Using the AutoSPA
As many of you know Mid-Florida MLX made some changes to the fields displayed, and used for searching, in the MLX system.
This has caused problems with the AutoSPA.

To remedy this situation I have re-written some of the code involved in populating the SPA.   The changes I made give the system a little more flexibility in dealing with changes in MLX, and also allows you some flexibility in creating your SPA Data grid report.   The basic procedure remains pretty much the same, but the required fields are a little different.

Even though you may have already created your grid report,
please read the instructions below to learn about the new options available to you.

From the Results page in MLX click on COLUMN MANAGER (It's the little three column icon next to the "Columns" selection box at the top left of the Results page.

Click on CREATE A NEW COLUMN REPORT

Name your report in the GRID NAME box.  (I suggest naming it "SPA Data.")

Go to the AVAILABLE ITEMS box and move the following fields into the SELECTED  ITEMS box by selecting the item and clicking on the right arrow between the two boxes.

Note that when you're done, the fields in the SELECTED ITEMS box *must* be in the following order.   You can move fields up and down in the SELECTED ITEMS box by selecting a field and clicking on the up and down arrows under the SELECTED ITEMS box.

In addition to the required fields, you may add up to ten more fields to aid you in selecting your comps.   One optional field that is very useful is Expiration Date. By adding this field, you can sort in descending order to put the most recent expireds at the top of the list. Because the oldest expireds are at the bottom, you don't have to wade through tens or hundreds (or millions as some agents say) expireds from over the past five years to find the ones you want.

Fields such as Subdivision, Water Frontage Y/N, or CDD Y/N may be useful additions to your grid report.   The AutoSPA does not use them, but it also doesn't care if they are there.   Perhaps you might like to add Office Name to check on short sale listings.   I personally only use Beggins short sales as comps because I have confidence that they are priced correctly.

Please.  Do me a favor.   If you have a problem with the AutoSPA, don't call me or come to my office.   Please send me an email with information, such as any error messages (verbatim, baby!) about the problem, and attach a copy of the file you exported from MLX.   This will enable me to troubleshoot the problem and get you an answer.   Thanks for understanding.


IMPORTANT!   Any fields you add for your own use MUST come AFTER the required fields below.   The required fields must all be present, and in the order below for the AutoSPA to function properly.

The following fields are REQUIRED for the AutoSPA to work.

  1. Status
  2. Address
  3. Sq. Ft. Heated
  4. List Price
  5. LP/SqFt
  6. Year Built
  7. Beds
  8. Full Baths
  9. Half Baths
  10. Lot Dimensions
  11. Garage/Carport
  12. Private Pool Y/N
  13. ADOM
  14. Sold Price
  15. Sold Date
Once you have the fields you need in the order required, and you have added up to ten optional fields, (Expiration Date would be my first choice) click on SAVE and your new view will be created.

From this point, you are almost done, but to make the view easier to use you need to set a couple of options.

First, select the view you just created from the list in the AVAILABLE COLUMN REPORTS box, and click on CHANGE FIELD SORT ORDER.

I sort on the Status field first, in ascending order, to group the actives together, and so forth, and the Expiration Date second, in decending order, to put the latest ones first, and the LP/SqFt field third to put the lowest LP/SF listings first in each category.

Note! If you sort by Expired Dates in Descending order the most recent expireds will be at the top of the list -- thus eliminating the pain of having to wade through so many expired listings.

That's my preference, but you should select the sort order that serves you best and click on SAVE.

If you can't stand having 14 decimal places in the LP/SqFt column in MLS, you have the option of clicking on Change Field Format, selecting the LP/SqFt field, and choosing ##,###,### from the FieldMask pull-down list.  This will remove all the decimals from that field.

Click on SAVE again, and then on DONE from the main COLUMN MANAGER screen.

That's all there is to it, now you're set to use the AutoSPA spreadsheet.