Public Marketing Guidelines for Clear Cooperation:

Publicly advertised properties must be in one of the following types or they are fineable Clear Cooperation violations:

• Active listing in the MLS (with or without a future Showing Start Date)
• Coming Soon listing in the MLS (with a future Active on MLS Date)
• Written permission from seller to advertise without listing agreement. 
  • Permission MUST be in writing.
  • This requires verbiage “No Listing Contract” to be prominently displayed.
  • Office Exclusive (listing agreement signed with a List Date in the future.)
    • Marketing permitted ONLY within the brokerage.

Clear Cooperation-related Changes to the MLS Rules and Regulations:

• Section 1.18 Temporary Off Market Properties:
  • No showings permitted.
  • Written directive from seller required to return to active
  • Sign should remain on the property.
• Section 1.19 Marketing a Property Without a Listing Agreement:
  • Requires seller’s written consent.
  • Marketing must prominently display “No Listing Contract”.
• Section 1.20 Showings required within 72 hours of Back on Market:
  • Must begin showing within 72 hours or take off market.
  • Unless it is “curb offers only”.

Clear Cooperation-related fines added:

• 1.05.04 Showing a listing during a No Showings Allowed Period:
  • This fine will be assessed for showing a listing:Before the Showing Start Date (for Active listings).Before the Active on MLS date (for Coming Soon).While in the Temporary Off Market Status.Fine assessed to both the listing and buyer agents. $1000 for the first offense, $2500 for the second and $5000 for the third.
• 1.02.17 Failure to display “No Listing Contract” for properties without a listing agreement:
  • The words “No Listing Contract” must be prominently displayed on advertising when a property is marketed without a listing contract. The fine will be a Tier One violation which receives a warning, then $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second and $500 for the third.

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11/02/2020

Coming Soon Status Rules:

• Listings may remain in “Coming Soon” status for a maximum of 30 days
  • The “Coming Soon period” is measured from List Date to “Active on MLS Date”
• Yard signs require a “Coming Soon” rider during the “Coming Soon” status period
• Advertising is allowed on agent and/or broker social media and personal website only (no third-party syndication or lead gen sites)
• Showings are not allowed while listing is in Coming Soon status.
• Days on Market will not accumulate while a listing is in Coming Soon status.

More information will be made available over the coming days. Be on the lookout for a Coming Soon FAQ and video. Links will be provided in e-Notes this week. There will also be a full article in In Contract magazine.

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Ever wonder why things happen in the MLS or think about serving on the MLS Committee and wonder how that’s done? The process to serve on this committee is different than any other. First, it’s an elected committee with a limited number of seats determined by a weighted formula based on the MLS’s number of agents, listings, solds and offices. The number of seats available can change each year based on this formula or elected members whose term ends. This number can sometimes also change as a result of members simply changing offices and then perhaps no longer representing the group from which they were elected. You can find more details on the election process here.

Seats available for firms with 0-25 listings per year: 1
Seats available for firms with 26-100 listings per year: 2
Seats available for firms with 101-500 listings per year: 4
Seats available for firms with 501-1000 listings per year: 1

Interested in Running?

Follow these steps to throw your hat in the ring:

1. If you are not the Broker for your company, you must obtain permission from your Broker to be considered for the ballot.
2. Submit a brief bio or resume (including photo) by Monday Nov. 2nd, 2020 at 4:00pm to the MLS at Columbus REALTORS®

Your bio and resume will be presented to the MLS Nominating Committee who are selected at the Annual Business Meeting.   The five selected Brokers that serve on the Nominating Committee, as well as the current MLS Committee Chair and the President Elect, meet in November to select candidates.  A ballot is created for the annual election where only brokers vote.   Members who wish to volunteer their time to serve are very much in demand by the Nominating Committee and always appreciated.

Questions?

Review the information linked to the main Columbus REALTORS® site or you can contact Matt Warren at (614) 475-4000 or email mlselections@columbusrealtors.com

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10/30/2020

The hosting team with FBS (our mls vendor) is looking into the issue with system slowness and it’s pointed directly to a service provider (Telia) issue between Chicago and Omaha.

As such, FBS is continuing to monitor the issue, but as of now, it appears that it is related to a connectivity issue between servers. 

We will provide updates as they are received.

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10/16/2020

As per our Realist vendor, Corelogic, there is a known connectivity issue with Realist as of today, 10/16/2020. They are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Below is the message from our vender.

To: Valued CoreLogic Real Estate Solutions Clients

Realist is intermittently unavailable.  The technical teams are working to restore Realist service as soon as possible.  We will provide updates as they are available. We regret the inconvenience this causes you and your members.

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Ever wonder why things happen in the MLS or think about serving on the MLS Committee and wonder how that’s done? The process to serve on this committee is different than any other. First, it’s an elected committee with a limited number of seats determined by a weighted formula based on the MLS’s number of agents, listings, solds and offices. The number of seats available can change each year based on this formula or elected members whose term ends. This number can sometimes also change as a result of members simply changing offices and then perhaps no longer representing the group from which they were elected. You can find more details on the election process here.

Interested in Running?

Follow these steps to throw your hat in the ring:

1. If you are not the Broker for your company, you must obtain permission from your Broker to be considered for the ballot.
2. Submit a brief bio or resume (including photo) by Monday Nov. 2nd, 2020 at 4:00pm to the MLS at Columbus REALTORS®

Your bio and resume will be presented to the MLS Nominating Committee who are selected at the Annual Business Meeting.   The five selected Brokers that serve on the Nominating Committee, as well as the current MLS Committee Chair and the President Elect, meet in November to select candidates.  A ballot is created for the annual election where only brokers vote.   Members who wish to volunteer their time to serve are very much in demand by the Nominating Committee and always appreciated.

Questions?

Review the information linked to the main Columbus REALTORS® site or you can contact Matt Warren at (614) 475-4000 or email mlselections@columbusrealtors.com

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10/14/2020

As per our Realist vendor, Corelogic, there may be a service interruption with Realist tomorrow, 10/14/2020 at 9:00PM PT (12:00AM ET).

Below is the message from our vendor:

CoreLogic will be conducting maintenance tomorrow, Wednesday, October 14, 2020 beginning at 9:00 PM PT and lasting about an hour.  Realist may potentially be unavailable during this maintenance.  

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10/13/2020

Every Realtor® hates it, but sometimes it happens. A deal in the final stages falls through and now your listing needs to be put back on the market, but for some reason the MLS will not let you. Here, we will go over how to fix that.

Where to Start

To begin, we will need go to the Edit Listing section of the listing in question. To get there, we’ll go to the Menu button in the upper left corner, right below the Columbus MLS logo, as seen here.

Click Menu and then click Edit Listing. Alternatively, you can click the MLS number if you’ve got the listing open and click Edit Listing, as seen below.

Removing the Contingency

The first instinct for most is to click Edit Current Status and change their listing back to Active. This is where the MLS will stop you. The MLS counts contingencies as a separate status, and they need to be removed manually before you can go back to Active. It’s often overlooked but Add/Remove Contingency can be seen below.

Click Add/Remove Contingency and change it to No Contingency. Once this is complete, your listing will kick back over to Pending. From there, you can click Edit Current Status and move it to Active. This works for all contingencies.

Viola!

Your listing is now back on the market for new buyers.

Did you enjoy this MLS tip? Keep an eye out for new ones!

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10/02/2020

The Auditor’s office is due to perform essential server maintenance in coordination with the County Data Center starting today, Friday, Oct. 2, at 7:30p and ending tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 3 by 3:30a. This will impact the Auditor website functions.

What this means for Columbus REALTORS® members: Property search functions of the Auditor’s website will be unavailable during this time period. We understand it creates an inconvenience but wanted to make you and your members aware of this disruption so they can modify their needs accordingly.  The Auditor’s office stands by to answer any questions you may have regarding this notification.

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Sections 1.18 and 1.19 (below) were added to the MLS Rules & Regulations in July by action of the MLS Board of Directors.

SECTION 1.18 TEMPORARY OFF MARKET PROPERTIES:

a. No showings while in the status of “Temporary Off Market”
b. Written direction from the seller must be obtained to return the listing to “Active Status”
c. It is recommended that the sign should remain on the property during the “Temporary Off Market” status
(Adopted 7/20)

SECTION 1.19 MARKETING OF A PROPERTY WITHOUT A LISTING AGREEMENT:
Seller’s consent must be obtained in writing prior to marketing and/or signage being placed on the property. (Ohio law does not require a listing agreement to advertise a property, however, you must have seller’s consent to market the property.)
a. Any marketing of said property must include the disclaimer “no listing contract”.
(Adopted 7/20)

Original Post 20200814

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08/14/2020