Hi! I'm Michael Espiritu and I serve as the East Valley Association of REALTORS® MLS Committee Chairman and as the East Valley Association of REALTORS® MRMLS Director. The MLS is THE MOST IMPORTANT and vital component we have as REALTORS®. Maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the data in the MLS is just as vital.
Some of you know that I address MLS related issues at the General Membership meetings. Our goal is to get the word out on a wider scale through our website. Because of lack of space in our newsletter and the importance of MLS issues to our livelihood it may be necessary to go more in-depth on some of these important topics. The MLS is a constantly evolving entity that changes as breakthroughs in technology evolve. The MATRIX system through MRMLS strives to bring that new technology to the fingertips of we who utilize the MLS. The Operations Committee discusses problems that our members may encounter and ways to better the experience we have when using the MLS.
An important issue right now is the implementation of CARETS (California Real Estate Technology Service). There are 5 MLS's in CARETS and the data from each MLS is translated into a standard format. There is nothing new to learn with CARETS but the benefit is that the data, MLS rules, and violations are all standardized. We no longer have to join multiple MLS's to get data or list in other MLS regions. CARETS currently has over 103,000 users. There are more MLS's joining and the Desert Area will soon be a part of CARETS. We are actively negotiating with Sandicor. CalREDD, financially backed by CAR is not ready for release yet but has stated that it would like to be a member of CARETS. We welcome CalREDD and they will have the same representation and must abide by the CARETS Rules and Regulations as the other members of CARETS.
There has been a change in the photo policy that has reduced the number of days to get an exterior photo of a listing to 5 days. Being that a diligent visual inspection is required to take a listing it is a good idea to take pictures at that time. No picture by day 6 is a violation and you can be fined for not correcting. There must be one picture of the front exterior. You can also place up to 25 photos for a listing. An interesting fact about picture count is that the more pictures your listing has the more views it will get and it can affect the ranking of your listing and where it shows up on searches.
Incorrect Status changes seem to be the most frustrating problem for our members. The MLS Rules and Regs state that if a seller has accepted an offer the status must be changed to Pending or Back-Up. There are no exceptions. On a short sale, if the seller has accepted an offer and waiting for bank approval the status is Pending or Back-Up. Incorrect Status is a fineable offense. Please make every effort to putting correct status information into the MLS. It is a waste of client time and agent time looking at property that already is in escrow or unavailable to show.
MRMLS Board of Directors approved making HOA a mandatory field. Upon taking a listing find out if there is a HOA and how much it is. This is very important to any prospective buyers.
Another value added service that the East Valley Association of REALTORS® and MRMLS are providing is Smart Fax. You can digitize, store and send your documents in a safe and secure environment and it is integrated with Smart Trac for seamless access and efficiency.
One last issue needs discussion. Currently placing sale type in the property description is a violation. Because the public has access and sees the property description on MLS websites we would like to be able to state that it is a Standard Sale, a Short Sale, Probate, REO, etc. in the description without it being a fine. The CARETS BOD just rejected that proposal.
The East Valley Association of REALTORS® is drafting a petition for members to sign stating that we want the sales type in the description to no longer be a violation. As I stated earlier the MLS is not a stagnant body but is constantly changing and we feel this issue is important enough to try to have the CARETS BOD revisit their earlier decision.
Please contact me with any questions or concerns regarding any MLS issue. Your input is important and I am pleased to be able to serve our members in this important undertaking.
MLS Committee Chairman
MRMLS Director
East Valley Association of REALTORS® Director Region #3
mikeespiritubroker@gmail.com
Cell: 951-961-5110
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