Rules Roundup: Canceled vs Withdrawn Statuses (Jan. 2024)

Rules Roundup: Canceled vs Withdrawn Statuses (Jan. 2024)

The Rules Roundup provides a monthly accounting of RMLS rules violations and courtesy notifications. Our Data Accuracy team manages all reports of property listing errors, tracking 27 specific issues outlined in the RMLS Rules and Regulations, and is responsible for addressing subscriber questions and concerns regarding listing accuracy.

HIGHLIGHTS

Given our recent policy change regarding refreshing listings, it would be advantageous to review the distinctions between the Canceled and Withdrawn statuses, as well as when to employ each.

According to the RMLS rules and regulations, these statuses are defined as follows:

Cancelled (CAN): Listings may also be canceled prior to their expiration date. The Canceled status signifies that the listing contract has been cancelled and terminated. Obviously, if the CONTRACT with the seller has been canceled then you would not want to actively market or advertise the property. The date that you change the listing to Canceled gets recorded in the Expiration Date field and the listing will always appear as CAN from that point on.

Withdrawn (WTH): If the owner requests it, and has signed the proper paperwork, you can withdraw a listing in the RMLS database. The contract between you and the seller is still in force, but the property will no longer be actively marketed or advertised. This could be a temporary condition and the listing can be returned to Active status later. Special note: A listing marked WTH will still expire once it hits midnight on the date specified in the Expiration Date field.

There are some possible circumstances under which you would use these statuses and the situations that would guide you in choosing one status over the other:

Withdrawn: The withdrawn status should be utilized in situations where the listing will not be actively marketed for a period (typically short-term) but will be reactivated, and marketing will resume. Examples of such circumstances include when the seller is out of town for the weekend; the seller is conducting minor repairs or yard work; or the seller will be unavailable for showings for a brief period. During these instances, you would designate the property as Withdrawn temporarily and then reactivate the listing as “back on the market.” Listings under the WTH status are still actively under contract and will accumulate Days on Market (DOM).

Canceled: The canceled status is appropriate for situations where your current listing contract will be terminated. However, this does not necessarily mean that the seller is not interested in working with you in the future; rather, it indicates that the seller is not currently interested in marketing the home, often for a longer or indefinite period. This could be due to reasons such as needing to take a break, approaching holidays, or planning extensive repairs/upgrades.

Whenever you are off the market and intend to relist with a new MLS number, the listing must be Canceled or Expired for at least 31 days. Withdrawn listings cannot be relisted with a new MLS number.

FORMAL VIOLATIONS

The RMLS Rules and Regulations Committee reviews all formal complaints which allege a violation of the RMLS Rules and Regulations. The committee has the power to impose sanctions.

The committee did not review any casees in January 2024.

INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

The chart below shows violations that generated at least 15 instances in the past month. This month we saw some significant changes for certain categories.

  • Missing School rose from 4 to 35
  • HUD dropped from 28 to 9
  • Missing Condo Unit Number dropped from 118 to 64
  • Duplicate Listing fell from 150 to 105
  • Missing Tax ID rose from 47 to 153

    Data Accuracy Department Statistics

    The gain or loss comparison displayed in the parenthesis is versus the previous month.

    • Missing School dropped from 47 to 10
    • Duplicate Listings rose from 24 to 63
    • Missing Owner Name jumped from 78 to 129
    • Personal Promotion jumped from 102 to 166
    • Incomplete or Inaccurate Information leapt from 54 to 123

    How to Report Violations

    Subscribers have multiple options to report violations, including a Report Issue button on every RMLSweb listing. Subscribers can email our Data Accuracy team at dataaccuracy@rmls.com or call them at 503.395.1916. When there are increases in specific violation types, we sometimes place notifications on RMLSweb.

    Rules Roundup: Canceled vs Withdrawn Statuses (Jan. 2024)

    Rules Roundup: New ‘Sold Other Category’ Status (Dec. 2023)

    The Rules Roundup provides a monthly accounting of RMLS rules violations and courtesy notifications. Our Data Accuracy team manages all reports of property listing errors, tracking 27 specific issues outlined in the RMLS Rules and Regulations, and is responsible for addressing subscriber questions and concerns regarding listing accuracy.

    HIGHLIGHTS

    With the expansive forms change project that was recently rolled out, a new status was also added. This new status comes with some useful features that will make listing a property in two categories much easier. The first thing to note is that when listing a property in two categories it will automatically be linked to its twin so that future updates on one property will automatically be applied to the other. There will also be a link to the other listing featured on both listings. Here is the description of the rule:

    • Sold Other Category (SOC). For properties that can be listed in multiple property categories (ex. Residential and Commercial), when it’s time to designate the property as “sold” in RMLS, the Seller’s Agent will mark one listing as Sold (SLD) and the system will mark the other listing as Sold Other Category (SOC). During initial data input of these two listings, the system will help the Seller’s Agent connect them together and as modifications are made to one listing (ex. price change, status change, etc.), then the system will apply that change to the second listing.

     This means that you will no longer need to cancel one of the listings after marking the other SOLD. This should significantly cut down the number of unwanted calls sellers receive once a listing is cancelled and drastically lower the number of duplicate listing violations. It will also more accurately represent the status of these listings.

    FORMAL VIOLATIONS

    The RMLS Rules and Regulations Committee reviews all formal complaints which allege a violation of the RMLS Rules and Regulations. The committee has the power to impose sanctions.

    The committee did not review any casees in December 2023.

    INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

    The chart below shows violations that generated at least 15 instances in the past month. This month we saw some significant changes for certain categories.

    • Missing School rose from 4 to 35
    • HUD dropped from 28 to 9
    • Missing Condo Unit Number dropped from 118 to 64
    • Duplicate Listing fell from 150 to 105
    • Missing Tax ID rose from 47 to 153

      Data Accuracy Department Statistics

      The gain or loss comparison displayed in the parenthesis is versus the previous month.

      • Listings Reviewed: 11,288 (-5,851)
      • Notices Sent: 3,238 (+512)
      • Violation Notices Received: 227 (-141)
      • Courtesy Notices Sent: 2,663 (+923)
      • Phone Calls Received:  124 (+14)

      How to Report Violations

      Subscribers have multiple options to report violations, including a Report Issue button on every RMLSweb listing. Subscribers can email our Data Accuracy team at dataaccuracy@rmls.com or call them at 503.395.1916. When there are increases in specific violation types, we sometimes place notifications on RMLSweb.

      2023 By the Numbers

      2023 By the Numbers

      Our annual tradition is to start the new year by looking back at the previous year. These numbers below demonstrate how RMLS supported real estate activity in the previous year. The numbers in parentheses show the difference from 2022 totals.

      Rules Roundup: Solicitation of a Listing Under Contract (Nov. 2023)

      Rules Roundup: Solicitation of a Listing Under Contract (Nov. 2023)

      The Rules Roundup provides a monthly accounting of RMLS rules violations and courtesy notifications. Our Data Accuracy team manages all reports of property listing errors, tracking 27 specific issues outlined in the RMLS Rules and Regulations, and is responsible for addressing subscriber questions and concerns regarding listing accuracy.

      HIGHLIGHTS

      Solicitation of a Listing Under Contract (section 9.4 RMLS Rules and Regulations) is a rule that was adapted from the Realtor Code of Ethics (Realtor Code of Ethics Article 16). The purpose of this rule is to allow constituents to submit their listings to the MLS without fear of client poaching from other agents. This also allows homeowners peace of mind that they can provide their information to the MLS without being inundated by solicitations.

      The value that a combined database provides is immense and utilization of this relies on cooperation between constituents. The most common violation we see regarding this fine occurs when an agent does not check if an expired or cancelled listing has been relisted prior to sending out solicitations. General solicitations that are based on geographic area, occupation, organization, or group membership are permitted under this rule so long as they are not specifically marketed using information pulled from the MLS.

      Be aware that any use of the MLS database for the purpose of solicitation to a listing that is currently under contract is a violation of this rule, even if you are unaware that the listing was under contract at the time of solicitation. This violation carries a potential fine of up to $2500.

      FORMAL VIOLATIONS

      The RMLS Rules and Regulations Committee reviews all formal complaints which allege a violation of the RMLS Rules and Regulations. The committee has the power to impose sanctions.

      The committee did not review any casees in November 2023.

      INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

      The chart below shows violations that generated at least 15 instances in the past month. This month we saw some significant changes for certain categories.

      • Missing School rose from 4 to 35
      • HUD dropped from 28 to 9
      • Missing Condo Unit Number dropped from 118 to 64
      • Duplicate Listing fell from 150 to 105
      • Missing Tax ID rose from 47 to 153

        Data Accuracy Department Statistics

        The gain or loss comparison displayed in the parenthesis is versus the previous month.

        • Listings Reviewed: 17,139 (-4,122)
        • Notices Sent: 2,726 (+22)
        • Violation Notices Received: 368 (+77)
        • Courtesy Notices Sent: 1,740 (-16)
        • Phone Calls Received: 110 (-104)

        How to Report Violations

        Subscribers have multiple options to report violations, including a Report Issue button on every RMLSweb listing. Subscribers can email our Data Accuracy team at dataaccuracy@rmls.com or call them at 503.395.1916. When there are increases in specific violation types, we sometimes place notifications on RMLSweb.

        Rules Roundup: Solicitation of a Listing Under Contract (Nov. 2023)

        Rules Roundup: The 24-Hour Rule for Listing Status Changes (Oct. 2023)

        The Rules Roundup provides a monthly accounting of RMLS rules violations and courtesy notifications. Our Data Accuracy team manages all reports of property listing errors, tracking 27 specific issues outlined in the RMLS Rules and Regulations, and is responsible for addressing subscriber questions and concerns regarding listing accuracy.

        HIGHLIGHTS

        RMLS has a 24-hour rule for all status changes on listings. This means that when a status change occurs on your listing, you have 24 hours to update that status. This includes when the listing goes active (after all your contracts have been signed), when you receive an offer and the listing is pending, if it happens to fail to sell and goes back on the market, if the listing is no longer active (withdrawn / cancelled) for some other reason, and, finally, when the listing sells.

        All these statuses must be updated in RMLSweb within 24 hours of the change occurring. The reason for this is to maintain an accurate database. It causes confusion and difficulty among constituents when the data is not accurate or up to date.

        If the listing has sold but remains in pending status, you will receive a courtesy notice to change the status of the listing. When this notice is received, you may have already changed the status at that point, so the notice just serves as a reminder for future listings.

        FORMAL VIOLATIONS

        The RMLS Rules and Regulations Committee reviews all formal complaints which allege a violation of the RMLS Rules and Regulations. The committee has the power to impose sanctions.

        The committee reviewed one case (a lockbox usage violation) in October 2023 with a fine of $500 being administered.

        INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

        The chart below shows violations that generated at least 15 instances in the past month. This month we saw some significant changes for certain categories.

        • Missing School violations dropped from 61 to 4
        • Missing Tax ID violations dropped from 74 to 47
        • Duplicate Listings violations rose from 24 to 150
        • HUD violations rose from 12 to 28
        • Missing Condo Unit Number violations 8 to 118

          Data Accuracy Department Statistics

          The gain or loss comparison displayed in the parenthesis is versus the previous month.

          • Listings Reviewed: 21,261 (-2,175)
          • Notices Sent: 2,704 (+215)
          • Violation Notices Received: 291 (-19)
          • Courtesy Notices Sent: 1,756 (+69)
          • Phone Calls Received: 204 (+57)

          How to Report Violations

          Subscribers have multiple options to report violations, including a Report Issue button on every RMLSweb listing. Subscribers can email our Data Accuracy team at dataaccuracy@rmls.com or call them at 503.395.1916. When there are increases in specific violation types, we sometimes place notifications on RMLSweb.