Virginia Association of Realtors issued the following announcement on Dec. 3
On January 1, 2022, NAR will stop offering free membership to zipForm as a member benefit. In response, Virginia REALTORS will now be offering free membership to SkySlope Forms—an all-in-one transaction management system—as a member benefit to all dues-paying members of our association.
SkySlope was selected by VAR after a thorough vetting process. SkySlope Forms offers award-winning 24/7 technical support for REALTORS® and customized onboarding and training. We will be bringing you much more information about this new benefit in the coming days, including a resource page dedicated to providing what YOU need to know about this new offering. For now, we’re providing answers to some of the most common questions we’ve received. We look forward to bringing you a new platform for facilitating your transactions with ease through SkySlope Forms!
FAQ
- Will this new benefit impact the Virginia REALTORS® Standard Forms Library and the vendors you currently provide?
- All of the forms Virginia REALTORS® provides will still be available, along with all of the vendors we provide (e.g., DocuSign, Dotloop, Instanet, zipForm®). In short, everywhere that our forms currently reside, they will continue to be available. If you use a platform that does not currently have Virginia REALTORS® forms, let us know at forms@virginiarealtors.org and we will explore a licensing agreement with them.
- Will I have to pay for a membership to SkySlope forms? I heard something about a discount.
- The baseline package of SkySlope Forms will be offered free of charge to all Virginia REALTORS®. Should your brokerage choose to upgrade to a plan with more tools and services, they will receive a 20% discount under our membership.
- When will I be able to start accessing SkySlope Forms?
- Very soon! Virginia REALTORS® is working to finalize all components of this new member benefit, and we will be sending out communications soon, once our members are able to log in.
- I grew comfortable using zipForm®. How will I learn how to navigate SkySlope so that my transactions aren’t impacted?
- In addition to the SkySlope Forms resource page that VAR will provide to you, over the coming weeks, SkySlope will be offering numerous training opportunities customized for Virginia REALTORS®. We will provide many opportunities to participate in live webinars (during which you can ask any specific questions you have), OR if you prefer on-demand learning, that option will also be available soon. Keep an eye on your in-box!
- I don’t want to switch my membership from zipForm®. Do I have to use SkySlope starting in January?
- If using zipForm® is your preference, you will be able to continue utilizing that platform. However, please be aware that your membership costs will no longer be covered as a benefit from NAR, so you would now be responsible for those.
- What will happen if I’m in the middle of a transaction on zipForm® that won’t be completed until after January 1st?
- Don’t worry! You have a couple of options for this scenario. One is to simply pay for a short (maybe a 1 to 2 month) stop-gap subscription to zipForm® to give you time to complete it. OR, you also have the option of downloading all of the transaction forms to your computer from zipForm®, uploading them to SkySlope Forms, and then finishing the transaction there.
- Are all MLSs connected to SkySlope Forms?
- This is something Virginia REALTORS® is currently working to accomplish. Many MLSs ARE currently connected, but this depends on whether or not an MLS has signed a contract with SkySlope. If your local MLS chooses to, this service will be available. If your data feed is not showing up in SkySlope, we recommend contacting your local MLS.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Virginia Association of Realtors
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