RMLS™ Rules Roundup for September 2020
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 an 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 an RMLS™ subscriber contacts us — whether that is via the “Report Issue” button on a listing, by email, or contacting us directly by phone.
We tracked 34 specific issues in Listing Data Checker (LDC), the software that helps us spot and correct issues proactively. Eight of these are courtesy notifications, but the other 26 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
It is important to make sure your listing receives timely status change updates. This is vital to providing accurate property content in the MLS for all RMLS™ subscribers. Since July we have seen a rise in the number of listings that remain in Pending (PEN) status for more than 90 days. Between July and August of this year there was nearly a 60% increase in the number of listings remaining in Pending (PEN) status for more than 90 days and between August to September there was an almost 30% increase.
Courtesy email notifications are sent out to Seller’s Agents to remind them to check the status of their listing. If you receive one from us please double check your listing’s status and respond to the email to let us know the correct status so we can update our records.
TIP: Prior to scheduling a showing, it’s important to double check the listing for any special showing accommodation requests or notes from the seller(s) and/or Seller’s Agent. Be safe out there!
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.
The committee reviewed one case in September 2020 that resulted in $1000 in fines.
- 5.1.l – Unauthorized use of lockbox system: A Buyer’s Agent shared a lockbox code with someone.
INFORMAL VIOLATIONS
In September 2020, the RMLS™ Data Accuracy staff reviewed 30,834 listings in addition to the 461 notices sent through the “Report Issue” button on RMLSweb. Of the items reviewed, 1,160 violation notices and 2,187 courtesy notices were sent out. In addition our team handled 308 phone calls.
| Missing Tax ID | 267 |
| Personal Promotion | 145 |
| Incorrect or Missing Information | 142 |
| Property Condition | 108 |
| Missing School | 95 |
| No Showings | 66 |
| Missing Owner Name | 59 |
| Incorrect Status | 46 |
| Property Condition | 66 |
| Duplicate Listing | 41 |
| Is Property a Condo | 24 |
| Incorrect Property Type | 23 |
| Incorrect First Photo | 17 |
| Conditions to Compensation | 15 |
| Duplicate Listing in Different Categories | 15 |
| Listing Input in Incorrect MLS area | 8 |
| Inaccurate Lot Size | 8 |
| Missing Condo Unit Number | 6 |
| Partial Bathrooms 5+ | 5 |
| Address Issues | 5 |
| City Unknown | 5 |
| HUD | 5 |
The following are the courtesy notifications sent to RMLS™ subscribers in September 2020:
| Category | September |
| Listing is Set to Expire | 984 |
| Listing Still Pending | 585 |
| Multiple Owner Names in First Field | 432 |
| New Listing Input Over 24 Hours | 108 |
| Listing Still in On Market Status, Public Records Show Sold | 22 |
| Listing Status Changed from PEN to SLD > 24 hours | 11 |
| 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 leading 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 have questions about RMLS™ Rules and Regulations or the data accuracy of specific listings, or simply want to chat with us more about the above information.