Tech & Web

If you sign up to support a Virginia branch of the Young Professionals Network by Wednesday, May 8, you’ll get a free account with the real estate-focused Wellcome Mat video-sharing site.

That’s it: Say you support YPN just by filling out a quick form (kinda like a petition), and get a free account with a very cool service.

First, what’s YPN?

Don’t be fooled by the name. The “Young Professionals Network” might be more aptly called the “New Realtors Network.” It was launched by NAR in 2006 as a way to give new Realtors “the opportunity to connect with each other and build a stronger link to the industry.”

Essentially, its goal is to get new Realtors and pros to work together, and help get those new folks involved with the profession a few baby steps at a time.

Move, the company that runs Realtor.com, has added some interesting features to its Realtor.com Android app. It now gives information about school districts.

This appeared in the April/May issue of Commonwealth magazine.

With more and more electronic communication being done in public — the “social” part of social media — you’ll find that you can never really remove your Realtor hat. That means you need to be extra careful when you’re writing an e-mail, crafting a blog post, or replying to a tweet.

And I don’t just mean “always be professional.” I mean that there are disclosure rules from both the Virginia Real Estate Board and the Realtor Code of Ethics that apply online whenever you engage in “advertising.”

And believe me, the definition of “advertising” is pretty broad.

Virginia commercial Realtors are invited to attend a free webinar to learn the core functions of RPR Commercial:

• Searching properties/viewing property details,
• in-depth market analysis, and
• mapping/reporting.

When: Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Time: 10 a.m.
Cost: Free

Lots of cities, towns, and counties have affordable-housing programs — anything from help paying for fuel to assistance with buying a first home, to everything in between.

Who has what? What’s available in your area? What kinds of programs have these places tried?

We told you about Clearwater, Fla., Realtor Jeff Launiere’s legal scare when someone tried to hold him liable for listing that came through his IDX feed. All worked out well in the end — no, you’re not responsible for what’s on the IDX feed that appears on your website — but the incident has Realtors talking.

Quick summary: No, you are not liable for listings that come to your site via an IDX feed.

You may have seen the story that started with a blog post on Active Rain from Jeff Launiere, a Realtor in Clearwater, Fla.

Distilled version: Like many Realtors, Jeff had an IDX feed coming into his website, with all the listings from his area.

We as agents have absolutely no control over the listings that are on our websites. The feed comes directly from the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) and you either show all listings, or none.