Portland Area Real Estate Blog - "Did I say that already?" : Does your MLS give you a "level playing field"?

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Does your MLS give you a "level playing field"?

By: Phil Anderson
Wednesday, May 07, 2008 2:03 PM

My dear, fellow Realtors,

Does your local MLS have “non-branding” rules for your listings? For example, do they prohibit having a photo in the MLS on-line listing clearly showing the listing agent’s name and contact info; or, and even more egregious, do they prohibit the text of a listing (as viewable by the "public”) to contain anything similar to “only contact the listing agent for a showing of this property”?

On a few occasions, I have emailed my local MLS the on-line listings which clearly violate some of our rules (like those detailed above). Sometimes there are easily 100s of these found at one time in the Portland metro area. And I’ve asked several times in my emails, “What is the RMLS’s recourse with these offenders? Do you fine them?” I was told there were fines and wondered what they were.

But, I’ve never received a response addressing that question. So, today I called the RMLS and was told, no fines are levied, that the RMLS makes the correction themselves, and then contacts the listing agents to advise them that a change has been made.

I was thunderstruck… I asked under what circumstances would fines be levied, as some of the violators are repeat offenders, and the RMLS responded that they only have 2 workers to review such violations, and even if formal charges were made (must be made in writing on a listing by listing basis), the listing agents would be given 7 days to get their listing text in compliance and no actions would be taken against them.

How about some national feedback on this, please? I’m very interested in the subject and would like to be a part of correcting the situation with the Portland MLS to match other MLSs, if that is reasonable.

How would YOUR MLS handle such violations?

Phil Anderson

Owner/Broker

New Portland Home

a real estate services company for the Portland metro area

www.NewPortlandHome.com

Comments

Member Since '03	Gary Szolosi said: My Brother, first if I agree to share my listing within the MLS or allow it to be put on the Internet than I also agree that I will be listed somewhere on the listing. In may be a small print that says listed BY: but it fulfills the requirement. If it helps sell the property, I really don't care. I want the most exposure I can get. imho> May 7, 2008 3:59 PM
Member Since '04	Phil Anderson said: Gary and I share the same birthday (November 28th), so we are at some level, "Brothers", and I'm proud to have Gary as a brother! Gary, bro... Our (Portland MLS) listings must have the "Listed by" info in them, too, and that's automatically inserted into them here. Perhaps I should have been more clear; What bothers me is when in the public comments describing the home for sale, the listing agent says, "Only contact the Listing Agent for any showings or for special financing" or the like. May 7, 2008 7:03 PM
Member Since '06	Margaret Rodgers said: Our MLS has just sent a memo out telling agents to correct their listings before May 1 2008 after that fines will be on the Brokers monthly bill . I think it is about $50.00 per violation May 8, 2008 3:48 AM
Member Since '05	Cyd Weeks said: Our Association fines $100. First offense is a warning. If not corrected within 2 days, it is handled for them. After that, fines are given for repeat offenders. May 8, 2008 6:24 AM
Member Since '07	Rob Moen said: Hi Phil, What a good topic for discussion. In my mls (Flint, MI), there is a fine assessed to agents that include contact info in the public remarks of their listings. The agents are notified about the violation & given a couple of days to correct it. After that, fines are assessed directly to the agent. I believe that the first one is $50. Virtual Tours are another hot topic. Does your mls allow you to use a branded tour or non branded tour? My mls allows branded tours to be inserted into the mls. Since I carry an above average listing portfolio, that does not bother me, but I don't understand the difference. Have a good one, Rob Moen May 8, 2008 6:35 AM
Member Since '04	Phil Anderson said: Hi Rob. Here it's the same with Virtual Tours; Can't have contact info in them for the version you submit to the MLS. My last VT, I specifically told the photographer not to include the sign from a viewable angle, which she did anyway and the VT company owner refused to retake, saying they'd been doing it that way for years. Eventually they adjusted the video, after speaking with the RMLS, but in the process they lost a very loyal customer. View it: http://www.pdxvtours.com/8028641/small2.htm May 8, 2008 8:15 AM
Member Since '03	Velda Miller said: Our board prohibits pics with signs in the yard, comments that make reference to the listing agent or their info, and branded VTs. We've had a lot of violators but several of us have been sending the offending listing info to the board office when we run across them. Shortly thereafter, our board office sent out the "nasty-gram" to all the offenders giving them time to clean it all up or face a fine. I heard a bunch of grousing at our last broker/owner luncheon but I think they got the message. It seems that most of the violations are concentrated in a couple of large offices with a few scattered among the rest. May 8, 2008 9:15 AM
Member Since '05	Cyd Weeks said: Phil... that doesn't make sense at all to allow branded tours in the mls. you are correct, there is no difference between a branded VT and contact info in the comments section. Have you brought it up to the board? May 13, 2008 5:33 PM
Member Since '04	Phil Anderson said: Hey there, Cyd. You are right...it makes no sense. And this just feeds the fire! If I see a "branded" VT or pics at a listing and contact (in writing/email) the local MLS, they will make the offender change it or the MLS will change it themselves. No fines are levied. By "the board" do you mean our state real estate regulation department (in Oregon called "The Real Estate Agency"), my local Realtor association, or our local MLS? (*Note: Local Realtor association owns the local MLS...separate business addresses, but one just points the finger at the other when questions are asked.) My experience with any of them is they don't really care. If Jack the Ripper was selling real estate, they might step in. But they are not interested in cleaning up the business from the ground level. They are just vehicles for collecting fees which justify their existence. The stories I could tell you... May 13, 2008 6:28 PM