensive Workshops were held in August

• CubiCasa Training Webinars were held in March, November, and December

• Improved Classes: Listing Maintenance and Listing Entry 101 were joined together to make a 1.5-hour CE course.

  
  

Thank you, Members, for a great year, and CHEERS to a wonderful 2025 together!

Protecting Yourself from Spam Text Messages: How to Identify, Prevent, and Report Scammers

How to Identify a Spam Text Message:

Spammers use various tactics to lure you into interacting with them. Although we can't cover all of them, here are some common examples of their attempts to hack your accounts or steal your data:

• Pretending to be someone you know and asking for money or gift cards

• Texting you coupons that you never signed up for

• Sending you a link to track a package

• Claiming there was an issue with a payment and asking you to verify your account information

• Requesting your personal information through text

Things You Can Do to Prevent and Report Scammers:

• Avoid clicking on links that you did not request as it may lead to malware or data theft

• Do not reply back to spam messages as it may alert scammers that your phone number is active

• Block the number to avoid receiving further messages

• Copy the message and send it to 7726 (SPAM)

• Report it to the Federal Trade Commission by visiting ftc.gov/complaint.

#Spam #WVMLSTips #Safety

New Property Report Improvements In CRS Tax Data

CRS Tax Data recently received one new section and one updated section within Property Reports.

The improved section is the "Property Characteristics: Building" section which has been updated to show a tabbed report. The additional tabs "Combined Report" and "MLS (######)" will only show if the property has a linked WVMLS listing.

The new Combined Report will show side by side how the Assessor and MLS information compare for: Bedrooms, Total Bathrooms, Year Built, Improvement Sq. Ft., and Acreage (pictured below).

The tabs additional tabs allow you to view the Assessor's or WVMLS' S information individually.

A new section added is "Internet Access" which in time show information on which providers are available at the property. The producer of this data is working on confirming service so in time this can be used as an insightful tool to show buyers (pictured below).

To learn more about CRS Tax Data register for the upcoming CRS Tax Data Webinar on Tuesday, December 17 @ 2PM at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GqaIGysnRZ6GLQSRJQ2Phg