BrokerBay Clarifications
(Article Updated 1/30/23)
There has been some misinformation floating among agents in the field, so to clarify:
Inspectors: NTREIS is currently working on a solution to allow inspectors to make appointments. This issue should be resolved soon. In the meantime, inspectors will need to have the listing agent or buyer’s agent book their appointments through BrokerBay. Update from NTREIS: A plan is in place for Broker Bay to ingest this data from us and we are cleaning up the data files received from each Association to include all the data points required. We hope to have this completed next week.
Appraisers: Appraisers are set up in NTREIS as MLS Participants, so Appraisers have the same access to BrokerBay as any Broker or Agent. There should be no issues with Appraisers making an appointment unless the Appraiser is not a member of MLS. Update: Broker Bay has clarified this with the call center as they were including this group in the same category as the Inspector group.
Showing in Pending Status: As there are occasions when the buyer agent may need access to the property for the buyer or contractors, etc, Broker Bay has a solution in development to add this option and it is expected to be released in an upcoming update (Feb 2023 ETA). (Added in 1/30/23 Update to Article)
Adoption Rate: While over half of firms have launched, to date we have about 26% of agents that have claimed and set up their account profile. If your broker has opted in for BrokerBay, please contact BrokerBay to assist with claiming your account profile. Update: For those Brokerages who have launched Broker Bay, please make sure all of your agents have claimed their account and signed up.
Call Center: The appointment call center takes calls from 7 am to 9 pm CST. However, agents do need to “opt in” to allow the call center to contact their sellers (or other showing configurations) outside of “business day” hours. Once an agent opts in, they can then “opt out” of that option for individual listings that should NOT be contacted after 5:00 pm. BrokerBay is working towards a more streamlined solution for this, but the opt in is currently required. There is no additional cost for this “concierge service” – it is included in our NTREIS contract, but the individual opt in is required to activate.
Click here to watch a short video on how brokers may Opt-In to the Concierge Service.
Additionally, we have had reports of agents not getting an answer at the call center, going to voicemail, or put on hold. BrokerBay is investigating those complaints; however, they track call response times which currently is averaging under 20 seconds. They do not have a voicemail system on the Appointment Desk, so this may be from users using an old number – we originally had published a general support number but have since published the Appointment center number (1-800-257-1242).
Additional BrokerBay Training Information
MetroTex will be scheduling in person training on the Broker Bay appointment service in early March. The training will take place in our headquarters location. More details will be provided soon. In the meantime, please take advantage of the following virtual training:
For Brokers contemplating making the switch to BrokerBay, click here to watch a helpful recorded Zoom class.
For agents needing additional training, click here to participate in weekly training sessions offered live via Zoom.