Fresno MLS Realtors Happy Again with Rapattoni MLS

I haven't heard one agent in Fresno say, "I wish we could have CalRedd MLS back". 99% of the agents are happy business is back to normal. CalRedd is a new software platform for a proposed statewide MLS system run by the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.). The recent MLS changeover attempt in the Fresno area, had a negative impact on our Realtor memborship for 3 weeks and was literally a fiasco. We use the Rapattoni MLS system, and it works great. After 3 weeks of frustration with the calRedd system and all the bugs, the power of the membership stood up and said "NO" and we were brought back to our Rapattoni system. Why would they try fix something that already works good?

VA Financing is Frustrating for Vets in Today's Market!

We are experiencing tough times for veteran buyers seeking to buy homes utilizing their eligibility for a VA loan. Veterans can obtain 100% financing. This is a great benefit to the veterans, and I believe they should be the only ones allowed to use 100% financing. Bank owned foreclosures AKA (REO's), are a large part of the current inventory, and these type listings are generally not accepting VA financing, and rarely accepting FHA offers. I'm having the toughest time trying to place my verteran buyers into homes because the banks or asset managers will not entertain offers written with VA financing. The banks sell their REO inventory AS-IS, and mostly without paying for repairs, termite reports and certifications. Most of the listings need work as a result of foreclosure, and due to the huge inventory and huge losses, we are not seeing the banks invest money to make repairs. If banks could invest money to bring up their property to the proper standards, we could sell many more properties to VA and FHA buyers.

Fresno Rejects CalRedd MLS, Returns to Rapattoni

In a surprise move, the Fresno MLS has stopped using the new calRedd MLS system as of 9/1/09, after only 16 days. A majority of Realtor members were "challenged" and frustrated by the new format. We tried to work with the system for 16 days, and I must say calRedd support was making their best efforts to make fixes to the numerous bugs in the system. Myself, I was learning the calRedd system and felt confident I could get my work done, but there was still an endless number of deficiencies. At the rate we were going, it seemed like it would take a month longer to work out the bugs. Some agents felt they were going to be monetarily damaged because of the time involved beta testing, fixes and the learning curve of the calRedd system. The main issue that angered many agents, was the fact the system was released before it had been fully tested. They were leaving it up to the agents to identify problems, instead of beta testing it themselves. It was far from ready on their initial release. At this point, I have no idea what the future of calRedd MLS may be, but if we try this again, it better be a superior working model from the start.