Ask Technical Terry is a series RMLS™ aims to offer once a month. RMLS™ subscribers will drive the content—submit any question about RMLS™ to Technical Terry in the comments or by emailing communications@rmls.com. Don’t be shy—we won’t identify you by name.
Dear Ask Technical Terry,
It seems like not a day goes by I don’t read another story about a seller who is inundated with phone calls, being solicited after their listing expired or was cancelled. In many cases it’s not just the seller receiving calls but family members! I used to farm expired listings too—in fact it was a great source of listings at one time in my career. I was the one doing the calling and interacting though—now there are services that will call about hundreds of expired listings over and over, and they’re not polite to the seller. What can we do?
Spitting Nails in Springfield
Dear Spitting Nails in Springfield,
I hear you loud and clear! I’ve read these kinds of stories too and honestly there are times I’m really embarrassed for our industry. There’s not a whole lot that can be done on the RMLS™ side if the process is being conducted by real estate licensees, and they are truly calling only expired and cancelled listings. Where the problems come in is when the seller is on the Federal Do Not Call (DNC) list. In theory, the companies that offer expired/cancelled listing mining services vet the lists against the DNC but I’ve certainly heard of sellers on the DNC that have been solicited. Where RMLS™ can provide support is if the listing is neither expired nor cancelled, or has been relisted when the seller is being solicited. Any RMLS™ listing that is considered active should never be solicited, and this includes those in withdrawn status. RMLSweb offers a search called “Actual Expireds” under the Search menu that can be used to ensure the expired listing you’re about to call has not been relisted.
Withdrawn (WTH): If the owner requests it, and has signed the proper paperwork, you can withdraw a listing in the RMLS™ database.
The RMLS™ board recently formed a task force to look into possible options for addressing subscriber/client frustration with the solicitation of off-market properties. Keep an eye out for my next blog post—I hope to have more information to share about potential options for you and your seller.
TT
Hello ATT!
This afternoon I received an email claiming that SentriLock wants us to use a different app. Is this legit?
Wary at WallowaLake
Hey WWL!
That email you received is legit! SentriLock is changing the name of SentriSmart™ to SentriKey™! They just recently made the big announcement and sent an email to their active users.
SentriKey™ features a new look and clearer prompts. Android users will find improved Bluetooth® connectivity.
If your device is set for automatic updates, check it out by opening the new icon on your phone. If you update manually, download the latest update.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a very important app update I need to attend to…
For the week of June 17-23, 2019, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Activity rose in Washington this week, as activity in Oregon decreased.
For the week of June 10-16, 2019, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Activity in both states cooled this week.
The RMLS™ Rules and Regulations Committee has requested that periodic reports are given to subscribers about the number and types of formal rules violations, along with information about informal violations and courtesy notifications by type. Read “If a RMLS™ Rule is Broken, What Happens?” for a deeper explanation.
Have you ever spotted something wrong in a property listing on RMLSweb? The Data Accuracy team is responsible for sorting things out whenever a RMLS™ subscriber contacts us—whether that is via the “Report Issue” button on a listing, by email, or contacting us directly by phone. In May 2019 our team handled 293 phone calls.
We track 32 specific issues in Listing Data Checker (LDC), the software that helps us spot and correct issues proactively. Six of these are courtesy notifications, but the other 24 are informal violations of the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations. In addition to our focus on education we also process formal violations throughout the year.
HOT TOPICS
Over the past few years unauthorized use of a lockbox has been a frequently seen formal violation. As a reminder—the potential penalties for this violation can include fines and possible suspension or expulsion from RMLS™. It is important to remember that you should not enter listings that are not active nor without following the showing instructions. You should also not generate codes and give them out to anyone if you are acting as a buyers’ agent. The sellers’ agent may generate a one day code, typically for use by someone doing work on behalf of their seller and always with the seller’s permission.
In May 2019, four formal rules violation were filed. These will be reviewed at the June 2019 Rules Committee meeting. The committee reviewed three formal violations at their May meeting. Two were for unauthorized use of a lockbox and the third was for not changing a listing to PEN status for over 144 hours. A total of $1,700.00 in fines were levied by the committee.
5.1L Unauthorized Use of a Lockbox:Buyer’s agent entered a property that was in PEN status.
5.1L Unauthorized Use of a Lockbox: Buyer’s agent was provided an access code by another agent who was not present in order to enter a property.
5.1C Listing PEN Status Change greater than 144 hours: A listing with an accepted offer was not changed to PEN for more than 144 hours.
INFORMAL VIOLATIONS
In May 2019, RMLS™ Data Accuracy staff reviewed 28,829 listings in addition to the 606 notices sent through “Report Issue” button on RMLSweb. Of the items reviewed, 1,419 violation notices and 2,337 courtesy notices were sent out.
Category
May
Missing Tax ID
432
Incorrect or Missing Information
134
Missing School
131
Year Built
119
Missing Owner Name
107
Personal Promotion
102
Address Issues
93
Duplicate Listing
80
No Showings
66
Is Property a Condo
37
Missing First Photo
29
HUD
18
Inaccurate Lot Size
15
Listing Input in Incorrect MLS Area
15
Conditions to Compensation
13
Partial Bathrooms Greater than 5
8
Duplicate Listing in Different Category
7
City Unknown
Following are the courtesy notifications sent to RMLS™ subscribers in May 2019:
Category
May
Multiple Owner Names in 1st Field
1,062
Listing is Set to Expire
773
New Listing Input Over 24 Hours
209
Listing Still Pending
292
Listing Status Change Over 24 Hours
1
When we notice an uptick in a specific type of violation (perhaps a rule recently changed or market conditions lead to an increase in a certain type of issue) we may also put a notification up on RMLSweb, educating subscribers before one of their listings gets flagged and we need to contact them.
RMLS™ Data Accuracy can be reached via email or by phone at (503) 236-7657 if you ever have questions about the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations, if you wonder whether a specific listing has inaccurate data, or if you want to chat with us more about the above information.
For the week of June 3-9, 2019, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Activity in both states rose this week.
