Published: February 15, 1999

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Anger. Blame. Finger-pointing. Revolt. You would think that the MLS information system serving the number one relocation destination in the U.S. would be state-of-the-art. According to some it is - but that doesn't say much for the MLS systems out there, according to some REALTORS®. State-of-the-art isn't good enough, not when you have long search waits only to reveal absurdly inaccurate data fields, and you've been promised user-friendly delivery applications (including an ordinary Windows interface) that are months behind in delivery.

There is no question that conversions are difficult. Each system is custom designed to suit the specifications of the individual MLS. Information has to be converted from whatever old system the MLS has to the new system. More detailed data fields and precision are required from the user. Many times data is lost or placed in the wrong data fields. And when you are trying to convert information from more than one MLS into an integrated system, it gets even more complicated.

Slow searches, bad information

Agents are complaining of slow searches, not enough training, and inadequate responses from Moore Data, the computer systems operator. The system bogs down in the middle of the day when most agents want to use it. There are simply too many steps to go through to get the information out.

Some agents accuse Moore of dumping an antiquated DOS-based system on the newly formed North Texas Real Estate Information Services (NTREIS,) Dallas/Fort Worth's regional MLS. NTREIS CEO Beverly Faull confirmed that the system is indeed DOS-based, but later retracted her statement.

Moore's VP of sales, Todd Colthorp defends the system. "It isn't slow, and it isn't a DOS-based system and that wouldn't have anything to do with how fast or slow it runs. It is a full screen-based system, using an Informix 7.0 database engine."

"We have been monitoring the system performance, and it is well within the guidelines," says Colthorp. "But it definitely runs slower with 600 people on it than with nobody on it."

"Yeah, it runs like a top after midnight," jokes Nora Lane, an agent with Henry S. Miller. "It is tedious to set up your own format, but you can't pick and choose what you want. Who has time to do that? It's ridiculous that you can't fax or access the Internet from Maestro. Everything that is Web-based including Realtor.com allows you to do that."

Slowdowns may be due in part to inadequate specifications - translation: you get what you pay for

Colthorp confirmed that the system was designed for 500 users at a time, and was quickly upgraded to 625 users after its November installation. The company had estimated 9,500 potential users of the system. That number has since been revised to 12,000.

Colthorp, who was put in charge in January as "project manager," explains, "The search engine is highly tuned and being used nationwide."

Colthorp is overseeing a "task force" of five people who have arrived to fix the problems in the Metroplex, but questions are arising from agents - who is going to pay for the fixes? The $20,000 allowance to fix "glitches" is long gone. Now NTREIS is paying for the repairs on a system that was buggy from the beginning.

What's wrong with the system?

A number of things, answers Colthorp. He says that network hubs have to be tuned properly, or the system can get clogged up. There are 300 phone lines coming in from Dallas alone at 23 lines at a pop, which can explain slowdowns from certain hubs. He says Moore is continuing to fine tune the system.

Another problem is that the agents simply don't understand how to use the system. They are careless with input and don't know how to use the shortcuts to make the system run more efficiently. When the agents are shown the shortcuts, they go from "hating the system to liking it" says Colthorp.

Colthorp defends, "All I can say is garbage in, garbage out. We are finding that when listings are added by members in Dallas, that they are used to entering an area, not a sub-area. So they just guess and throw one in and it may not be the right one. Then Fort Worth does a search and there aren't any matches. The agents aren't entering the information properly. The put less than when they should put greater than."

"When you do a search, you get the listings and photos in five seconds, but if you don't set your default up, the system has to ask you the various options and you have to go through additional steps and then the system appears to be slower."

Poppycock, declares Joy Nees, an owner/broker. "I can cite you numerous examples of entering the correct data and something completely different comes out. I know one agent who inputted her listing and it printed out with another agent's name at the top! Don't tell me she didn't put her own name in correctly."

Nees complains that since the new system has been introduced, her office is spending over $700 more in toner alone and is using reams of paper. "You can't get the information on one page. You can't do a quick search."

"Moore responds that we simply haven't been trained to utilize the system to advantage," she says, "but who's job is it to train us?

"I'm a Realtor, not a programmer," declares Jennie Ling, vice president of Henry S. Miller Realtors. "Why should I spend my time taking an hour to input a listing when I used to be able to do it in twenty minutes?"

Is the inaccurate data results due to a training problem? Partially. The Metroplex agents each received two hours of training - just enough to cover the basics, but not enough to learn the "shortcuts" that actually make the system work. The contract simply did not include supplemental training. It was agreed that each MLS member association would provide training on their own.

Training sessions have been canceled as the MLS Windows failed to appear, but now the trainers are being trained in preparation for this week's roll-out of MLS Windows, confirms Faull.

Size does matter - large conversion proves unwieldy

As if converting from one system to another wasn't complex enough, try doing it with 17 different MLS systems, each one converting from a proprietary system.

Faull, a conversion veteran who has overseen the conversions of several MLSs, fully expected some problems to arise. "There were different practices, different ways of doing things," says Faull.

One problem, she says, was the merging of two databases which produced dupli cate listings among other complications. "It wasn't just converting one system into another. It was taking the data from two systems and converting into a third."

Colthorp calls the Metroplex conversion the largest his company has ever done.

Was Dallas a captive market?

Some Realtors believe size is the root of the Dallas/Fort Worth problems. Ten years ago all the MLS systems were individually operated, creating a nightmare for many Realtors who just wanted to do business in other communities as close as a mile away. The agents had to either join multiple associations or refer good business to other Realtors. As Dallas and Fort Worth merged together by the growth of numerous communities around and in-between, it became known as the D/FW Metroplex. About five years ago, the MLS regionalized into the East side (Dallas) and the West side( Fort Worth.) The major brokers and the MLS associations got together and formed the NTREIS with the sole purpose of organizing the east and west portions of the Metroplex into one cohesive information system.

The window was tight. Just as the organization formed the contracts for the old legacy systems were running out. The NTREIS had to choose and an MLS servicer, and fast. And its not like there was a lot of choice.

According to one disgruntled REALTOR, there are only two choices for a system to serve an MLS of NTREIS size - GTE's System 4 and Moore Data's Maestro. And both are slow, she complained.

The lack of choices was confirmed by Dabney Tompkins, the Dallas MLS delegate to NTREIS, and tester for the new MLS Windows.

"There are not hundreds of computer vendors and there were only a handful who could handle an MLS of this size - 10,000 members," says Tompkins. "We narrowed it to four products, two of them were by one company."

"We spent a year and a half interviewing vendors. Each one came in three or four times."

"We chose Maestro by Moore Data Systems, and we chose that product because there were three different ways to access the database. There is the traditional on-line system, where the computer dials the host and gets text based information. Then, for more advanced users, there was the MLS Windows, with a Windows format. MLS Windows has a downloadable database feature so that agents can work off-line. Another advantage is that it is manufactured by WildFire and it is identical to the previous Altaira, so there is no learning curve," explains Tompkins. "The third way is MLS Explorer, an Internet based access application. "

But the decision may have been based on politics than anything else. When Interealty made its presentation, there was bad blood between the company and the new board, according to Nees. Interealty refused to upgrade the system and lost the vote. The other contender, GTE, had an Internet product that the board felt was unproven. A year later, under new management, Interealty would like an opportunity to come back and fix the problem. But it may be too late. The NTREIS board may have locked the region into a contract from which it can't extract itself. Moore may have gotten the contract by default.

"And now we're stuck with 20-year-old technology that doesn't work, says Nees.

The Maestro system was converted in early November 1998. But MLS Windows was nowhere to be found. Due in December, it had some "bugs" that needed work before Moore could release it to the Metroplex. Three months later, the agents are still waiting.

"What they showed us was vapor," accuses one Realtor. "They showed us products that weren't really in existence."

"I've yet to find anyone who likes this new system," says Nees. "The system is not operating as it should and I could name you hundreds of examples. My nephew looked up a tax record and it showed that the home in question was sold in the year 2004 and showed no year built. How can you run comparables without knowing what year the home was built?"

"You can run a search on the system, and run it again in five minutes and get completely different results!" exclaims Nees. "We shouldn't have to call headquarters to get one of the task force to input or retrieve something for us."

"There is no excuse for the board to get us into this mess," says Nees, who claims that less than 20% of the board is computer literate. "I'm tired of putting in actives and watching my printer spit out reams of solds. It's crazy."

And what about the delayed Windows overlay? The MLS Windows system was in operation in other regions, but some "bugs" were found. NTREIS chose not to introduce the system until the bugs were worked out.

MLS Windows is supposed to be roll-out of 3,000 copies of the MLS Windows. Distributed by NTREIS, the first copies will go to agents who were used to the old Altaira system. Agents who have never used the system before will have to be trained separately by their association trainers.

And don't even ask about MLS Explorer. There are other problems with its roll-out, too, for which the NTREIS takes full blame.

"There were other problems to fix first, and we just didn't have the time to devote to specifications," explains Faull. " A meeting is scheduled for the week of February 22 and we'll begin working on the specs - until then MLS Explorer is on hold."

Agents are starting their own task force

But patience is wearing thin. Agents are meeting among themselves to try to brainstorm solutions, beginning with gathering signatures on a petition to require Moore to fix the system at no further expense to the board.

Friday, a closed-door meeting was held among a group of Dallas' top agents, among them Joy Nees, Bill Sabino, Steve Collins, and Dallas' number one ranked no-team Realtor, Jennie Ling.

"The information is ineffectual and in its current situation, the installation and execution were not prepared properly, says Bill Sabino, managing broker for RE/MAX Preston Road North. "It wasn't giving us any data, and what it does give is ineffectual and incorrect."

He advises, "Through strong conversations with the powers that be, in the North Texas MLS, we are creating a team to go over in depth the advantages of the product."

"Most people don't like the product, it is slower and more cumbersome than what we had," continues Sabino. "Older users used to the Altaira system were ready to jump in and use this but this thing is still in its beta testing."

As the meeting raged, one agent asked what about MLS - XML, which would eliminate the need for clunky legacy hardware. But XML isn't ready yet. Other large MLS organizations are already looking into it, but most fear that XML will make the MLS organizations obsolete. XML would require a totally new business model.

Tompkins agrees that although there is some cause for unhappiness, but he maintains that the squawking is mostly by Realtor techies.

"When Dallas had 7,000 members and Altaira was introduced, after only four or five years, only 1,500 migrated to it. That proves that people just want what they are familiar with and they are resistant to change, even if it is better. Nobody wants to go through the learning curve. "

"This is still a better system. Under the old system, to get Altaira you had to pay $400 to get the software. Under our contract now, everyone gets the software for free. We may have a larger migration because of that. Windows is more complex. But there are some people who still can't point, click, drag or drop," says Tompkins.

Is the future any brighter?

"In my opinion, Moore has worked feverishly," defends Faull. "at the end of this, we will have a superior database. The new system will have 60,000 active listings, 2 1/2 million particles of tax information from six different counties, and 35,000 at any given time."

Colthorp adds that there are a lot of positives that are being overlooked by individual Realtors. "This region covers 30,000 square miles. The new system is on a digital telecommunications network - no one will have to pay a long distance fee."

But Nees claims it is the very size of the MLS that is the problem. "The board is trying to retain ownership of the information. It is as simple as that. But don't tell me that in two or three years, if Bill Gates comes up with an idea to give us low-cost Internet MLS that we wouldn't jump at it. The board is living in a dream world."

Sabino acknowledges that there may be light at the end of the tunnel as far as training goes. "Thirty-five out of 62 of our agents have gone through advanced training on PC access and they have a better understanding of the system and its shortcuts," he says.

"I predict it will work eventually work out pretty well as people take advantage of the advanced training. But right now there is hostility among most of the association members."

One thing is certain, there is big trouble in Big D. Stay tuned.

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