June 22nd, 2007   Vol. 6 No. 23
NKAR NEWS
Treasury Increases Health Savings Accounts Allowances
Individuals may put as much as $2,850, and families as much as $5,650, in health savings accounts this year, the U.S. Treasury Department says. In 2008, those amounts will increase to $2,900 and $5,800, respectively. During 2008, the underlying health insurance must have a minimum deductible of $1,000 and a maximum of $5,600 (individual) and $2,200 minimum and $11,200 maximum for a family. Health savings accounts are a tax-free way for the self-employed and those in small businesses, among others, to acquire health insurance.
 

Volunteers needed for Occupational License Task Force
As you know the occupational license tax is a very important issue to our members. We are looking for volunteers to serve on this committee. The objective is the simplification of occupational licensing and possible legislation to address the issue. If you are interested, please e-mail Terri Raney at traney@nkar.com  or call her at 859-547-1354.

ID Theft is a FACT
Identity theft is a growing problem in American society. So serious, in fact, that MSNBC just recently started running a special on Dateline called “To Catch an ID Thief” hosted by Chris Hansen of the “To Catch a Predator” series.

Much of the responsibility of ID theft falls under the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prevent identity theft, improve resolution of consumer disputes, improve the accuracy of consumer records, make improvements in the use of, and consumer access to, credit information, and for other purposes.

Routinely monitoring financial accounts and billing statements for suspicious activity can help REALTORS® and clients protect themselves.
Do You Comply With the FACT Act?
NAR ID Theft Toolkit
Field Guide to ID Theft

Agent IDX and Broker IDX - Volunteers needed for IDX Task Force
The MLS Board is asking for interested members to serve on a task force to review and make an informed recommendation to the Board regarding Existing IDX Rules and Agent IDX. If you are interested in serving on this task force, Please send an e-mail to info@nkar.com
    
MLS ISSUES
Reminder Notice: Display Key and EKey Renewals are Due
For agents who have not paid their key renewals yet, this notice is a reminder that sharing keys is not permitted according to the Key and Keybox Rules and Regulations of the Northern Kentucky MLS. Using another member’s key just to avoid paying the fees to have your own key is a direct violation of the rules. It’s important to remember why we use the electronic key and keybox system. It is to help sellers feel secure about opening up their homes and personal possessions to the general public. It also helps agents feel confident that the people who access properties with the key will be in good standing and are abiding by the same professional standards as you do. Would you want to be liable for damage that occurred while someone else uses your key? Of course not! Would you want to risk losing your key privileges because another member didn’t want to pay the renewal? Not a chance! Penalties are severe for violations of the Key and Keybox rules. To view the Key and Keybox Rules and Regulations please click the link here. Using the electronic keybox system enhances your level of professionalism.
Supra Tips and Tricks- Turning Off Agent Feedback on your eKey
Some eKey users have experienced an eSync problem where the key locked up during the sync. This may be due to a large amount of Agent Feedback that is saved for later access. To view saved Agent Feedback: Click on eKey, click OK on the Key Updated screen, scroll down to Agent Feedback and Tap It. If you have Agent Feedback you don’t want to keep, tap each one and Delete.
To Turn Off the Agent Feedback: From the Main Menu, tap eKey. Click OK on the Key Updated screen. Tap the Menu button (It looks like a clipboard). Click on Preferences when the menu drops down. Look for the Agent Feedback Check Box. Uncheck the check box. Click OK. Try the eSync again.
Ready for a smartphone?
Busy real estate professionals are switching to smartphones in record numbers. Imagine a cell phone that has access to the Internet and email, your calendar, your contacts, driving directions, and more! It's a great way to increase your productivity and response times.

You can further streamline your business by adding eKEY software to your smartphone to make it your lockbox key. If you choose eKEY Professional Service you'll have your MLS info right on your device, along with a complete roster of agents, details of your showing activity, and maps connected to listings. You'll be able to do business ANYWHERE!

Even if your organization does not offer eKEY service, you won't want to miss out on the great smartphone specials being offered by our select partners and Palm. Log on to www.supraekey.com  and click on Special Offers.

New devices approved for use with eKEY!

We are pleased to announce that the following devices have passed our certification testing and are now available for use with our eKEY software.

AT&T 8525
AT&T Treo 750
HP iPAQ 6925 (AT&T)
HP iPAQ 6945 (unlocked version)
Qwest PPC6700
Alltel Treo 700wx
Verizon Treo 700wx
Sprint Treo 755p
For a list of devices currently certified for use with eKEY, click here.

TECHNOLOGY
Watch what you sign with online listings agreements
Research finds content deals can include far-reaching terms
Thursday, June 07, 2007 By Glenn Roberts Jr. Inman News
While opportunities abound to market properties online, real estate professionals should take heed of what they are signing when they submit property listings content to Web sites they do not control, says a paper prepared for a subsidiary of the Florida Association of Realtors trade group.

"Hardly a week goes by without the announcement of a new 'real estate vertical' that focuses on providing real property listings to consumers," according to the paper, which recommends, "Before adding any Web site to your advertising campaign, you should try to get a good understanding of the rights you grant to Web site operators when your listings are posted online.

"The bottom line for brokers is to read the terms of service and know what you are allowing the Web site operator to do when you post your property listing to its Web site."

The 34-page "Data Distribution on the Web" paper, prepared by Real Estate Industry Solutions LLC -- a wholly owned subsidiary of the Florida Realtors group that has a mission to identify, develop and provide products and services for real estate professionals -- offers sample licensing agreements offered by real estate marketing sites, describes typical language used in these agreements, and also offers tips for those who are considering where to market properties online. The paper is available for free by registering at the company's Web site.

Web site operators' and real estate brokers' interests "can diverge when it comes to how the content will be used" online, the report states, as site operators typically seek broad rights to minimize risk associated with the content, and content owners typically seek narrow rights to ensure the agreements are not overly broad.

A sample licensing agreement included in the report provides that the Web site owner does not claim ownership of content provided by its users, though content providers automatically grant "an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully paid, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, transmit copy, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute ... content and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, (this) content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses (through multiple tiers) of the foregoing."

The report explains individual legal terms in this description, noting that the "non-exclusive" clause means that the Web site operator is not the only entity allowed to use the content, for example, and that the preparation of "derivative works" allows the operator to transform, recast or adapt the content into a new work without infringing on any copyrights.

The report encourages industry professionals to "pay careful attention to provisions regarding the right to modify the agreement and to terminate the license," as Web site operators typically reserve the right to modify any provision of the licensing agreement at any time, "with or without specific notice to you," and under some agreements content providers "can stop using the service, but your content is left behind."

Alan Yassky, a National Association of Realtors representative to Move Inc.'s board of directors who also serves on the board of managers for Real Estate Industry Solutions, referenced the report during a National Association of Realtors board of directors meeting last month

Yassky, in an address to the national Realtor group's directors, said he never expected to see industry professionals "giving your listings away and not knowing where the hell they're going -- what are you doing? It will scare the hell out of you what you are authorizing people to do." And he directed the audience to view the report for themselves.

The paper includes an analysis of the Move Inc. licensing agreement, among many other companies. Among Move's terms: "by posting Content to any public area of the Move network, you grant Move all rights necessary to prohibit any subsequent aggregation, display, copying, duplication, reproduction, or exploitation of the content on the Move network by any party for any purpose," and "by transmitting content to the Move network, you grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to Move an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully paid, worldwide license to use, copy, perform, display, and distribute the Content and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, the Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses (through multiple tiers) of the foregoing."

Licensing agreements can be negotiable with some Web operators, the report states, while other companies may be inflexible on terms.

Real estate professionals should seek legal advice before entering into licensing agreements, the report states, and should check their listing agreements to ensure that they "have the right to advertise the property on the Web" and to ensure that agreements with associates, photographers, copywriters and others will extend to the new licensing agreement.

The paper also recommends that real estate professionals ensure that licensing is non-exclusive, "or that at the very least you retain the right to use the information yourself," and to seek the right to approve of any sublicensees of the content provided to the Web site operator.

"If the operator is going to modify the content you upload in any way, or is going to combine it with content it's gotten from other sources, try to limit the scope of your liability so that you aren't responsible for claims relating to content that has been modified or combined," the report suggests.

It's best for content providers to ensure that they have a right to terminate the agreement for any or no reason at all, and to ensure that the Web site operator "will stop using the content that you submitted and remove it from its servers" upon termination, the paper recommends.

The paper includes a series of charts that describe whether or not content providers control where data goes with specific Web site operators.

ListHub, Point2, SubmitYourListings, vFlyer, Move, Trulia, LinkedIn, MySpace, YouTube and Yahoo! Groups are listed among the sites that allow content providers to control where the data goes, for example, while Backpage.com, Craigslist, eBay, Edgeio, Google Base, LiveDeal, Oodle, Yahoo, Vast, Homes.com, HomePages, Homespace, HotPads, LendingTree, MyNewPlace, PropertyShark, RealtyTrac and Zillow, among others, are listed as sites where content providers do not control where the data goes.

The paper includes the notice, "While an operator's terms of service may allow it to use the data in any manner, it doesn't mean that the operator intends or is sending the data to others or using it in a manner that wasn't intended by the content provider -- it just means that they can."
YouTube: A Modern Take on Real Estate Technology
RISMEDIA, June 20, 2007-While it's already a known fact that about 80% of home buyers begin their search on the Internet, there's still a large demand for originality among real estate Web sites. Virtual tours, mapping technology, and neighborhood guides seem like a step in the right direction Read More...