It is important to keep in mind what type of information consumers look for when shopping for properties. Here are some areas to keep in mind.

PHOTOS - PHOTOS - AND MORE PHOTOS

The MLS now supports up to 18 photos per listing. For smaller properties, this may seem like overkill, but as they say, "A picture is worth 1000 words." For smaller properties, try snapping photos of some of the special features and updates. Does the property have a new furnace or central air? Snap a photo of it. Does the property have outbuildings? Snap a picture of it. Is the property being sold with appliances? Snap a photo of them. Even vacant lots for sale can warrant the display of multiple photos. Take shots of the lot, air photos, and photos of the surrounding neighborhood.

Realtor.com will only pull the first 4 photos of the property, so make sure the best photos are used in the first 4 slots in MLXchange. Realtor.com will display additional photos only if the agent purchases an enhanced listing package.

PROPERTY REMARKS

The MLS collects lots of useful information about the property, but nothing can be more descriptive than the property remarks. This area is designed to tell the public special details about the property. This area is your sales pitch, so go for it! The only information you cannot include in this section is branding information such as phone numbers or email addresses.

VIRTUAL TOURS

WRIST provides each agent the ability to create an unlimited number of virtual tours via the Property Panorama software. You can take an unlimited number of still photos or panoramic photos for each tour. You can label and write a complete description of every scene shown on the virtual tour. Neighborhood panoramas from a street view are always a hit. If you haven't taken advantage of virtual tours, I highly recommend it. It's easy and your seller will love you for it. Put a copy of the tour on a CD for your seller after it closes and give it to them as a gift. They will appreciate it for the sentimental value.

OPEN HOUSES

If you are planning an open house, make sure you tell the MLS about it. You do this by going to Listing Maintenance. Pull up the MLS number and click on "Edit." Scroll through the list and look for "Open House Flag." Select "OH-Open House Flag" from the drop down and press enter. Type in the open house start time, end time, and open house remarks and then click "Submit". The MLS provides this open house information to all the IDX subscribers, which means there are many web sites that are marketing these open houses.