Ever find an under construction listing on RMLSweb and wonder why an actual home appears in the photographs? Ever show an empty house and wonder where all the furniture in the listing photos went? We’d like to help.

RMLS™ will release a new feature Monday, August 22nd, designed to help clarify listing photos uploaded to RMLSweb. Two types of photos will now require watermarks: photos with virtual staging, and photos of a model home.

Photos that are virtually staged include furniture and other items that have been added electronically to a photograph. Under construction or proposed listings that feature an actual built house in photographs are not an exact representation of the listed property, and as such will need to be flagged as a sample image.

If you have a listing with either or both of these features, you can set the watermark(s) in Listing Load on RMLSweb. Open the photo loader, and check the appropriate box(es) in the right hand corner. Don’t forget to save the changes.

Checking these boxes will create watermarks on listing photos that read “virtually staged” or “sample image,” eliminating confusion about the photographs.

Saving a photo with checkbox(es) marked permanently alters the image stored on RMLS™ servers. This means if you accidentally add a watermark in error, you’ll need to delete the photo and upload a clean copy using the photo loader.

Do note that when preparing a new listing, the listing will need to be published before the Sample Image box is available in Listing Load.

The RMLS™ Rules and Regulations have been revised to reflect these new photo requirements, which take effect as soon as the feature is rolled out on Monday, August 22nd.

Confused by the new change? Need advice about a specific listing? Contact the RMLS™ Help Desk at (503) 872-8002 or (877) 256-2169.