Report Issue Button a Boost for Data Accuracy

RMLS™ subscribers got an easier way to communicate with us about data inaccuracies when the Report Issue button (above) was added to the bottom of all Agent Full reports during our RMLSweb system improvements in January.

Since it was released on January 30th, more than 2,000 issues have been reported (averaging about 400 per month)!

If you haven’t yet explored this feature, when the Report Issue button is clicked a form pops up with the listing number and other identifying information already filled in (right). There is a menu of 12 options that can be selected.

Look below to see how the options ranked in the number of reports we have received.

Other is partly a catch-all of general inquiries, but one category that comes up frequently is corrections to the Comparable Information section for sold listings. We have even received compliments for the listing agent in this category. We were thrilled to read this issue report:

Please let the listing agent know what a great job she did on this listing. All the information is there that I need to help my client.

Vallerie Bush and Wanda Kennedy make up the RMLS™ team that ensures all reported data inaccuracies get resolved, and they are enthusiastic about this boost for RMLS™ data accuracy. (In addition to responding to issues reported through the Report Issue button, they field many phone calls and emails.) Wanda says:

I have only heard good things regarding the rules button. The subscribers say it saves them so much time. When they see something wrong with a listing they can send it in right then and there. I think it was a great idea!

Vallerie adds,

It is faster and more convenient to send a rules violation to RMLS™. I like it because it usually has most of the information needed when processing.

Keep the reports coming! Accurate data helps all of our subscribers and the buyers and sellers they serve.

RMLS™ Rules and Regulations Quiz: Do You Know The Answers?

Take our most recent 5-question quiz to see if you know your Rules and Regs information!

Every so often, we publish an RMLS™ Rules and Regulations quiz on the RMLSweb Desktop. We thought we’d also post them here on the blog! Test your knowledge by taking our interactive quiz! Click on the play button on the image below, or take the quiz by clicking here.

Want to brush up on your RMLS™ Rules and Regulations knowledge? Click here to view the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations Document # 1450.

Questions? Please send an email to rules@rmls.com or go to the Questions/Comments section in Toolkit on the RMLSweb desktop page (choose the Rules and Regulations subject) if you have any questions or concerns regarding Rules and Regulations or data accuracy.

The Offer of Compensation

Guest blog post written by Gail Hare, RMLS™ Executive Vice President

One of the core elements of a Multiple Listing Service is the offer of compensation. Each listing entered into RMLS™ shows the amount of the cooperating compensation in the BAC fields. This informs other MLS participants about their expected compensation before they try to sell the listing. Any change must be communicated in writing before an offer is submitted.

The cooperating commission is shown as a specific dollar amount or as a percentage of the gross selling price. The commission of the Listing Broker is never displayed. The total commission negotiated between the Listing Broker and the Seller is also never disclosed.

Dual or Variable Rate Commission

Some listing agreements have special terms if the Listing Broker also represents the buyer. Those terms state that total commission differs when there is no Cooperating Broker in the sale. This could affect the relative attractiveness of competing offers. Listings have a required field called “Total Commission Differs If Sold In House.” This is checked YES to alert MLS subscribers about this condition.

Short Sale Considerations

Short sales present many challenges. The lender may require a reduction in the gross commission as a condition of approving the sale. The Listing Broker may use the Private Remarks to describe how any reduction will be apportioned. If there is no notification by this or other means, Cooperating Brokers can reasonably expect the published compensation.

Remember!

Compensation and the division of compensation is not fixed or controlled in any way. Each Listing Broker independently decides the commission for each listing.

Disputes between REALTORS® regarding offers of compensation are resolved through arbitration and mediation.

For More Information

Read Section 6 of the RMLS™ Rules and Regulations to learn more about commissions, and Rule 3.25 to learn more about how short sales are handled. Please contact our Rules staff if you have questions. Call Vallerie Bush, Rules Administrator, at 503-872-8045 or Wanda Kennedy, Rules Representative, at 503-872 8084. They can also be reached by email at Rules@rmls.com.

RMLS™ Rules and Regulations Process

By Vallerie Bush, RMLS™ Rules Compliance Administrator

In November of 2010, we conducted our second subscriber satisfaction survey. The goal was to gather feedback regarding subscribers’ impressions of our service. Results of the survey showed us that many subscribers had questions or confusion regarding our Rules and Regulations process. We hope to clear up some of this confusion in this article.

Informal Violations. First, informal violations are received several different ways; fax, email, telephone, the Questions and Comments section on RMLSweb, and sometimes in the mail. Once the complaint is received and reviewed, the listing agent is contacted to correct the violation. This is done via email or a telephone call with a time frame to correct the listing. If the listing has not been corrected within the time frame, the Participant Broker is copied when a second request is sent. The source of the informal complaint remains anonymous in this process. The number of informal violations processed for 2010 was 14,868 with the top issues being Personal Promotion, Invalid Owner Name, Incorrect Photographs, and Incorrect Property Type.

Audits. There are several in-house audits that are conducted on a daily basis. The following items are checked on listings:

Virtual tours for personal promotion
HUD violations
Appropriate first photograph
Public remarks for personal promotion
The BAC field for presence of compensation (there is no required amount or percentage)
The address field for extra wording that is not part of the address (i.e. private road, lot number, cul-de-sac, etc.)
The remarks section for conditions to compensation

After the audit, the violations regarding HUD, virtual tours, personal promotion and extra wording in the address fields are corrected by staff with a follow-up email to the listing agent. The other audits checked have emails sent to the listing agent to have the listings corrected in a timely manner. If the listing has not been corrected, the listing agent is sent a second request with a copy to the Participant Broker.

Computer Generated Emails. Computer generated emails are sent when a listing is saved and the tax ID number field is “not found” or when the school fields list “other” as the school. There are also computer generated emails sent when a listing has been in pending status for more than 100 days that ask to verify that the listing is in the correct status. There are a total of 4 emails sent out with the last one being sent to the Rules and Regulations email folder for follow-up. The listing agent can respond to the email with an explanation and the violation is then reviewed and discussed with the listing agent.

Formal Violations. Formal violations are reported using document #1452. A formal process begins with a letter sent to the respondent and the complainant. The respondent is given the opportunity to respond to the violation. The formal violation and the response are presented to the Rules and Regulations Committee to determine if a fine will be levied. The respondent has a chance to appeal the decision through a Hearings process. Unlike informal complaints, the source of the complaint cannot be anonymous. There were a total of 4 formal violations processed in 2010.

The RMLS™ Rules and Regulations Department has determined by using education and pro-active audits how to make RMLS™ the most valuable tool it can for its REALTOR® subscribers. We follow up on every question and report and welcome every opportunity to increase our database accuracy. Please send an email to rules@rmls.com or go to the Questions/Comments section in Toolkit on the RMLSweb desktop page (choose the Rules and Regulations subject) if you have any questions or concerns regarding data accuracy.

How Should Agents Use the Private Remarks?

What Information Do You Want To See There?

We often get requests to post messages on RMLSweb suggesting that agents use the Private Remarks in a certain way. For example, I received these two requests this week:

Please ask agents to include when there is no water or power in the Private Remarks.
Please remind agents that adding “No showings till MM/DD” in the remarks field is a rules violation.

As a general rule of thumb, we recommend that the Public Remarks be used for information about the property and the Private Remarks be reserved for information pertinent to other agents. But, apart from the following two sections of RMLS™ Rules that mention the Private Remarks directly, we don’t have any official guidelines for how to use these fields in the listing input forms:

3.12: … “A listing which excludes individually named prospective Purchasers, as may be agreed to by the Seller and Listing Broker, shall clearly indicate such exemption in the Agent/Private Remarks when loaded into the RMLS™ System by the Listing Broker or (in the case of RMLS™ load) on the Listing Data Input Form. Commercial Lease listings do not have the List Type field.”
3.25: … “How the reduction is allocated in a Short Sale is at the listing broker’s sole discretion, as long as the method (not the amount) of such allocation is set forth in the Listing’s private remarks, or the cooperating broker, in his discretion, has agreed to the allocation in writing after the offer has been presented. This section does not apply to the Commercial Lease category.”

So, what do you think? What are some examples of your best practices regarding Private Remarks? What would you like to see from other agents? Let them know by commenting below.

Rules Changes Coming July 1

For a summary of the National Association of Realtors® recommended changes that were approved by the RMLS™ Board of Directors click here. These changes go into effect July 1.