![It’s Raining $avings in April: Initiation Fees Reduced by Up to 90%]()
by RMLS Communication Department | Mar 27, 2014
Office initiation fees have been reduced to $50 in April!
This is a great opportunity for offices to join RMLS™ and experience the benefits of sharing with more than 10,000 REALTORS® accessing your client’s listings.
Main Office Initiation Fee: $50 (regularly $500)
Branch Office Initiation Fee: $50 (regularly $100)
Affiliate Office Initiation Fee: $50 (regularly $400)
For more information on this promotion, email our Accounting Department, call them at (503) 872-8003, or stop by your nearest RMLS™ office.
ONLY Available April 2014!
![It’s Raining $avings in April: Initiation Fees Reduced by Up to 90%]()
by RMLS Communication Department | Feb 28, 2014
This post is part of MLS Insight, a series about governance issues at RMLS™.
The four standing committees that exist to ensure that RMLS™ has practitioner input into decisions, planning, and regulation are the Technology, Forms, Rules, and Hearings Committees. The RMLS™ Board of Directors can also create a task force to focus on a particular topic. Recent examples include the Lockbox System Task Force and the Office Exclusive Task Force, both disbanded as their job was completed. There is currently no active task force.
The Chairman of the RMLS™ Board selects the committee chairs, and the board confirms their appointment at the first meeting of the year. Our bylaws wisely require that all committee chairmen be on the RMLS™ Board of Directors, which results in direct input back and forth between the Board of Directors and the committees. The committee chair selects the committee members, who serve for one year.
The Technology Committee reviews software and services of potential use to RMLS™ subscribers and may recommend systemwide products to the board for approval. The most recent instances of products recommended by the Technology Committee are RatePlug and New Home Source. The Technology Committee also acts as a resource for evaluating improvements to the RMLSweb system. A new role of the committee this year is the Technology Forum, which are invitational presentations about technology offerings for the brokerage community. The 2014 Chairman of the Technology Committee is Dale Chumbley.
The Forms Committee reviews all suggestions about changes to RMLS™ Listing Input Sheets, working to make the listing data we collect both rich and relevant. The Forms Committee was on hiatus last year in order to allow our development department unbroken time to work on the browser and tablet compatibility project. A forms change requires changes to many parts of the system, including all reports, all searches, and Listing Load, so it is always a formidable task. The 2014 Chairman of the Forms Committee is Maureen Bonfiglio.
The Rules Committee has two main functions. It reviews all formal complaints which allege violations of the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations, and has the power to impose sanctions. There were six formal complaints filed in 2013, and the committee imposed fines totaling $650 in three of those cases. The Rules Committee also discusses potential changes to the Rules and Regulations and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors. The 2014 Chairman of the Rules and Regulations Committee is Rick Jenkins.
The Hearings Committee exists in case the recipient of a sanction by the Rules Committee requests a hearing. Hearings are conducted in substantial accordance with the procedures applicable to REALTOR® Professional Standards hearings. No hearings were requested in 2013. The 2014 Chairman of the Hearings Commitee is Mark Meek.
Next month we will cover the prioritization process for in-house development of the RMLSweb system decisions. If you have questions you would like to have answered about RMLS™ governance or operation, I encourage you to post a comment to this blog.
by RMLS Communication Department | Feb 28, 2014
This post is part of MLS Insight, a series about governance issues at RMLS™.
The four standing committees that exist to ensure that RMLS™ has practitioner input into decisions, planning, and regulation are the Technology, Forms, Rules, and Hearings Committees. The RMLS™ Board of Directors can also create a task force to focus on a particular topic. Recent examples include the Lockbox System Task Force and the Office Exclusive Task Force, both disbanded as their job was completed. There is currently no active task force.
The Chairman of the RMLS™ Board selects the committee chairs, and the board confirms their appointment at the first meeting of the year. Our bylaws wisely require that all committee chairmen be on the RMLS™ Board of Directors, which results in direct input back and forth between the Board of Directors and the committees. The committee chair selects the committee members, who serve for one year.
The Technology Committee reviews software and services of potential use to RMLS™ subscribers and may recommend systemwide products to the board for approval. The most recent instances of products recommended by the Technology Committee are RatePlug and New Home Source. The Technology Committee also acts as a resource for evaluating improvements to the RMLSweb system. A new role of the committee this year is the Technology Forum, which are invitational presentations about technology offerings for the brokerage community. The 2014 Chairman of the Technology Committee is Dale Chumbley.
The Forms Committee reviews all suggestions about changes to RMLS™ Listing Input Sheets, working to make the listing data we collect both rich and relevant. The Forms Committee was on hiatus last year in order to allow our development department unbroken time to work on the browser and tablet compatibility project. A forms change requires changes to many parts of the system, including all reports, all searches, and Listing Load, so it is always a formidable task. The 2014 Chairman of the Forms Committee is Maureen Bonfiglio.
The Rules Committee has two main functions. It reviews all formal complaints which allege violations of the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations, and has the power to impose sanctions. There were six formal complaints filed in 2013, and the committee imposed fines totaling $650 in three of those cases. The Rules Committee also discusses potential changes to the Rules and Regulations and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors. The 2014 Chairman of the Rules and Regulations Committee is Rick Jenkins.
The Hearings Committee exists in case the recipient of a sanction by the Rules Committee requests a hearing. Hearings are conducted in substantial accordance with the procedures applicable to REALTOR® Professional Standards hearings. No hearings were requested in 2013. The 2014 Chairman of the Hearings Commitee is Mark Meek.
Next month we will cover the prioritization process for in-house development of the RMLSweb system decisions. If you have questions you would like to have answered about RMLS™ governance or operation, I encourage you to post a comment to this blog.
![It’s Raining $avings in April: Initiation Fees Reduced by Up to 90%]()
by RMLS Communication Department | Feb 28, 2014
This post is part of MLS Insight, a series about governance issues at RMLS™.
The four standing committees that exist to ensure that RMLS™ has practitioner input into decisions, planning, and regulation are the Technology, Forms, Rules, and Hearings Committees. The RMLS™ Board of Directors can also create a task force to focus on a particular topic. Recent examples include the Lockbox System Task Force and the Office Exclusive Task Force, both disbanded as their job was completed. There is currently no active task force.
The Chairman of the RMLS™ Board selects the committee chairs, and the board confirms their appointment at the first meeting of the year. Our bylaws wisely require that all committee chairmen be on the RMLS™ Board of Directors, which results in direct input back and forth between the Board of Directors and the committees. The committee chair selects the committee members, who serve for one year.
The Technology Committee reviews software and services of potential use to RMLS™ subscribers and may recommend systemwide products to the board for approval. The most recent instances of products recommended by the Technology Committee are RatePlug and New Home Source. The Technology Committee also acts as a resource for evaluating improvements to the RMLSweb system. A new role of the committee this year is the Technology Forum, which are invitational presentations about technology offerings for the brokerage community. The 2014 Chairman of the Technology Committee is Dale Chumbley.
The Forms Committee reviews all suggestions about changes to RMLS™ Listing Input Sheets, working to make the listing data we collect both rich and relevant. The Forms Committee was on hiatus last year in order to allow our development department unbroken time to work on the browser and tablet compatibility project. A forms change requires changes to many parts of the system, including all reports, all searches, and Listing Load, so it is always a formidable task. The 2014 Chairman of the Forms Committee is Maureen Bonfiglio.
The Rules Committee has two main functions. It reviews all formal complaints which allege violations of the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations, and has the power to impose sanctions. There were six formal complaints filed in 2013, and the committee imposed fines totaling $650 in three of those cases. The Rules Committee also discusses potential changes to the Rules and Regulations and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors. The 2014 Chairman of the Rules and Regulations Committee is Rick Jenkins.
The Hearings Committee exists in case the recipient of a sanction by the Rules Committee requests a hearing. Hearings are conducted in substantial accordance with the procedures applicable to REALTOR® Professional Standards hearings. No hearings were requested in 2013. The 2014 Chairman of the Hearings Commitee is Mark Meek.
Next month we will cover the prioritization process for in-house development of the RMLSweb system decisions. If you have questions you would like to have answered about RMLS™ governance or operation, I encourage you to post a comment to this blog.
![It’s Raining $avings in April: Initiation Fees Reduced by Up to 90%]()
by RMLS Communication Department | Feb 28, 2014
This post is part of MLS Insight, a series about governance issues at RMLS™.
The four standing committees that exist to ensure that RMLS™ has practitioner input into decisions, planning, and regulation are the Technology, Forms, Rules, and Hearings Committees. The RMLS™ Board of Directors can also create a task force to focus on a particular topic. Recent examples include the Lockbox System Task Force and the Office Exclusive Task Force, both disbanded as their job was completed. There is currently no active task force.
The Chairman of the RMLS™ Board selects the committee chairs, and the board confirms their appointment at the first meeting of the year. Our bylaws wisely require that all committee chairmen be on the RMLS™ Board of Directors, which results in direct input back and forth between the Board of Directors and the committees. The committee chair selects the committee members, who serve for one year.
The Technology Committee reviews software and services of potential use to RMLS™ subscribers and may recommend systemwide products to the board for approval. The most recent instances of products recommended by the Technology Committee are RatePlug and New Home Source. The Technology Committee also acts as a resource for evaluating improvements to the RMLSweb system. A new role of the committee this year is the Technology Forum, which are invitational presentations about technology offerings for the brokerage community. The 2014 Chairman of the Technology Committee is Dale Chumbley.
The Forms Committee reviews all suggestions about changes to RMLS™ Listing Input Sheets, working to make the listing data we collect both rich and relevant. The Forms Committee was on hiatus last year in order to allow our development department unbroken time to work on the browser and tablet compatibility project. A forms change requires changes to many parts of the system, including all reports, all searches, and Listing Load, so it is always a formidable task. The 2014 Chairman of the Forms Committee is Maureen Bonfiglio.
The Rules Committee has two main functions. It reviews all formal complaints which allege violations of the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations, and has the power to impose sanctions. There were six formal complaints filed in 2013, and the committee imposed fines totaling $650 in three of those cases. The Rules Committee also discusses potential changes to the Rules and Regulations and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors. The 2014 Chairman of the Rules and Regulations Committee is Rick Jenkins.
The Hearings Committee exists in case the recipient of a sanction by the Rules Committee requests a hearing. Hearings are conducted in substantial accordance with the procedures applicable to REALTOR® Professional Standards hearings. No hearings were requested in 2013. The 2014 Chairman of the Hearings Commitee is Mark Meek.
Next month we will cover the prioritization process for in-house development of the RMLSweb system decisions. If you have questions you would like to have answered about RMLS™ governance or operation, I encourage you to post a comment to this blog.
by RMLS Communication Department | Feb 14, 2014
UPDATE (April 25): Office Exclusive Changes Finalized
RMLS™ has finalized changes to office exclusive policies, effective May 5, 2014.
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UPDATE (February 28): Office Exclusive Changes to be Delayed
A significant number of questions were raised when we outlined changes to the office exclusive form, rules, and contracts. RMLS™ will be delaying the release of these changes until we can work through these concerns and clarify details. If you have a comment, please email communications@rmls.com. We anticipate this process will be worked out by the end of March.
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There has recently been a lot of national buzz about pocket listings. The RMLS™ Board of Directors and Rules Committee received several inquiries over the past year about the practice, and how pocket listings affect our own real estate community. So at the November 2013 meeting of the Board of Directors, the Office Exclusive Task Force was appointed to evaluate the issue of office exclusives and pocket listings.
The Office Exclusive Task Force was comprised of five members of the RMLS™ Board of Directors: Mark Meek (Task Force Chairman), Rick Jenkins (Chairman of the Rules and Regulations Committee), Ed Petrossian, George Perkins, and Steve Lucas. They looked at and discussed our current policies and rules regarding Office Exclusive listings and various interpretations among subscribers about List Date and Date Marketing to Begin.
Their recommendations were presented to the RMLS™ Board of Directors at their February 2014 meeting. The recommendations were approved and will take effect March 3, 2014. Three documents are affected:
- The Office Exclusive Addendum (Authorization to Exclude) form has been totally revamped. This form will be required when a seller elects to opt out of placing their property in RMLS™ along with a copy of the Listing Agreement. This new form informs the seller(s) of the risks of excluding their property from the multiple listing service (MLS).
- The RMLS™ Rules and Regulations were modified to define marketing and clarify the difference between the effective date of a listing, when all the necessary signatures have been obtained, and the Date Marketing to Begin which can be a later date. Also, a new sanction was added for marketing of a property prior to publication in RMLS™.
- The Listing Contract language for Oregon and Washington was changed to be in harmony with the changes to the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations.
The Office Exclusive Addendum will now cover all the benefits of MLS publication so that the seller is fully informed. Some of the concepts include the wide distribution of property information to more than 10,500 other real estate brokers who subscribe to RMLS™, bringing together buyers and sellers in an efficient marketplace. RMLS™ subscribers are REALTORS® who abide by the NAR Code of Ethics. Cooperation among brokers from many brokerage firms, by including the listing in the MLS, increases a seller’s chances of identifying a qualified buyer and obtaining fair market value for the property. It also helps provide a rich database in which subscribers can identify comparable properties for CMA reports and valuable statistical information.
