RMLS™ Rules Roundup for January-February 2019

by RMLS Communication Department | Mar 27, 2019

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 January and February 2019 our team handled 529 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 January we saw quite a few instances of personal promotion in video/virtual tours that were branded, along with other forms of personal promotion in the public remarks field. As a reminder, personal promotion is not permitted in public remarks, photographs, video, or virtual tours. Personal promotion includes and is not limited to phone numbers, agent name, firm name, email address, and websites. Remember, when submitting data to a listing that the information should describe the property only.

In February we sent out a number of courtesy notices on listings that included more than one owner name in the first owner name field. This courtesy notice was created in 2018 to remind subscribers that there are two owner name fields in RMLSweb. Both owner name fields are provided to ZipLogix and when a subscriber uses MLS Connect or MLS Push to autofill information into ZipLogix, the information is auto filled as appropriate. This is not a rules violation but simply a way that RMLS™ is working to help educate our subscribers where we can.

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 January and February 2019, no formal rules violations were filed by RMLS™ subscribers.

INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

In January and February 2019, RMLS™ Data Accuracy staff reviewed 34,656 listings and found the following informal violations:

Following are the courtesy notifications sent to RMLS™ subscribers in January and February 2019:

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 2018

by RMLS Communication Department | Mar 8, 2019

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. We hear from many of you: in 2018 our team handled 3,737 phone calls!

You can probably imagine how busy that keeps our small staff, and in 2018 we started using new software, called Listing Data Checker (LDC), to help us spot and correct issues more proactively. LDC helps automate simple tasks that used to take staff time every single work day.

We track 30 specific issues in LDC. 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 in 2018 there were eight formal violations that resulted in $1,400 in fines being collected.

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 2018, eight formal rules violations were filed, with a grand total of $1,400 in fines levied. Following is a list of the specific violations:

• 5.1L Unauthorized Use of a Lockbox: Buyer’s agent let buyers into a listing, then left them there to go to another listing. Seller’s agent came to the listing to discover the buyers inside the listing without their agent present.
• 5.1S Marketing of Listing Prior to Publication: Buyers contacted their agent to inquire about a property with a sign that they wanted to see. The listing was not in RMLSweb as either an excluded listing or in CSN status. The listing was put in as an active listing one week after the buyer’s agent contacted the seller’s agent.
• 5.1S Marketing of Listing Prior to Publication: Subscriber noticed a yard sign on a property on a Thursday. By the following Monday the listing had not been entered into RMLSweb. Property was made active six calendar days after sign was put on property.
• 5.1S Marketing of Listing Prior to Publication: Subscriber found a “Coming Soon” listing on a public Facebook page.
• 5.1S Marketing of Listing Prior to Publication: Subscriber saw a sign on a property saying that it was “Coming Soon.” When they checked RMLSweb, they found the property was not yet listed. When they made inquiries with the seller’s firm they were told that it would be live in five calendar days.
• 5.1L Unauthorized Use of a Lockbox: Seller’s listing was in pending status and had been for four days. Another agent entered property without contacting seller’s agent or making an appointment.
• 5.1L Unauthorized Use of a Lockbox: Seller’s listing was in pending status for 18 days when another agent entered property without permission.
• 5.1G Sold or Leased Input Over 144 Hours from Effective Date: A property sold on Monday and the status was not updated from pending to sold for four weeks.

INFORMAL VIOLATIONS

In 2018, the Data Accuracy staff reviewed 438,452 listings and found the following informal violations.

Following are the courtesy notifications sent to RMLS™ subscribers in 2018, largely through the work of LDC.

You can see we have our work cut out for us in Data Accuracy! When we notice an uptick in a specific type of violation (perhaps a rule has 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.