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an offer and the listing is pending, if it happens to fail to sell and goes back on the market, if the listing is no longer active (withdrawn / cancelled) for some other reason, and, finally, when the listing sells.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.

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

Incomplete or Inaccurate data in a required field is a common violation that triggers notifications because
those fields are left empty, input incorrectly, or have inaccurate information.

These errors can cause a variety of issues:

• Inconsistent listing data with other listings
• Prevents being searchable
• Potential auto-filling problems for forms

As an MLS, one of our most valuable assets is our historical database. Staying on top of listing inaccuracies and correcting them as they happen allows us to more effectively manage the immense amount of data that we make available to subscribers.

Requiring consistency across a set of required fields streamlines many processes for subscribers and MLS staff. Consistency in listings also produces more accurate statistical analysis when comparing data points.

So, the next time you receive a violation for incomplete or inaccurate data, please remember that you are not in trouble, we are just working to maintain a highly accurate and reliable database.

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 four cases (two lockbox violations, an incorrect listing status, and solicitation of a listing under contract) in September 2023. The total fines equaled $450.

INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

The chart below shows violations that generated at least 15 instances in the past month. Personal Promotion and Incomplete or Inaccurate Information remain the two most common violation types.

Data Accuracy Department Statistics

• Listings Reviewed: 23,436 (-1,935)
• Notices Sent: 2,489 (+59)
• Violation Notices Received: 310 (-62)
• Courtesy Notices Sent: 1,687 (+194)
• Phone Calls Received: 147 (-283)

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.

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
Although area numbers were originally adapted to segment out the location of listings in the newspaper, they have come to serve many purposes regarding accuracy and data analytics. Here are a few examples why choosing the correct area is important.

• Incorrect Schools One of the most common responses we get after sending a Missing School violation notice is that the correct school was not available. The reason that the correct school is not available is frequently because the wrong area number has been selected. The area number is what triggers the selections for the drop-down items. If you select the wrong area for your listing, then the schools for the area you selected will show up and not the actual schools that go with your listing.
• Statistical Skewing Having listings in the incorrect areas will throw off statistics for that area. Listings in different areas will have different price points and trends. For example, a listing that is on the outskirts of a city will likely have a lower price point than listings located in the city proper. So, selecting the wrong area and grouping that lower priced listing with those will cause it to be an outlier and distort the stats.
• Search Results You want the correct people to be able to find your listing. Having it in the wrong area will cause you to miss out on search results for the correct area. The goal is to reach people who actually want to live where the house is located.

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 a case in August 2023.

INFORMAL VIOLATIONS
The majority of violations are simple errors – forgotten or misplaced data, or a misunderstanding of the rules. Our goal is to reduce all types of violations through education and awareness campaigns.

We’ve been thinking about violations in three categories:

• Ready to Sell: Only a small amount of violations (less than 15) occur each month.
• Fixer Upper: These violations totals (between 15 and 50) need a little TLC.
• Complete Renovation: These violations (50+) need some immediate attention.

In the new chart below, we’ve included the Fixer Upper and Complete Renovation violations in ascending order. You can see that Personal Promotion, Missing Owner Name, Missing School, and Missing Tax ID are four of the top five violation occurrences. Though Tax IDs are not always available at the time of listing, we can collectively reduce the other violations by double checking owner names and schools and making sure to avoid personal promotion violations.

Data Accuracy Department Statistics

• Listings Reviewed: 25,371 (+868)
• Notices Sent: 2,430 (+228)
• Violation Notices Received: 372 (+13)
• Courtesy Notices Sent: 1,493 (+61)
• Phone Calls Received: 430 (+75)

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.

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 34 specific issues outlined in the RMLS Rules and Regulations, and is responsible for addressing subscriber questions and concerns regarding listing accuracy.

HIGHLIGHTS

Personal promotion is consistently one of our top violations, and a good many of them result from virtual tours. While virtual tours are an excellent tool to give buyers a feel for a home and to help them decide if they want to see it in person, there are rules which govern these tours.

• People (including yourself) are not permitted to be in photos or virtual tours.
• Virtual tours must be free of any branding.
• They cannot have any contact or identifying information.
• Virtual tours must be free of links.
• Voiceovers are prohibited.
• Virtual tours cannot contain copyrighted material.

If any of these violations are found in a virtual tour, the tour will be removed from your listing, and you will be asked to upload a new tour that is free of violations.

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 a case in July 2023.

INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

Personal Promotion violations saw a sharp decline in July after continuing to rise since December of 2022. The 131 July violations are a 38% drop from the previous month.

The chart below shows the next three most frequent informal violations from July 2023. After dipping into third place in June, Missing Owner Name violation saw a steep jump up back into second place over has Missing Tax ID violations.

This pie chart shows the remainder of the informal violations last month.

Data Accuracy Department Statistics 

• Listings Reviewed: 24,503 (-2,989)
• Notices Sent: 2,202 (-133)
• Violation Notices Received: 359 (+8)
• Courtesy Notices Sent: 1,432 (+142)
• Phone Calls Received: 355 (+25)

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.