An Expensive Day
I am now nearly $800 poorer than I was this morning. And it's all thanks to my real estate career.
I had an appointment to join the Pacific West Association of Realtors this morning, so that I could gain access to the multiple listing service and start working with clients for Avalar, my new employer. I had to join PWAOR as a member, and I had to pay the MLS fees, and I had to lease a lockbox key. I also bought a mortgage calculator and a book. That was about $485 right there. I was just lucky that I had already paid my national and state Realtor dues for the year.
But the real fun started when I got home and tried to access the Tempo MLS system. I was able to register my security token and sign on with no problems. I was even able to enter search criteria. I couldn't actually run the search, though. So, I called up customer service. Here's how that went:
Ring. Ring.
"We are experiencing higher than normal call volume. Your call is important to us. Please hold, and your call will be answered in the order it was received. [Musical interlude]. We are experiencing higher than normal call volume. Your call is important to us. Please hold, and your call will be answered in the order it was received. [Musical interlude]. We are experiencing..." Ring. Ring.
Service Tech: "Hi, can I get your user name please."
Me: "Yeah, it's blah-blah-blah."
Service Tech: "How can I help you today?"
Me: "I can't search on the MLS. I'm using a Mac. Is there some sort of trick to it?"
Service Tech: "Yeah, you could call it that. If you have a newer Mac with an Intel chip, you need to buy Parallels Desktop and access the MLS through Windows."
Me: "Wait, doesn't that cost money?"
Service Tech: "Yeah."
Me: "And that's my only option?"
Service Tech: "Pretty much."
Me: "Well, when are you going to make the system Mac compatible? Lots of people use Macs."
Service Tech: "We've talked about it, but I've been here for five years, and nothing's happened."
Me: "Great. Thanks for your help."
So I go online and search Apple.com for Parallels Desktop. It costs $79.99, which doesn't seem so bad. But then I read the requirements. Yes, I have an Intel chip. Yes, I have enough memory. Wait. No, I do not have a Windows installation disk! I call the MLS support line again, and I have to hold again. Finally...
Service Tech: "Hi, can I get your user name?"
Me: "Blah-blah-blah."
Service Tech: "How can I help you today?"
Me: "Well, I just called, and I found out that since I'm on a Mac, I have to get Parallels Desktop to run the MLS. But does that mean I also have to buy Windows?"
Service Tech: "That would be correct, yes."
Me: "So, since I have a Mac, I have to pay like $500 to access the MLS?"
Service Tech: "I guess so."
Me: "I can't believe this! Do you get a lot of complaints about this?"
Service Tech: "No, not really, because we publish a book with all of our system requirements."
Me: "Well, I just moved down here from Northern California, and the MLS up there had a free workaround for Mac users. Don't you have anything like that?"
Service Tech: "No."
Me: "Great." [click].
Off I went, in search of both Windows AND Parallels Desktop. I was able to buy Windows at the Staples near me, but of course, I had to make a special trip to the special Apple Store to get Parallels Desktop. And now, $280 and much aggravation later, I can run both PC and Mac programs on my Mac computer. (At least it wasn't quite the $500 that I thought it would be.) Oh, the excitement! Best of all, dropping all that cash was only part of the aggravation I experienced today. But the rest of it is just too irritating to go into.
I know I can write all these expenses off on my taxes, but what I really need is some income now. Yeah, you've got to spend money to make money. I just wish I didn't have to spend so much all at once.
I had an appointment to join the Pacific West Association of Realtors this morning, so that I could gain access to the multiple listing service and start working with clients for Avalar, my new employer. I had to join PWAOR as a member, and I had to pay the MLS fees, and I had to lease a lockbox key. I also bought a mortgage calculator and a book. That was about $485 right there. I was just lucky that I had already paid my national and state Realtor dues for the year.
But the real fun started when I got home and tried to access the Tempo MLS system. I was able to register my security token and sign on with no problems. I was even able to enter search criteria. I couldn't actually run the search, though. So, I called up customer service. Here's how that went:
Ring. Ring.
"We are experiencing higher than normal call volume. Your call is important to us. Please hold, and your call will be answered in the order it was received. [Musical interlude]. We are experiencing higher than normal call volume. Your call is important to us. Please hold, and your call will be answered in the order it was received. [Musical interlude]. We are experiencing..." Ring. Ring.
Service Tech: "Hi, can I get your user name please."
Me: "Yeah, it's blah-blah-blah."
Service Tech: "How can I help you today?"
Me: "I can't search on the MLS. I'm using a Mac. Is there some sort of trick to it?"
Service Tech: "Yeah, you could call it that. If you have a newer Mac with an Intel chip, you need to buy Parallels Desktop and access the MLS through Windows."
Me: "Wait, doesn't that cost money?"
Service Tech: "Yeah."
Me: "And that's my only option?"
Service Tech: "Pretty much."
Me: "Well, when are you going to make the system Mac compatible? Lots of people use Macs."
Service Tech: "We've talked about it, but I've been here for five years, and nothing's happened."
Me: "Great. Thanks for your help."
So I go online and search Apple.com for Parallels Desktop. It costs $79.99, which doesn't seem so bad. But then I read the requirements. Yes, I have an Intel chip. Yes, I have enough memory. Wait. No, I do not have a Windows installation disk! I call the MLS support line again, and I have to hold again. Finally...
Service Tech: "Hi, can I get your user name?"
Me: "Blah-blah-blah."
Service Tech: "How can I help you today?"
Me: "Well, I just called, and I found out that since I'm on a Mac, I have to get Parallels Desktop to run the MLS. But does that mean I also have to buy Windows?"
Service Tech: "That would be correct, yes."
Me: "So, since I have a Mac, I have to pay like $500 to access the MLS?"
Service Tech: "I guess so."
Me: "I can't believe this! Do you get a lot of complaints about this?"
Service Tech: "No, not really, because we publish a book with all of our system requirements."
Me: "Well, I just moved down here from Northern California, and the MLS up there had a free workaround for Mac users. Don't you have anything like that?"
Service Tech: "No."
Me: "Great." [click].
Off I went, in search of both Windows AND Parallels Desktop. I was able to buy Windows at the Staples near me, but of course, I had to make a special trip to the special Apple Store to get Parallels Desktop. And now, $280 and much aggravation later, I can run both PC and Mac programs on my Mac computer. (At least it wasn't quite the $500 that I thought it would be.) Oh, the excitement! Best of all, dropping all that cash was only part of the aggravation I experienced today. But the rest of it is just too irritating to go into.
I know I can write all these expenses off on my taxes, but what I really need is some income now. Yeah, you've got to spend money to make money. I just wish I didn't have to spend so much all at once.
posted by Astera @ 9:24 PM
1 Comments:
At 3:07 PM,
Bonnie said…
Hi I am going through the same problems. I have a Mac too, and have been using Mozilla to access the MLS through Citrix. It is extremly slow! I have been thinking about investing in Parallels Desktop and wanted to know how it has been working for you- It is exacally like a PC, is the speed good? It takes forever to load on Citrix! Any tips would be helpful! thanks!
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