From the desk of Galen Parker

What you are about to read is probably the most significant update so far!

Since the launch, the Property Compass® has been a single service offering. A one size fits all.  And over the past years we have continually added more features. Of course, depending on the business and/or user, some features were never used; and having a single price for all of the different users did not work either. We have learned much from your feedback.

We have considered the industry with a new perspective and now the Property Compass® offers several services. Each can be used on its own or connected to provide a tailored business solution. This announcement includes:

a) New services on offer

b) New network features “an Australian first!”

c) Launch of the Marketplace “an Australian first!”

d) New schedule of fees

 

a) New services on offer

Please click here to view a visual flow of all the services and how they link together

 

b) New network features

“You can now aggregate properties from multiple property listers (including developers) across Australia.”

ONE platform; giving open access, that allows subscribers to establish direct, independent and individual agency, co-agency  / trading terms. Resulting in a national property listing / sourcing solution.

Of course this is another Australian industry first, from Property Compass®!

How to access

This new (coming soon) link will open a console to browse, communicate and network with subscribers across Australia (and some international subscribers).

This functionality is (being tested / refined); in the mean time access / introduction to subscribers within the network is being done manually via email introductions. Please contact us should you need more properties or expand your network.

 

 

 

 

 

Once selected the console below will display.

 

Subscriber profile

Available against each subscriber is a profile containing direct contact details and company overview.

Marketing / distribution mode

In this console, listing agents are grouped into three main categories, Independents, Conjunction Listers and Marketplace Listers. Listing subscribers (S3) are able to add additional functionality into their subscription agreement to suit their marketing /distribution preference. These options include:

Independents list and sell the properties via their own network / marketing.

Open-agency listers (and developers) can work with other selected listings subscribers and also work with selected non-listing subscribers (S2). Direct trading terms/co-agencies must be arranged between subscribers. Commissions are NOT shown against projects with a co-agency status. Agreements can be uploaded against each project and signed between respective parties separately.

Marketplace exclusive listers can grant project access to the entire network. Trading terms are included in the subscription agreement with payments based on the Fee-for-Service Table. There is no requirement to sign separate agreements. A prerequisite of a ‘strict listing standard’ must be met for projects to qualify for the marketplace.  Additionally, a full disclosure of commissions and agency agreements are displayed against each project.

Selecting marketing / distribution mode

Listing subscribers can select their preferred mode for each project in Section 3, please see image below.

 

Changes to the project list / status

As seen in the image below, projects now display these statuses; Sample, Internal, Co-agency and Marketplace. This is a short brief on the statuses;

Projects with a ‘Sample’ & ‘Internal’ status only appear on your website. Other subscribers are unable to see these projects.

‘Open-agency’ identifies that this project is shared with another subscriber. The number beside the status indicates the total number of subscribers currently granted access to this project. Projects with a open-agency status will ONLY display to subscribers you have selected.

Projects with a ‘Marketplace’ status are available for the entire network to access.

 

 

Key benefits for listers (property suppliers)

• Eliminates the need to re-load properties, track availability and statuses; this ensures real-time data integrity, saving time and resources maintaining the data
• Instantly increases your stock list across Australia

Key benefits for non-listers

• Aggregate properties from multiple listers across Australia
• Eliminates the requirement for several website access / stock lists to work from

Network ethos

We envisage these features will give you greater capacity to trade. However we will not tolerate undue canvassing. We ask that professionalism be extended to fellow subscribers. These new features are NOT to be used for mass marketing or relentless telephone calls.

 

c) Marketplace

We have also introduced the ‘Marketplace’. The Marketplace is a managed process and has a Fee-for-Service trading terms and is subject to strict listing criteria.

Key criteria

• Properties must be loaded with complete disclosure, as per the listing check list
• Property listers must adhere to their ‘role & responsibilities’
• All deals must be submitted via a Sales Advice
• Nominated ‘Excepted Exchange Date’ must reflect the investor’s capacity to proceed
• All ‘Expected Due Dates’ are to be tracked with pertinent commentary
• Service delivery; timely communication to all involved in the deal is mandatory
• Property commissions are apportioned as per the Fee-for-Service Table
• Properties can only appear exclusively in the Marketplace

Key benefits

• All Properties are listed to the same disclosure standard
• All transactions adhere to one trading term based on the Fee-For-Service Table, please click here to view
• Entities sourcing properties across Australia can rely on this managed process

Please click here to download PDF showing a visual of the marketplace.

 

d) New schedule of fees

This is our first price review in over 6 years. This schedule of fees takes affect from 7 June 2011 and applies to new and renewing subscribers. Please click here to view

In closing…

We believe these services can assist you to grow your business without limitations.  Please click here to learn more about services on offer.

 

Thank you

From the desk of Galen Parker

This enhancement was introduced to assist listing agents to communicate with all subscribers that work with the listing agent. The entities that access the listing agent’s one or more properties are included in this notice. This notice can assist you with communicating the status of your projects.

 

Let’s consider the following;

Once a project is loaded and ready to market; a notice can be sent advising of it’s release.

Or

Where there are 1-2 remaining properties in a project offered with an incentive; a notice with this incentive can be sent.

Or

Other notices that would warrant the attention of entities working with you.

 

To access the notice section

In Business Administration, please click on Projects / Project name. You will notice the project name now, has a new ‘message icon’. Click on the project name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once selected a pop up will appear with ‘Post a Notice’.

 

 

The way it works

These notices are limited to 140 characters and can include links/URL’s. The notice will be emailed to each entity separately. The system automatically includes the project name in the notice; hence the recipient’s email will include the project name in the email subject / heading. In the email body this is how the notice will appear:

Hello <business name of recipient>,

<name of Lister>, a lister you have subscribed to, has posted a notice for <name of project> via your Property Compass Network.

< notice message will appear here >

To reply to this notice on your site click here {this links back to your Business Admin login area}.

 

Getting feedback

Each entity can reply separately to this notice, directly from their email service or via their login.

Adding a URL / links to your notice

If required, please use this service or other to shorten URL’s; https://bitly.com/ paste the shortened URL into the notice.

A final note

This notice system is also avaibale to subscribers wanting to seek additional information from a listing agent. To access please click on ‘Display and syndicate’ / ‘project name’. These notices will be sent diretly to the listing agent.  Please see image below;

 

From the desk of Galen Parker

These enhancements are designed to assist your maketing style.

This new functionality will allow you to hide the following values from your website display:

a) IRR
b) 5 year predictive
c) Property address
d) Minimum deposit

 

You are now able to select any or all to assist with your marketing style. Please see image below.

 

Please enter via Business Administration and click on; Customise / Select your preferences in Site Display Options

Please see image below.

From the desk of Galen Parker

These enhancements are designed to assist you in managing your deals and communicating your properties to a wider network.

1) Adding attachments to a sales advice

2) Adding gross commissions and a co-agency (Lister’s) portions

3) Viewing gross commissions against syndicated properties

4) Moved sections 5 & 6 into section 3

From the desk of Galen Parker

In this release;

1) Auto populating depreciations values

2) Multiple sales advices / buyers on the same property

3) Layout changes on the property detailed page

1) Auto populating depreciation values

Properties loaded will now have depreciation values automatically populated against them. These results are incorporated in your listing process and happen in real time. The values are provided by Washington Brown, a national depreciation service provider.

How it works

At project level: Once you press ‘update’ all the properties within the project will have their depreciation values updated.

At property (estate) level: Once you press ‘update’ this particular property only will have its depreciation values updated.

To ensure the depreciation values are correct; once you change any of any of these variables, Property type, Property price and Start date for a project or property and press ‘update’ the system will instantly update the values.

Supporting documents: a pop up window showing a graph and 10 year values will be accessible via the deprecation link.

Data table: will also show the actual values for building and fixtures.

Investment report: a depreciation page containing a graph and 10 year values will be included in the report.

Changes to listing rules: these fields, Price and Start date are now added to the existing mandatory fields.

Manual / previous method: Of course you will still be able to upload depreciations values and the supporting document manually if you prefer to do so.

2) Multiple sales advices / buyers on the same property

Status revisit: as you know a submitted sales advice against an ‘available’ property does NOT change the status. The property status changes to ‘tentatively under offer’ once the sales advice is submitted to the Listing agent.  Whilst a property is ‘tentatively under offer’, additional sales advices can still be submitted by another subscriber to the Listing agent.

Keeping you in the loop: you will now be notified via email in the instances where another network subscriber has also submitted an offer on the same property, to the listing agent for their consideration.

Below are the possible email notification Subject headings, and within the body of the email you will receive this message;

“You have received this email notice because a network subscriber has submitted an offer on this property [PROJECT NAME, PROPERTY NUMBER], to the listing agent.

All offer(s) are being considered by the listing agent.

---

A copy of your submission is below:”

Possible Email Subject headings

• Key:  This text [TEXT] is replaced with the relevant information
• Deal [SALES ADVICE NUMBER]: Sales Advice supplied to Lister
• Deal [SALES ADVICE NUMBER]: New Offer from [SUBSCRIBER NAME] submitted to [SUBSCRIBER NAME].
• Deal [SALES ADVICE NUMBER]: Offer by [SUBSCRIBER NAME] retracted from [SUBSCRIBER NAME].
• Deal [SALES ADVICE NUMBER]: Offer from [SUBSCRIBER NAME] accepted by [SUBSCRIBER NAME]
• Deal [SALES ADVICE NUMBER]: Offer from [SUBSCRIBER NAME] reverted by [SUBSCRIBER NAME].

3) Layout changes on the property detailed page

You will notice the property details page has had some layout changes. These changes are under the ‘Investment Information’ heading, shown below.

Also the ‘alt’ text for the Levies; Council, Water and Strata Fee are now NO longer added to the page.

To our fellow Queenslanders; our thoughts are with you as you rebuild your homes and businesses, and re-claim the pristine state that you are.

The PropertyCompass® Team

The Queensland Government is asking that only financial donations be made to the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal.

Donate to the Premier’s flood relief appeal by calling 1800 219 028 or by visiting www.qld.gov.au/floods.

During the Christmas — New Year break (24th December 2010 – 4th January 2011), Property Compass® will not have online support.

Our online and phone support will resume from 5^th January 2011, however, for urgent issues, please call: +61 410 510 997

We look forward to working with you in 2011.

Just in time for the holiday season we have added some new features in our 1.5.7 version to “Deal Management”.

Deal Attachments

• All parties involved in a deal can now attach documents to the deal. This is a great tool for passing contract and supporting documentation between parties and saves headaches involved with using email. Each attachment is recorded and time stamped for easy reference.

Less Email Spam

We’ve responded to comments from our users regarding excessive email alerts during the deal process, in particular emails for referrers and solicitors involved in a deal.

The system has now been changed to only email Solicitors, Mortgage Brokers and Referrers when key milestone events of the deal occur.

• Sales Advice Supplied to Lister
• Sales Advice Declined by Lister
• Sales Advice Cancelled by Purchasing Agent
• Key milestone dates: Exchange & Settlement

On behalf of the whole Propety Compass team we would like to wish you a safe and happy holiday season!

Coming soon

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We are delighted to welcome remax.com.au as a new client.

Contact us to learn how you can benefit from this exciting new relationship.

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More Property Disclosure

• From the business administration area of the site, ‘project syndicators’ are now able to view more information before deciding to syndicate a project from the network.
  Including: Commission Amounts, Project Discussion and a Complete Price List

Project Discussions
Discussions are open in nature, this area should be used to communicate questions and answers that are not sensitive in their content. Confirmations regarding the listing, its availability or general enquiries and notices are all correct usage of this new feature.
• ‘Post Notice’ – listers can use this service to send out a quick notice to all agents syndicating their project
• ‘Ask the Lister’ – allows any potential syndicator to submit an enquiry direct to the lister.
• ‘Reply to Comment’ – any comment posted in a projects discussion can be replied to

Multi-Brands
The platform now supports the ability for multiple websites for a single business, this is useful for situations when business have more than a single online brand or have a requirement for multiple website urls.

To access the new features

1. Log into Business Administration
2. Select “Display & Syndication“
3. Click any “Project Name” from the list.