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Transcript

Fast Lane Learning - Season 4 Episode 2 · #HomeForAll Podcast

• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Hey there, podcast fans, and welcome back to Fast Lane Learning for 2026.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: We are speeding into episode two for this season and excited to be talking about MLS Now and ACAR and how our two organizations work together to benefit our realtor members.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Fasten your seatbelts for another great episode with bite-sized nuggets of information for those of you who don't always have time for our full-on 30-minute podcast.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: And for those of you who are looking for some really fast, really significant information, Fast Lane Learning is going to be a fast and wild ride.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: So buckle up and let's get going.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Kelly.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Good to be here.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: How are you doing today?
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's a lovely, beautiful Thursday.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: We're hanging out here at the office, and I'm excited to talk about uh untangling MLS Now and ACAR.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's put the pedal down and get moving.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: We're talking about two organizations and one seamless membership experience.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: So let's start by talking about what each organization does.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: So ACAR is your local level association, and we're your connection through membership to Ohio Real Tours at the state level and also NAR, the National Association of Real Tours at the national level.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: But we're doing a lot of other things in-house as well.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Our membership department is here to make sure that all of our members are active, in good compliance with the rules and regulations, and answering questions about things like joining a secondary association or how to maintain your membership and your license.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: Our advocacy department works tirelessly at the local, state, and national levels to advocate for real property rights, as well as to provide education and promote fair housing for all.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Our education department is here to make sure that our industry stays up to speed on what's happening in our area statewide and nationally, and also provides opportunities to complete that continuing education requirement for both NAR and also for ODRE for renewing your license.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: So professional development at ACAR also is going to cover changes in the industry.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's going to cover classes about topics that are timely and relevant to our realtor members as well as our affiliate members.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: So it could be anything like, you know, inspecting a roof to information about historical buildings in the Cleveland area.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: We've had some interesting classes.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: We really have.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: We've had such a wide variety of topics, and they're not always topics that you would expect, you know, things like code of ethics or fair housing.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: We really do have a great mix of opportunities to learn about different interests.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: And then of course, ACAR is your local support.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: We are folks that are in your community with you that understand some of the niches that come along with the Northeast Ohio area and how real estate is conducted in certain spots within our service area.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: And we're the folks that you're going to see at events when you're out at an ACAR event or at conventions when you're joining Ohio Real Tours or NAR for educational opportunities or networking.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: So now we're going to talk for a hot minute about what the difference then is with what does MLS do?
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: So MLS now is a completely separate entity from ACAR.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: They are independent of us.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: They have their own systems, databases, uh staff.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: They also have their own fee schedule that is completely separate from ACAR's.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: So they're going to be covering things like your listing data, access to properties through showing time when you are showing clients or setting up showings for your listing.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: They're going to enforce rules around that data entry and listings and the way that uh sales are transacted using their platform.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: They're also going to provide resources for you around sales data, agent productivity, and links to tax-related sites as well.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: So relist being a tax tool to look up some property history and also linking you directly to auditor data as well.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: So how do the organizations partner with each other to deliver that those day-to-day tools to our the tools our realtors rely on in their day-to-day business?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: So it's important to know that MLS Now serves many different associations in the Northeast Ohio area, not just ACAR.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: So whenever you're logging on to MLS Now, you'll notice that some of the associations that are partner with MLS Now to deliver services to their members.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: ACAR is a shareholder of MLS Now.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: So that means that we're working in partnership to make sure that our agents have access to the tools that MLS Now offers.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: And MLS Now is requiring membership for our RealTour members with an association.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: And it's basically just a way to ensure that our industry itself is promoting fair and equitable services to our consumers.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: And it's also a way to ensure that our Realtor members are compliant with the rules and regulations across both organizations, too.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: So can you can you talk for a second about or maybe clear up um I know during uh renewal season we get a lot of questions from members about, you know, well, how what am I paying to you versus what I'm paying for MLS Now?
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's not one lump, right?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: So can you talk about that for a sec?
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: So I I kind of alluded to this, but MLS Now does operate on a completely separate fee schedule from ACAR at the local level.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um so they are going to bill their members twice per year.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: And when you're logging into MLS Now, you'll sometimes notice uh that pay bill and notification for a due date.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's important to note that because MLS Now serves so many associations in our area, they will never advertise for dues or renewal fees for those associations.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: There's just too many to keep track of.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and also agents tend to move around a little bit.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's difficult to uh customize that for agents who might be with different associations or move to another one throughout the year.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: So you'll never see association dues advertised on MLS now.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: They're only advertising their own renewal cycles.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: I believe that they bill twice per year.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: ACAR itself, though, um is handling your local, state, and national renewal fees.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we're only going to advertise those through our social media channels, our communications, via newsletters and emails.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: And you'll also see it in your member portal when you log into our website.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: So just remember, you know, we're working together, but our fee set schedules are separate.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: So one last question.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Can you talk just a little bit about um onboarding and how that connects the two systems behind the scenes?
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: So when you are newly licensed, MLS Now is going to reach out to you with an onboarding email.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: It'll have requirements in it for what you need to do to be considered a member in good standing with MLS Now.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, one of those requirements is that if you are licensed with a RealTour brokerage, meaning your broker is a realtor and you are now needing to establish membership with a Real Tour association, MLS Now wants to receive what's called a letter of good standing from your association to verify that yes, you have met this membership requirement where you have joined an association.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you are compliant with what we call the three-way agreement, which I think we're digging into on another episode.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: But MLS Now wants to verify that you've met their requirements, and ACAR's here to help affirm that you've met requirements that they've they've set out there for you.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: So whenever you are joining ACAR, you will have submitted a membership application, you will have paid any new member joining fees, and then we'll go ahead and we'll share that letter of good standing to MLS now to guarantee your continuous access to their service once those steps have been completed on the association side.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: So, and just for convenience sake, what I can do, we'll we can drop the link for the letter of good standing into the show notes.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, absolutely.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: In case anybody needs one.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: It's important to note too that you know you might need a letter of good standing for other reasons just than onboarding with MLS now.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: You might need it for uh, let's say picking up a secondary association membership.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: So what Kelly's going to link is a request form for a letter of good standing.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: Those come directly to our membership staff for processing, and then we can get that back over to you so you can um you know move forward with the business you're conducting.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Love that.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that makes a lot of sense.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: I hope it did for everybody else that was listening out there.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: And with that, we've reached our destination today.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: So that is it.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: I want to thank Ashley for her insight and input in today's episode, and please be sure to join us next week for the next Fast Lane Learning installment.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: And until then, drive safely and keep your learning in the fast lane.