Comps PowerView This chapter describes the WinTOTAL Comps PowerView. This document assumes you have already installed WinTOTAL and are familiar with operations regarding building and entering data into reports. The chapter is broken up into the following sections: Tools in the Comps PowerView. Here we cover merging comparables from existing reports, using the square footage adjustment tool and sorting comparables Batch Import to Build Your Comps Database. A great way to get started with the Comparables Database. Adding and Removing Properties. Here we cover creating a database from existing reports, editing comp data, deleting comparables, and placing comparables from the database into your reports. Date and Age Field Formatting. This discusses how the database interprets your date and numeric entries. Searching using the Intelligent Query. Learn how to search through your database with just a few clicks. Printing Comps Database Reports. The Comparables Database has a reporting function that creates hard copies and exports data. Customizing the Database View. Sort and customize the columns. The Comps PowerView has all comps functions organized into one easy screen. Tools in the Comps PowerView Accessing comparables in existing reports If you know of a specific report that has a comp in it you wish to use, you can easily pull it into your current report. 1. From the Comps PowerView, click on the Old Reports button. 2. Browse the folders until you find the report with the comparables. 3. When you click on the report, it will show you the comparables in it. 4. To import comparable one from the sample, just double-click on it. 5. Then click OK. Notice that the comparable from the sample is now listed on the Comps PowerView with photos. You can merge in comparables from existing reports by clicking on Old reports button in the Comps PowerView. Comps PowerView Tools in the Comps PowerView Page 5.1
The integrated Comparables Database allows you to search for comparables based on criteria you specify. It is discussed on page 7. Square footage adjustments The Square Footage Adjustment Calculator allows you to easily adjust for differences in the square footage of all comparables in one easy step. 1. Ensure that the sales price and square footage for all comparables have been entered. 2. In the Comps PowerView, click on the Sq. Ft. Adjuster button. 3. The first section of the Square Footage Adjustment Calculator shows you the methods available for calculating the adjustment. Their meaning is self-evident. 4. As you choose the method and set the parameters that determine if the adjustment is relevant, the SF Adjuster shows you the resultant net/gross percentage as it will appear on the form. 5. Click OK to merge the adjustment figures into the current report. If for some reason, you must change the square footage of a comparable, be sure to reload the SF Adjuster so that it can re-trigger the math. Copying, swapping and rearranging comparables In the comparables listing, you can now see comparables with gross adjustments, indicated value and a relative weight that corresponds to the comparability of each property. WinTOTAL uses the weighted average to suggest a value. Click the Use Suggested button if you wish to put that value into your report. The Sort by weight button sorts the comps by their relative weight. The Move Up and Move Down buttons will swap the highlighted comp with the one above or below it respectively. The Add button inserts a blank comp below the highlighted comp. The Delete button deletes the currently highlighted comparable and moves the other comparables up one position. The Copy button copies the selected comparable to the next slot and pushes the others down one position. The Square Footage Adjustment tool enables you to adjust all comparables at one time and apply logic to your square footage adjustments. The Comparable Management and Weighting section of the WinTOTAL Comps PowerView is where you may copy and swap comparables. Our exclusive weighting algorithm even suggests a value for you. Comps PowerView Tools in the Comps PowerView Page 5.2
Batch Import to Build Your Comps Database If you ve been using WinTOTAL for a while and have a library of reports, you can create a database out of the properties in their market sections, regardless of what major form was used. You can also catalog the images used for each property in the database. 1. Go to the Comps PowerView and click Open Database. 2. Click on the Import button. 3. Now, mark the folders from which you want to import the comparable and subject property data. To mark a folder, just double click on it. 4. Review and select options regarding verification of items such as date fields and how to handle duplicates when found. For sale date and age entries, WinTOTAL stores two items -- one formatted for searching or sorting and another for placement in the form. This import utility will try to discern properly formatted dates and numerical ages from the information you entered in the appraisal, but success is not guaranteed. therefore, it prompts you for the data. 5. Click on OK to begin the import. Adding and Removing Properties Type in a comp from scratch: 1. When in the Comparables Database, click on the Add button. 2. Select Manually. You will be given a blank database record in which to type values. 3. Use the Additional Info tab to specify the name of the neighborhood, custom tracking items, the actual age and actual date of sale. This is important since WinTOTAL needs a properly formatted date entry and numerical age in order to perform searches. For these items, you can specify different data for what goes in the form and what gets used in searches. See Date and Age Field Formatting on page 6 for more information. 4. Go to the Images tab and click Manage Images to associate images from your image database or image directory with that comparable. See Associating images with comparables on page 4. 5. Click on OK when you are through entering your information. Import comparables from your existing report with the Import button. Just Mark the folders you wish to import and click OK. Comps PowerView Batch Import to Build Your Comps Database Page 5.3
Hint: In this screen, use the TAB key to move easily to the next item or SHIFT+TAB to go back one item. Add comparables from the open WinTOTAL report If you have comparables already in a WinTOTAL report, you can add them to the database by doing the following: 1. Open the report and click the Comps PowerView 2. Click the Open Database button 3. Once in the database, click on the Add button. 4. You will be asked if you wish to merge a comparable from WinTOTAL or if you wish to enter one manually. Click on the WinTOTAL button. 5. You will then be prompted with two options regarding how to handle duplicate comparables and improperly formatted date/age fields. Click OK after deciding the action to take for these items. Associating images with comparables You are allowed to associate up to 8 images per comparable in the database. The actual photos are not stored with the comp. They are merely referenced by the database and they must be located in separate files on your system. If you were to delete the image from the hard drive using Windows Explorer or other means, then it would not be available to the Comparables Database. 1. When adding or editing a comparable, click the Image tab. 2. Click on the Manage Images button to actually associate/remove images from this comparable. You may pick images from the list of image files on your system or choose from the image database. Sort the file/database listings by clicking the column on which you want to sort. Click once for ascending. Click again for descending. 3. Once you find the image you want with the comp, click on its entry. Then click the Place Image button. 4. Click OK to accept the changes. Remove an image from a comparable 1. Highlight the comp you wish to modify. Up to 8 images may be associated with each comparable in the database. Comps PowerView Adding and Removing Properties Page 5.4
2. Click the Edit button. 3. Click the Image tab, then click the Manage Images button. 4. Click in the button for the image preview. 5. Click the Remove Image button. 6. Click OK to accept the changes. Removing comparables Finding / removing a batch of comparables older than a specific date: You can locate and delete comparables in your database that have expired. 1. Click on the Comps Database File menu. 2. Select Find old comps... 3. Click the Delete all comps item. By default, WinTOTAL saves a copy of each image used in a report with the report data, so it s okay to remove the individual image files associated with properties in the database. The photo is with the report. 4. Select the month and year from the drop down list. 5. Click the day on the calender. 6. Click OK. Placing comparables into the current report Let s assume you ve found a comparable in your database that you wish to use in a report. 1. If photos are saved with the comparable, use the Next / Prev buttons below the photo preview the photo you wish to use. You can view the full version of the photo by double clicking on its preview. WinTOTAL will automatically place the displayed photo onto a comparables photo page. 2. Double click on a comparable you want to insert into your currently open report. You ll see a hash mark (>>) appear in the Mark column. This will also lock the photo view onto the current photo. 3. Click on Place and it will be pushed into the WinTOTAL report as the Comps Database closes. Select Find old comps... from the File menu to search out comparables older than a particular date. Comps PowerView Adding and Removing Properties Page 5.5
4. Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons on the Comps PowerView to rank the comparables. The photos and data on your photo pages will be rearranged too. Date and Age Field Formatting Specifying the sale date The WinTOTAL database is quite lenient when it comes to entering dates. The following are all valid date entries for September 1, 1998: September 1, 1998 9/1/98 9/1 Sept. 1, 1998 1-Sept-98 Sept-98 WinTOTAL automatically converts two digit date entries to their Year 2000 4-digit equivalent. In order for a computer to search by dates, the date entry needs to be in a specific format. Quite often, more than just a date is entered into the Sale Date field, for example CLS 11/09/98. The information may make perfect sense to us as humans, for we can easily see which part of the text is the date. But, a computer can t always pick which part is the date. To solve this problem, WinTOTAL populates two fields in the Comparables Database from the market section s Date of Sale/Time time field. Using EXACTLY what was entered in the form, WinTOTAL populates a field labeled Sale Date/Time 1". This item isn t in the default columns, but it does get imported back to the forms. It also populates a field labeled Date Sale with its guess of which part was the date. If the program can not determine within reason which part of your text is really the Sale Date, it will leave that item blank. This field is in the default columns displayed. Whenever comparables are added to the database, you can verify the date by going to the Additional Information tab when you click Edit. Specifying the age of a comparable In order to perform a search based on age, WinTOTAL needs a definite number. Since the Age field often contains more than just a number, WinTOTAL has separate fields for a numerical age and a textual age. The Additional Info tab gives you access to special fields to specify the neighborhood, formatted sale date and numerical age of a comparable. Comps PowerView Date and Age Field Formatting Page 5.6
For the textual age, you may wish to enter both the actual and effective age of a property or perhaps the year it was built. This information gets stored in the database and used on the actual appraisal form when you merge in comparables from the database. WinTOTAL tries to determine, based on what you typed, the numerical age for a property. If there is extraneous text, WinTOTAL tries to strip it and uses the numbers left over. If the item in the age field is greater than 1500, then WinTOTAL assumes it s the year built and subtracts it from the current year. This information is accessible through the Additional Info tab when you click on the Edit button. You will want to verify it whenever you import comparables from the form. Searching using the Intelligent Query What is the IQ? The Intelligent Query (IQ) function supplied with WinTOTAL 2000 is the most powerful database search tool available today. Instead of using literal numbers and search criteria, it uses the concept of comparability to the subject. Instead of specifying a value greater x and less than y that would have to be manually figured and entered for each and every report, it enables you to specify a value within x percent of the subject s value. Think of it as more of a search model. How to use the IQ In order to use the search features effectively, you need to first have data entered into the subject of the currently open report. 1. Load the database through the Comps PowerView. 2. Click the Search button. 3. To include one of the listed items in your search, click in the checkbox beside it so that it appears filled. 4. Enter a range or tolerance for each item used. Any comparables falling within the range of values will come up as a match. 5. Click on OK to perform the search. The Intelligent Query (IQ) enables you to set up a model for searching through your database. Just click the items on which you want to search, set tolerances and click OK. Comps PowerView Searching using the Intelligent Query Page 5.7
Only the comparables that met your criteria will be displayed in the list on screen. If no comparables are displayed, you ll want to click Search again and broaden your search criteria. By default, the Comparables Database saves the ranges you specify for the next appraisal and notification in the Comps PowerView. Customizing the text matching fields In the IQ, you are not limited to matching numeric values in the market section. You are also given three other fields in which you can match specific items such as location, condition and map reference. These fields are not case sensitive and don t even require you to enter the whole word. For example, entering urb in the location field would find only comparables that contained text such as urban or suburban in the location field in addition to fitting the other search criteria. Similarly, you could enter an item in the field preceded by the word NOT so that any comparable matching that text in the specified field would not be retrieved. As a default, we supply the Location, Condition and Map Reference fields. However, you can use any field in the database. 1. If you are not in the Intelligent Query screen, activate it now by clicking on the Search button in the main Comps Database window. 2. Click on the item Select Fields to Compare. 3. Click on OK when you have set the fields as you want them. The text matching fields do not support operators such as > (greater than) or < (less than). They are strictly for finding the phrase you entered in any part of the specified field. See Placing comparables into the current report on page 5 to place comparables found using the IQ in your current WinTOTAL report. Use the fields at the bottom of the Intelligent Query screen to search on text. Click the arrow to get a drop-down list of text fields on which to search. Printing Comps Database Reports Generate a hard copy of comp data 1. First perform a search to find a set of records. Comps PowerView Printing Comps Database Reports Page 5.8
2. Click on the Reports button and you ll see a list of reports available for the Comparables Database. You ll want to run each one to see what kind of data and formatting they give you. (They display on screen before printing.) 3. Click on the report style you want, and then click OK. The report will then be displayed on screen exactly as it will print. The current page and number of pages is shown on the left. The number of records is shown on the right. The view dropdown lets you zoom in and out. Use the left and right arrow buttons to advance pages for on-screen viewing. Export comp data The reporting tool built into the Comparables Database also allows you to export its information to a variety of formats including: MS Excel MS Word Lotus 1-2-3 Delimited Text MS Access Fox Pro CSV HTML The resulting files can be saved to your hard drive or e-mailed using a MAPI compatible e-mail program like MS Outlook or OutLook Express. Each format has its own options regarding items such as column organization and headings when saving. Experiment with the different formatting options to find the one that works best for you. To close the reporting tool, click on the X in the top right hand corner of its window. Customizing the Database View Changing the columns you see The columns that you see in the WinTOTAL 2000 database are completely customizable. As a default, you are allowed to see Address, Sale Price, GLA, Age, Sale Date and $per GLA. However, you can change these to whatever you like by clicking on the Columns button. Comps PowerView Customizing the Database View Page 5.9
The list of items on the left are the fields that are currently being displayed along with their headings and the amount of space allocated to them on screen. The items on the right are a list of all possible fields in the database for each property. To place an item into view, simply highlight it in the column labeled Remaining fields in the database and click on Add. To remove an item from the visible columns, click on the item in the Fields that are Displayed and then click Remove. To define the order in which the elements are viewed, highlight an item from the list labeled Fields that are Displayed and click on either Move Up or Move Down. Click on OK when you are done. Sizing the columns and screen You can change the column widths of the Comparables Database just as you would in a spreadsheet program. When you are in the main database window, notice that when you move your cursor toward the left or right edge of a column heading, it changes to something that looks like a double arrow. When your cursor looks like this, you can hold down your left mouse button and drag the column to the desired width. The Comparables Database also functions like any other window in MS Windows. If you desire, you can stretch the entire screen by clicking on its border and dragging. Or, you can make it full screen by clicking on the maximize button. How to sort comps Some users prefer to use sorting in lieu of querying to find comparables for a report. To sort your comparables: 1. Click on the Sort button. 2. Select the fields on which to sort. You have three levels. If two comparables are the same for the primary sort field, they will subsequently be sorted on the secondary field and so on... 3. Click OK. Click on the Sort button for a three level sort spec. Comps PowerView Customizing the Database View Page 5.10
To sort by date, select the Date Sale field. This is the date field which is properly formatted. The plain Sale Date/Time field is the text that gets inserted into the form. More Chapters Click here to go to the online Table of Contents where you can access additional chapters in the WinTOTAL user guide. Or, view the other parts of the manual by selecting Contents from WinTOTAL s Help menu. You will find more tutorials on all of WinTOTAL s PowerViews. The more you know about the software, the more efficient and competitive you can be. Comps PowerView Customizing the Database View Page 5.11