Every time but this last one I’ve gotten the client to see that pulling the data they are already entering on the MLS reduces errors and saves them from needing to learn how to use yet another system. Plus it prevents them from doing double work – if you’re already entering it once on the MLS why would you want to enter the same data again on your own site when you could have it populate the site automatically?

My last client only wanted their own listing on their site despite them being in a competitive market where all the other agents pull from the MLS showing their listings and everyone else’s listings.

They have a huge volume of properties and wanted them sorted by price highest to lowest, to not allow people to search by # of bedrooms or baths (they said their customers don’t care about that), and they wanted a search by MLS#. Now they are asking that the MLS# list be ordered.

In order to sort by price I had to create a numeric custom field that they need to fill out in addition to adding the price to the agentpress property details. I guess I will do the same for the MLS#s (or MLS codes really – since they are alpha-numeric).

This means again they will be doubling up on data entry. That drives me nuts as I know it’s their administrative assistant that is entering all of these and updating them along with updating them MLS and doing double work is practically stroke inducing (to me). I used to work on a system that required double entry and was just poorly coded. I don’t want to be the kind of guy who provides such a system. I hated that system and I wanted to kick the idiots that wrote it that way because they were too lazy to fix it.

AgentPress could be so much better if they just did a few simple things that most real estate sites need like including a sort function in the search widget and allowing the user to type into the search widget rather than just having drop downs. I know it’s extra coding but there are a lot of free templates out there and if you’re going to make a “premium template” then it should include basic functions that other sites in that industry include.

I’m not giving people a choice from now on. I’m telling them that if they have a real estate business they need to use a system that pulls the MLS data – why the hell would someone pay to add stuff to the MLS if they’re not going to display that data in a way that their customers can see it without them coming into the office??? It’s 2011 and all of their competitors are showing their listings and getting a commission as a buyers agent – how long do they think they can remain in business if they don’t show all the listings?

Agentpress might be the ticket if your the only game in town and there is not an MLS but all you need is one century 21 or remax office within 50 miles and you’re done for because they will show your listings and their own and while you might get a sales boost you’re going to be splitting the commission with the buyers agent. Eventually people will look at their site vs. your site and realize that you’re small time and that the big agency can probably sell their home much faster all the while you’re busy doing double entry.

Forget AgentPress. I’m so done with it.

Glad to hear that your client is loving this theme. If you are working off of this theme to develop you might want to have a look at the Real Estate Icons that StudioPress just released here….

http://www.studiopress.com/graphics/real-estate-icons.htm

As for the docs, yes that is a bit of a pain in the behind but StudioPress and there Genesis framework are great products so I think its worth it. Talk soon

Luc