RMLS™ Rules Roundup for November 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, through email, or directly by phone.
We track 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
One of the top three violations that we see consistently is Personal Promotion in the public remarks, photos, or video tours. The first two are easy to spot and easy to fix. Video tours, on the other hand, can be tricky. Whether you are making the video yourself or not, it is important to ensure that the video tour does not contain your branding. An unbranded version of the video is what you are going to want to link to in your RMLS™ listing.
You also need to make sure that the page where the video is hosted does not have any information that could be considered branding, such as your name, your firm’s name or logo or contact information. If you have any questions prior to adding a video tour to your listing, please reach out to the Data Accuracy team and we will be happy to help.
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 did not review any cases in November 2020.
INFORMAL VIOLATIONS
In November 2020, the RMLS™ Data Accuracy staff reviewed 22,671 listings in addition to the 332 notices sent through the “Report Issue” button on RMLSweb. Of the items reviewed, 963 violation notices and 1,681 courtesy notices were sent out. In addition our team handled 384 phone calls.
| Category | November |
| Missing Tax ID | 274 |
| Personal Promotion | 93 |
| Incorrect or Missing Information | 90 |
| Property Condition | 70 |
| Missing School | 59 |
| Incorrect Status | 54 |
| Missing Owner Name | 44 |
| Duplicate Listing | 40 |
| Incorrect First Photo | 33 |
| No Showings | 31 |
| Incorrect Property Type | 26 |
| Is Property a Condo | 21 |
| Duplicate Listing in Different Categories | 13 |
| Listing Input in Incorrect MLS area | 12 |
| Conditions to Compensation | 11 |
| Inaccurate Lot Size | 11 |
| Partial Bathrooms 5+ | 8 |
| City Unknown | 5 |
| Address Issues | 4 |
| HUD | 3 |
| Missing SQFT by Level | 1 |
The following are the courtesy notifications sent to RMLS™ subscribers in November 2020:
| Category | November |
| Listing is Set to Expire | 828 |
| Listing Still Pending | 549 |
| Multiple Owner Names in First Field | 186 |
| Listing Status Changed from PEN to SLD > 24 hours | 60 |
| New Listing Input Over 24 Hours | 57 |
| Listing Status Change > 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.