Who's afraid of the big bad wolf...The board and MLS

[jessiesc]

Hi everyone,

I recently posted a blog on AR about unusual listings (for example, condo parking spaces advertised as condos) in the local MLS and invited comments about other unusual listings that were creating confusion for agents.

What's interesting, is not so much the public comments I've received, but the private emails.

In public, it seems the comments are in support of the unusual listings as long as the agent disclosed the fact the listing was for parking spaces.

In private however, I got several emails speaking of nightmare situations many agents are experiencing with their local boards and mls systems.

It seems this has touched a nerve...

Here are some of the items I've been informed about (without names of agents or boards):

• Photos not matching property listing
• Main photo being mismatched to a bathroom photo
• Not disclosing to agents that there was a problem until the agents found out about it
• Forcing agents to place a Front picture of a house, when the selling points are inside. If no front picture, a fine is issued.
• All listings must a have at least one photo or a fine is imposed
• Rediculous rules for placing listings in mls or fines are imposed. Example: All listings must have a school associated with it. If there is no school for the area in mls, one can't be selected (because of backend rules checking) and the agent is fined. Agent can request a school be added, but in the meantime the fine stands

It seems, the agent boards are fining the people they work for! How does that work?

IMO, the boards are a service agents pay for. Agents as the independent contractors are their customers.

I would think agents paying for a MLS service should expect more from the service then this type of behaviour. I would also think, mls commitees would do more to find a way to categorize types of listings, rather than focus on the more mundane items such as: Fining agents for not having a picture of the front of the property.

Thoughts?

[metaylor9]

I am probably on my own here, but I disagree for the most part. Yes, sometimes boards can get out of control and levy fines for ridiculous things. However, the main reason they are doing things like this is to maintain the integrity of the data which Realtors input.
If the data we input is wrong or missing, the MLS and all of our IDX's become irrelevant.

[Eric Blackwell]

After thinking on that...

I kind of fall in line with Mike...up to a point. I think that rules such as post a photo or get a fine are PERFECTLY reasonable. If you are not posting a photo of a property that you list these days, that is tantamount to malpractice IMO...

Being a REALTOR in a community NEEDS to mean something and we NEED IMO to keep those who don't do BASIC practices out...

On the other side, is it possible to run amok with this and legislate too much. Absolutely!

It is a balancing act that REW knows well in my estimation...accomodate members to build the community, but also protect the overall value and integrity of the community by some sound fundamental base level practices that need to be adhered to...

Jessie--I do leave open the possibility that the pendulum may have swung a bit far in your specific case.

Best;

Eric

[NealRM]

Are your board member elected?

[jessiesc]

Thanks for responding, I knew I could count on the contributions here

So a few items of clarity:

First of all, I agree, rules and standards of practice are important to maintain integrity and support OUR customers. But they must be applied fairly and without bias and with intent of providing accurate timely information to the public and other agents.

Yes, our board is members elected, however the committees are not.

I also feel that fines levied should be given the opportunity of being waived if an agent unknowingly posts something outside the guidelines (which IMO btw, should be posted somewhere on the mls site) but fixes the issue in a reasonable amount of time.

Let's use this example: A parking space for sale, has no other category other than "Condo" in our mls. So of course, I don't fault the agent for placing the listing. I do however, fault the mls committee and overseers for not providing an 'Other' category. When a customer searches for condos and up pops a $29,500 CND listing. They immediately, drop what they're doing and call their trusted source. Agents then have to take the time to expalin, it's a parking space not a condo.

You can't really fault the customer for not displaying the details or reading the entire post (which it does say parking space in the remarks). They get excited and do what IMO they would do naturally.

Thanks again for everyones insight and opinions.

I just love this place

[Steve Didier]

Some regulation is needed, definitely. Some of you are familiar with Propertyline (a commercial listing service) and the chaos involved when trying to search for a specific type of property there. There is no regulation and agents can input their properties in ANY category they choose.

I was doing a very specific search the other day for a distribution center with a minimum of two dock level loading doors and over half of the 60 or so listings that came up were retail or 100% office space. It's ridiculous.

On the other hand, I just received a fine for $250 from our wonderful MLS because one of my listings did not close on time and I forgot to change the estimated close date in the MLS. First time offense = $250. That's a load of BS, IMO.

[jessiesc]

On the other hand, I just received a fine for $250 from our wonderful MLS because one of my listings did not close on time and I forgot to change the estimated close date in the MLS. First time offense = $250. That's a load of BS, IMO.

This is EXACTLY what I am referring to...

That is completely unreasonable IMO!

[Steve Didier]

This is EXACTLY what I am referring to...

That is completely unreasonable IMO!

It's CRAP!! CRAP, I say!!

[metaylor9]

First of all, I agree, rules and standards of practice are important to maintain integrity and support OUR customers. But they must be applied fairly and without bias and with intent of providing accurate timely information to the public and other agents.

It sounds like we all pretty much agree on this one. There are some fines that are justified and needed to protect the integrity of the data, but some of the examples mentioned above are just out of control.

[NealRM]

I agree these fines are crazy. I will give you my standard advise in situations like this: "You can either complain about it or do something about it, the choice is yours".

Jessie, you make some good points. I suggest you run for a board position and make the needed corrections.