Who is your MLS software - We use Paragon, but are they the best?

Greg,

At the slight risk of a vendor 'intrusion' to your dialog, here, you can find out more information about the Rapattoni MLS product at our website's MLS product information page at http://www.rapattoni.com/prod/mls/default.asp

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

Tim P. Johnson
Vice President of Business Development
Rapattoni Corporation
98 W. Cochran Street
Simi Valley, CA 93065
1-800-722-7338
tjohnson@rapattoni.com

We're all but stuck with rappattoni, and I'm not impressed. It's slow, bloated, Slow, unintuitive, SLOW, buggy, S-L-O-W, and (perhaps most damning) it only works with Internet Explorer - consistently the slowest, most insecure major browser on the market, and practically forcing agents to use Windows. 

But, as there is no viable alternative, we'll keep using it, and keep paying through the nose for the privelege.

Agents have been able to enter open house schedules on the MLS for years - but in my area at least, it's never been effective. While there are hundreds of open house listings in the city papers, there are generally less than a dozen entered into the MLS that covers a 7 county region.

Agents don't want to send their clients to open houses, lest they lose the client to the agent at that open house. Open houses aren't about selling that house, they are about an agent getting face time with prospective clients.

Our board recently switched from Offutt/MarketLinx to Paragon4; because we didn't like the support from MarketLinx and resented having to pay to "upgrade" to be RETS compliant.  Paragon4 is supposedly RETS compliant.

Years ago, I oversaw the changeover from our older system to Offutt, and vowed I would not do that again.  Now, in making the switch from Offutt to Paragon4, we've had a few hiccups with data mapping during the changeover. 

One thing I've often repeated is this:  Boards need to decide what they want the MLS to do for them before even considering a switch.  My emphasis is on the quality of listing data contained in the system; the data entry ease, and the ease of extracting the data in emails, printouts etc.  Others, however, believe the MLS in addition to being a repository of property data, should be a full resource contact manager as well.

I believe that using an MLS as a contact manager is convenient, but a recipe for disaster.  First, most REALTORS rely on their contact manager, and if it is theirs only then when a changeover occurs, the REALTOR still has all their contact info.  However, if the MLS system is also the contact manager and a decision is made to switch from one provider to another - who takes the responsibility that the new MLS provider will also export all contact manager information correctly (flawlessly?) from one MLS system to another?

It's one thing when property records get "re-arranged" but another entirely when client information gets corrupted. 

I recommend to all that you seek a good MLS system that handles property data effectively - don't be overcome with all the contact manager bells and whistles that might be available in the "new" system because they may not be found in the next "new" system.   Bedrooms, baths, prices, addresses etc all transport well across systems; and the goal of RETS is to be sure that these data elements interchange properly.

I'm not sure if RETS is, or even should, be in the contact manager business.

Just my thoughts.  Feel free to find me at CountyRealty and respond if you like.

I am a member of two different MLS systems, one uses Paragon (which I hate), the other uses Solid Earth which has its flaws but is light years ahead of Paragon in terms of usability.

In fact, I just found this blog post because I am searching for my paragon login screen (how sad is that?). I only use it in have-to cases.