RMLS™ is gearing up for its annual forms change on RMLSweb. Later this spring subscribers will notice terminology changes, major revisions to the Oregon and Washington listing contracts, and other notable changes on RMLSweb.

Forms changes happen regularly on RMLSweb. Each change has been approved by the RMLS™ Forms Committee based on the feedback provided through hundreds of subscriber comments. Recommendations were then reviewed and approved by the RMLS™ Board of Directors.

Implementation of these changes is quite a task, largely on the part of the RMLSweb development team. An overnight outage will take place in late April/early May to allow for this extra work.

Once the forms change is live, here are a few of the biggest pieces you’ll see.

Terminology Change

Have you ever had a conversation about the selling agent where one person was referring to the seller’s agent and the other person was referring to the buyer’s agent? We certainly have. To help reduce confusion, we will be changing how we refer to listing agent/office, co-listing agent/office, and selling agent/office. They will now be referred as seller’s agent/office, co-seller’s agent/office, and buyer’s agent/office.  

Townhouse/Planned Community Requirement Change

For residential listings where property type is attached, townhouse, or planned community AND HOA is no, the Townhouse/Planned Community Supplement will still be available but the required fields will now be unrequired. 

Listing Contract Addendum Changes

The Listing Contract Addendum (Long) will be split into two new addenda: a Withdrawal Addendum and a Cancellation/Termination Addendum. The Listing Contract Addendum (Short) will be renamed to Listing Contract Addendum. The comparable data section will be removed and headers will be added to better separate the three types of changes: expiration date change, list price change, and miscellaneous change.

Status Change to POP/PEN – Field Changes

The buyer’s agent/office will only be identified when a listing changes to SLD/SNL status. When a listing changes to PEN/POP status, the unrequired buyer’s agent/office fields will no longer be available.

Oregon and Washington Listing Contact Changes

The Oregon and Washington Listing Contracts are undergoing major revisions this year. Sections have been rearranged into a more logical order to facilitate discussions between seller(s) and selling agents. Row numbers were added, the text size was increased, and more space was added to the signature section of each contract. In addition to these layout changes, many sections received language changes as noted in the summary document (see link below). Required Detectors is a section that has been added, and the “list price” portion of the Brokerage Fee section has been broken out into its own section as well. 

Changes to the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations

Language will be added to Section 3.21 of the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations to state that the seller’s broker may provide a code to a specific user with the owner’s permission. 

3.21 RMLS™ Lockbox System. RMLS™ shall provide a lockbox system to active Subscribers legally eligible for RMLS™ access for the purpose of legitimate real estate business subject to their execution of a user agreement. This agreement shall provide that lockbox access devices may not be used under any circumstances by anyone other than the lockbox system user. The only exception is where the Listing Broker provides a code to a specific user with owner permission. The lockbox system shall be provided by a recognized lockbox vendor and it shall comply with current NAR® security requirements.

Office Email Required for Real Estate Offices in Washington

Real estate offices in Washington will be required to provide an office email. This email address will appear in the office roster search and will be viewable on agent reports.

Looking for More Detail?

Dig into this spring’s forms changes with the following:
• View a complete summary of forms changes scheduled for this spring.
• Preview revised input, and supplement listing forms. (Green highlights indicate new items, blue indicate items that have moved location, and yellow highlights indicate items which have been changed.)
• Preview updated Oregon and Washington listing contracts.