RMLS™ Rules Roundup for April 2019

RMLS™ Rules Roundup for April 2019

by | May 9, 2019

Gavel

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 April 2019 our team handled 275 phone calls.

We track 30 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

In April we received several inquiries regarding recent marketing of Coming Soon-No Showing (CSN) listings. In December of 2018 a change was made to Rule 3.28 to clarify what types of marketing are allowed on CSN listings. A Broker may share CSN listings with their clients, current customers, and other active RMLS™ subscribers. They may not share them publicly.

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.

In April 2019, two formal rules violation were filed for a total of three [one was received in late March 2019] that were referred to the Rules Committee during their May 2019 meeting.

INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

In April 2019, RMLS™ Data Accuracy staff reviewed 21,778 listings in addition to the 622 notices sent through Report Issue button on RMLSweb. Of the items reviewed, 1,474 violation notices and 1,943 courtesy notices were sent out.

CategoryApril
Missing Tax ID584
Incorrect or Missing Information172
Personal Promotion120
Missing Owner Name 106
Missing School 91
Duplicate Listing86
Year Built 79
No Showings50
Is Property a Condo43
Conditions to Compensation37
Incorrect First Photo27
HUD27
Duplicate Listing in Different Category17
Listing Input in Incorrect MLS Area13
Partial Bathrooms Greater Than 59
Inaccurate Lot Size5
City Unknown4
Missing Condo Unit Number4

Following are the courtesy notifications sent to RMLS™ subscribers in April 2019:

CategoryApril
Multiple Owner Names in 1st Field1,019
Listing is Set to Expire501
Listing Still Pending 255
New Listing Input Over 24 Hours 167
Listing Status Change Over 24 Hours1

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.

RMLS™ Rules Roundup for April 2019

Overwhelmed: Ask Technical Terry

by | May 2, 2019

Ask Technical Terry Silhouette

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 TT,

RMLS™ has done a great job finding products that provide great benefit to its REALTOR® subscribers, but at times it seems like there are just too many options! It seems like we have new tools to learn on a daily basis. Just recently I went to a training session for a new product called Remine, and now I understand there is another product coming soon called Homesnap. Can you tell me why I would choose one over the other? What are the differences?

Overloaded in Orenco

Dear OO,

Understood completely! It’s not just you—it’s even a challenge for our support and training staff to keep abreast of the rapid pace of innovation around RMLS™ these days.

Here’s a brief overview of the products you mention above.

Homesnap Pro

Homesnap Pro combines agent-only MLS data on a web portal with a mobile app for use in the field.

  • Provides real-time information to agents on the go, giving them the flexibility to research homes, interact with each other, and collaborate with clients from their mobile devices. Agents and consumers can use the same platform to seamlessly share real estate information and communicate directly.
  • Additional features of Homesnap Pro include real-time access to agent-only MLS information, information about any home, messaging with clients and agents, customized email marketing, CMA generation from a mobile device, and information about other agents.

Remine

Remine provides some of the same capabilities as Homesnap, but it really excels more for data mining. This means Remine provides users the ability to “watch” homes, neighborhoods, and people to best understand market motivation. Users can use this data to scientifically allocate marketing efforts toward specific properties or people that indicate potential motivation.

Remine has three main components on its app: Discover, Track, and Engage.

  • Discover: This is the map, where you can use layers to narrow down properties you want to target and set up farming areas to find opportunities.
  • Track: This is the list of properties and people you’re tracking. You can upload contacts to track data that will help you prioritize who you should reach out to, and when to reach out. You can use this page to export spreadsheets to use for mailers, call lists, or email campaigns.
  • Engage: This is your client dashboard, where you can keep track of your clients’ activities, invite new clients, and manage your leads.

Both Homesnap and Remine provide great benefits, but they have different strenghts. Homesnap provides great tools to engage clients, and Remine specializes in farming activities. Both products have amazing support portals available, containing plenty of how-tos in both written and video formats, there to help you decide which might work best for you.

The RMLS™ trainers are developing classes for both products, so keep your eyes on your local training calendar in the coming months!

TT


Hey Ask Technical Terry!

Homesnap seems like it’s going to be great for my workflow and working with my clients! My assistant told me that RMLS.com will be going away because of Homesnap—is this true?

Snappin’ for Homesnap

Hey Snappin’!

It is true: RMLS.com will redirect to Homesnap’s Broker Public Portal once RMLS™ rolls out the project on May 7th! We recently published a video about the change:

It’ll be a big change, but one that we think will better serve our REALTOR® subscribers and their clients. We can’t wait to hear what you think once Homesnap is live!

Ask Technical Terry