Bulletins – Hawaii Information Service

Our new and enhanced IDX is going live TOMORROW Oct. 28th, 2009, giving you 26 new features and functions at your fingertips! Although the new and enhanced IDX will be officially LIVE tomorrow, it will take us some time to implement these changes.  A schedule will follow shortly explaining what the process will be to get your IDX up to date.

As a follow up to yesterday’s e-blast, here is a continued look at what you can expect, with a focus on the expanded features and functions that are only found in our Mid and FULL IDX Suites. (Click on the images to see a larger version of them)

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Better Saved Than Sorry…

Saving Search Parameters & Results*

One of the biggest advantages of having a FULL IDX is giving your customers the ability to save their searches, thus making their home buying search that much more easy and efficient.  What do you, the agent, get out of it?  Besides knowing that your customers are being taken care of, they will have to enter their contact information in return for being able to save their searches, giving you the ability to contact them and provide them with the educated help they need to take the next step.

Here’s how it works:

* Your customers can set the search parameters the way they want them and just click “Save This Search.”  If they are not logged in they will be prompted to do so, and then will be able to name their search, choose how often they want to receive updates, and go back to it whenever they please.

* Love at first sight?  Your customers can save their favorite properties to a ‘Hotlist’ and return to it at a glance.

* If your customers need more details or want more options they need not look any further than the Property Details Page.  By simply clicking on the “More Details” button on the listing of their choice they’ll find a world of opportunity at their fingertips.  From the property details page, they’ll be able to save or print the listing, contact you, the agent, or schedule a showing, or e-mail it to a friend.

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Tools Of The Trade

Our FULL IDX not only provides superior search capabilities for your customers, it also allows them to save specific listings of interest with the click of a button.

Here’s how it works:

* Getting There:  After logging in to their ToolKit Account, your customers will notice a button bar will appear at the top of each screen giving them the option to go to their ToolKit Home as well as view their HotList, Saved Searches, and/or Details etc.

* The View from the Inside: Your customers ToolKit contains links to their HotList, Saved Search Parameters and Details.  If they click on the “My HotList” button on the top menu bar or either one of the ones below they will be able to easily manage/add to their HotList.

* Your customers will be able to easily view property’s thumbnails in their HotList which they can also use to access the property details directly.  If they have more than one they can scroll through them by using the previous and next buttons on the right hand side.

*Saved Search and other Call to Action features listed here are only available to FULL IDX customers.

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Details, Details, Details…

What Your Customers Can Expect To Find on A Property’s Details Page

Included In All IDX Suites:

* Print Page

* Display Days on Market

* Display ALL Photos

* Photo Captions

* Agent Photo and Contact Information

Included In The Mid IDX (All of the above +):

* Virtual Tours (if available)

* Map Details – view a single property on the Google map

Included In The FULL IDX (All of the above +):

* “Call to Action” buttons such Ask the Agent, E-Mail a Friend, Schedule Showings, Schedule an Open House etc. at the top of the details page.

* Save listing to HotList: Your consumers must provide their contact information to save their favorite listings.

* Access to Mortgage Calculator

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Getting The Whole Picture…

At A Glance

For a quick reference guide, please see the table below which shows what you can expect from the new EZ, Mid and Full IDX packages.

Questions?

For questions pertaining to technical aspects of IDX please contact Michael Torres at Michael@alohaliving.com.  For Sales related questions or inquiries please contact Colleen Yasuhara at Colleen@AlohaLiving.com. Have a great rest of your week and we’ll be in touch soon!

Our new and enhanced IDX is coming your way in a matter of days, and as such, we wanted to give you a little sneak peek of the 26 new features and functions you will soon have access to.  All of the features and functions detailed in this e-blast are included in all three of our IDX packages.  (Click on the images to see a larger version)

Check it out…

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A Whole New Look…

Main Search Page

You will notice quite a few changes have taken place on the IDX’s main search page.  All of these features and functions are included in all of our IDX packages:

* All the search fields from our existing IDX, plus much more!

* All search parameters have been consolidated on one page, eliminating the need to scroll down and jump from page to page.

* Search by subdivision AND Condo Project!

* Need a visual?  The clickable map feature allows you to choose your island of interest and then drill down further by zone etc. to narrow your search.

* Sort search results by price, high to low, etc.

* New & expanded search options: Map Search (For FULL & Mid IDX Suites only), Basic & Advanced Search, Search by Address, Search by Multiple MLS Numbers.

* Ability to log-in and save your search settings and results. You can even save your Advanced or Map searches! (For FULL & Mid IDX Suites only)

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Search And You Shall Find…

Clickable Map

* Using the state-wide map, choose your island of choice to view that island’s zones/districts and major towns.

* Once an island is chosen, search fields will automatically adjust to match the island.

Map Search (For FULL & Mid IDX Suites only)

* Switch between maps of islands and areas within an island quickly and easily, without ever leaving the page.

* Refine and easily sort your results.

* View all results as pins on our interactive map, or in list-form below the map.

* Click on map pins to view property details and photos.

* Zoom in and out and move the map around as necessary.

* Save map searches and results easily.

Address Search

* Search using a specific address, property type – you can even specify the island you want to search on and the subdivision the property is located in!

MLS Search

* Got multiple MLS numbers you want to search for all at once?  With the new enhanced IDX this isn’t a problem!

At A Glance

Stay tuned for more of what the new and enhanced IDX packages have to offer.  For a quick reference guide, please see the table below which shows what you can expect from the new EZ, Mid and Full IDX packages.

Questions?

For questions pertaining to technical aspects of IDX please contact Michael Torres at Michael@alohaliving.com.  For Sales related questions or inquiries please contact Colleen Yasuhara at Colleen@AlohaLiving.com. Have a great rest of your week and we’ll be in touch soon!

After a great deal of hard work, we are pleased to announce that we will soon be releasing our new and improved IDX product!  A great deal has been achieved on the back-end to accomplish a few simple but very important goals on the front-end for the benefit of you, our members, as well as your customers.  In short, here is what you can expect:

Stay tuned for a detailed breakdown of all the features and functions of the enhanced IDX.  For a quick reference guide, please click on the thumbnail below to see what you can expect from the new EZ, Mid and Full IDX packages.

Now Available:  Virtual Tours and Photo Descriptions

In an effort to provide your customers with the fullest experience possible when they visit your website, we have executed another VOW feed upgrade.  Effective immediately, you will have access to virtual tours and photo descriptions for all listings that appear in the feed.*  
 
To get you started, we will be generating a full dump of all Active and Contingent listings every day.  This full dump file will be available to you from 3/26/2009 to 4/10/2009.  Here are the specifications on the new data files that will be added to the VOW feed that will contain virtual tours and photo descriptions for the listings:
 
Full Dump File (only available 3/26/2009 – 4/10/2009)

• This Full Dump text file will be named photoToursAndDescFULLDUMP.txt and will be put into your ftp directory as a separate file.  You can use this file to populate your existing database with the virtual tours and photo descriptions of listings that are currently Active or Contingent.  After applying this full update, you can use the photoToursAndDesc.txt file that will be generated daily to keep your tours and photo descriptions up to date.

Daily incremental Update File

• There will be a separate text file generated in the VOW feed that will be named “photoToursAndDesc.txt and will contain any photo’s descriptions and any virtual tours for listings if available.
• These descriptions and tours will be given for all listings that are included in the feed on a given run.  Meaning all listings that are in the VOW feed should have a matching record in the new photoToursAndDesc.txt file if that particular listing has photos or a virtual tour.
• This new photoToursAndDesc.txt file will be included in the data .zip files that are currently in the feed for each island.  The zip files are named “vowfeedKauai.zip” for Kauai data or “vowfeedHawaii.zip” for Hawaii data.

*Provided this information is available.

If you are interested in upgrading your FTP feed you will need to schedule a time with HIS during which your webmaster can do this.  We have time slots available next week Wednesday, February 25th – Friday, February 27th. 
 
Only a limited number of people can update their FTP feed each day, so please contact Erin Shaw today to reserve your spot:
 
E-mail: erin@alohaliving.com
Direct: 808.748.8759
Toll Free: 1.800.628.3121 ext. #159
 
 
When you RSVP, please note which upgrade your webmaster will be doing:
 
1. Get daily photo updates for listings entered from here on out.
 
2. Download the “Full” photo set if you want photos for every active listing on the market entered before and after this enhancement.
 
3. If you do not want to upgrade at this time, you are welcome to stick with featuring just six photos with each listing as your site does now.
 
*For technical questions, please contact Michael Torres at michael@alohaliving.com.  This upgrade is included in your current service at no additional charge from HIS.
 

QUESTIONS?
Contact Colleen Yasuhara at (808) 748.8751 OR 800.628.3121 ext. #151
colleen@alohaliving.com