A change was made in 2016 that affects what can be said about listings that are “Back on the Market” because of buyer related matters. The policy is listed below:

1.02.13 – Comments Specific to Buyers in the Property Description Field

Comments specific to buyers or buyer-related information, including financing concerns, are not permitted in the Property Description field.  The comment “Back On Market – See Agent to Agent Remarks” is permitted. MLS staff is authorized to delete wording as needed to make the Property Description compliant with this policy.  The policy will be effective Immediately with enforcement beginning November 1, 2016

Some examples of phrases that are not permitted are listed below:

Back On Market – Buyer’s Financing Fell Through

Back On Market – Buyer’s Unable to Perform

Back On Market – Buyers Back Out of Contract

Note: the examples above are not all inclusive. In general, any comments relating to the potential buyer and/or their part of the transaction can not be used.

For your review you can always download the latest version of the MLS Policy Violation Manual.  The manual can be downloaded in PDF format here.

If you have any questions if a phrase is acceptable or not please contact the MLS staff to verify policy compliance. email mlspolicy@columbusrealtors.com or call 614-475-4000

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08/02/2018

Please make sure to select “Yes” if you want to deliver your listing to Catylist from MLS for all Commercial, Office, Industrial and Business Op listings.

“CIE Export Y/N” is a required field in MLS for all Commercial, Office, Industrial and Business Op listings entered into the MLS. It was added to MLS in June 2018. The field determines whether the listing will be made available to Catylist. The field appears on the Edit Listing screen below the Printing Services field on the “Details” tab.  The CIE Export field does not display on listing reports.

PLEASE NOTE:
The new field was back-populated “NO” for all existing listings. All newly added listing will require the agent to manually select Yes or No before saving the listing as Active in MLS. You must manually select “YES” if you want your listing sent to Catylist.

Summary:
• New field named “CIE Export Y/N”
• Determines whether flexmls will send the listing by subscription email to Catylist staff
• Required entry for newly entered Commercial, Office, Industrial, Bus Op property types
• Existing listing were auto-popped with “NO” in this field.
• New field does not display on listing reports, only Add/Edit
• CIE Export field is located on the “Details” tab in the listing edit screen

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07/26/2018

The Auction field has been relabeled “Auction/Online Bidding” to accommodate the selection of “YES” in this field for online bidding-type auctions.  This change was made because the State of Ohio does not recognize online auction services as traditional auctions.

Help text has been added for the newly relabeled “Auction/Online Bidding” field as well as the “Additional Acceptance Conditions” field.  This help text will appear on the add/edit screen beside the fields these fields.  The text is intended to promote proper usage of these fields.  It will also clarify the label change of the Auction field.  The exact help text appears below.

1. In the Additional Acceptance Conditions field beside the Online Bidding selection: “Must be selected if an online auction service will be used for this property.”
2. Beside the Auction/Online Bidding field: If online bidding will be used for the sale of this property, select “YES” in the Auction/Online Bidding Y/N field and “online bidding” MUST be selected in the Additional Acceptance Conditions field. The State of Ohio does not recognize online auction services as “traditional auctions”.

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07/10/2018

A Realist update is scheduled for the early morning of Thursday July 12^th, 2018.  Realist may be intermittently unavailable between 1:00 AM and 5:00 AM during the installation process.

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07/09/2018

The Columbus REALTORS® association headquarters will close early at 4:00pm on Tuesday, July 3rd and all day on Wednesday, July 4th in observance of Independence Day. The association will open for normal business hours on Thursday, July 5th at 8:30am.

Schedule:
Tuesday, July 3, 2018 – Closing at 4:00pm
Wednesday, July 4, 2018 – Closed
Thursday, July 5, 2018 – Open at 8:30am

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07/03/2018

Video and audio surveillance is everywhere.  It’s on the streets and highways, in stores, in cars, and ever more frequently inside private homes.  When taking a client into a home, it is important to understand that nanny-cams and pinhole cameras may be recording everything you say and do.  While you can’t blame a homeowner for wanting to keep an eye on their property, you must be aware of the privacy concerns of the buyers as well.

View the full, state-by-state “Video and Audio Surveillance State Law Survey” on the NAR website here.  An excerpt from the NAR website regarding the laws governing surveillance in the state of Ohio appears below.

Summary for Ohio:
A person may record oral conversations where either the person is a party to the conversation or at least one of the participants has consented to the recording. A person may not surreptitiously videotape another for the purpose of viewing the body/undergarments of that person.

Statute – Communications:
A person may intercepts a wire, oral, or electronic communication, if the person is a party to the communication or if one of the parties to the communication has given the person prior consent to the interception, and if the communication is not intercepted for the purpose of committing a criminal offense or tortious. Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §2933 52(B)(4)

Statute – Videos:
No person shall secretly or surreptitiously videotape, film, photograph, or otherwise record another person under or through the clothing being worn by that other person for the purpose of viewing the body of, or the undergarments worn by, that other person. Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2907.08(D)

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06/12/2018

“CIE Export Y/N” is a new, required field in MLS for all Commercial, Office, Industrial and Business Op listings entered into the MLS.  The field determines whether the listing will be made available to Catylist.  The field will appear on the Edit Listing screen below the Printing Services field on the “Details” tab.  The CIE Export field will not display on listing reports.  The release of the new field is scheduled for June 4, 2018.  It may take a few weeks for CIE/Catylist to begin adding the listings in Catylist after the new field is created.

PLEASE NOTE:  The new field will be back-populated “NO” for all existing listings.  All newly added listing will require the agent to manually select Yes or No before saving the listing as Active in MLS.  It may require some existing listings to enter Yes/No when edited, until all existing listings are back-populated with “no”.

Summary:

• New field name “CIE Export Y/N”
• Determines whether flexmls will send the listing by subscription email to Catylist staff
• Required entry for newly entered Commercial, Office, Industrial, Bus Op property types
• Existing listing will be auto-popped with “NO” in this field. (may occur after initial field added)
• Will not display on listing reports, only Add/Edit
• Field is located on “Details” tab in the listing edit screen

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06/04/2018

The Showing Start Date field was added to our MLS almost 2 ½ years ago in December 2015. Implementation of the Showing Start Date field is a response to the “coming soon” marketing that is widely used across the country.  It is also a policy clarification and addition to allow premarketing options for MLS listed properties. Members are now able to promote those listings “not quite ready for showing” while still entering them in MLS.

The Showing Start Date field enables members to enter an exact date when showings will begin. The field is a required entry for all listings. It is important to note that NO SHOWINGS FOR ANYONE are permitted prior to the Showing Start Date.

Verbiage such as “No Showings until June 14” is allowed in the Property Description field. You may also include a reason for the delayed showings such as “new carpet being installed”.  All wording in the Property Description field is still subject to MLS policies, rules and regulations.

Read the Full Article from 2015 at columbusrealtors.com that announced Showing Start Date for additional information regarding proper utilization of this field.

For specific questions regarding showing start date and MLS policy surrounding it, please contact the MLS Policy Compliance Administrator at mlspolicy@columbusrealtors.com or (614)475-4000 during the hours of Mon-Fri 8:30a-5:00p.

Primary Policies regarding Showing Start Date/Delayed Showings

1. There may be no showings of any kind until such time as the date established as the “Showing Start Date” has been met. For the purpose of the “Showing Start Date” policy, the following would qualify as showings: Open Houses, realty tours, agent previews
2. The “Showing Start Date” may not be moved to an earlier date for any reason once it has been entered into the MLS. The only exception would be when a mistake is realized and the MLS is notified within 24 hours of entry.
3. The “Showing Start Date” is limited to a date no more than 30 days in the future. If originally set to less than thirty (30) days in the future, it can be extended. The extension cannot be further out than thirty (30) days from the original list date.
4. The “Showing Start Date” cannot be changed once it has been met. If showings must be stopped again for a period of time after the “Showing Start Date” has passed, the listing should be in the withdrawn (Temp off Market) status.
5. Any showing of a property before the “Showing Start Date” has been met is a potential violation of the NAR REALTOR® Code of Ethics. There may also be issues with Fair Housing Laws that could affect the REALTOR®, their broker and the seller.

Can I change the Showing Start Date if I made a mistake?

The Showing Start Date (SSD) field cannot be “pulled back” after a listing goes live on the MLS. You should set the SSD to the minimum future date that you believe will be necessary. That is, if you think a repair will take 3 weeks, it would be in your best interest to set the SSD only 1 or 2 weeks in the future. If you need an extra week, the date can be extended into the future, but not retracted from the original date set. You will just have to wait until the 3 weeks pass. Just remember to extend the SSD BEFORE the date passes. You will not be able to extend the date after it has already passed.

I made a mistake when I entered the Showing Start Date. Can I fix it?
If you accidentally put the Showing Start Date out too far, you MAY be able to correct it. You must contact MLS by email or phone within 24 hours of the listing entry and request that the SSD be corrected by MLS staff. Make sure to leave a message or send the email. Requests to modify the SSD that are received on weekends or holidays will be adjusted on the next business day. This is the only way to correct an error when SSD was entered. If more than 24 hours passed before you contacted MLS either by email or phone, the SSD cannot be changed according to MLS policy. You must contact MLS regardless if it is a weekend or holiday either by email or phone at mlscorrections@columbusrealtors.com or (614)475-4000.

PLEASE NOTE: Even if MLS staff is notified of an SSD error within 24 hours, the SSD can only be adjusted to the next business day since SSD cannot be entered as a past date, even by MLS staff.

Delayed Showing Authorization Form – Required for Listings with Future Showing Start Date

The Delayed Showing Authorization Form is required for any listing for which the Showing Start Date is after the List Date. (Example: List Date June 1, Showing Start Date June 10.)

Brokers are permitted to formulate their own version of the form provided the substitute form contains at least the same requirements as the MLS version of the form.

Download the Delayed Showing Authorization Form from columbusrealtors.com website or email mlscorrections@columbusrealtors.com.

Showing Start Date Displayed on Public and Private Reports

The Showing Start Date field appears at the top of the Full (1 page), Full 2-page, and Brief with Photos MLS reports. The field appears directly below the List Price/Original List Price fields at the top right corner of both the public and private versions of these reports.

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05/31/2018

We frequently receive calls to the MLS inquiring whether an Office Exclusive Waiver form is on file for a particular property where signage is placed. Frequently there is no form on file and a warning or fine must be assessed to the agent named on the sign. MLS policy mandates that a listing must be submitted to MLS within 48 hours from the date the listing agreement is signed or an Office Exclusive Waiver form must be on file. If the 48-hour limit falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the listing or form must be submitted on the next business day.

Actual MLS Policy:
1.02.02 – Listing Not Submitted to MLS                                                                                   Fine with Warning

Warning, $100, $200, $500

Listings required in MLS but not to be displayed initially in MLS at the request of the seller shall be submitted to MLS within 48 hours from the date signed except weekends and federal holidays whereby the data is to be entered the following business day or the Office Exclusive Waiver Form found on CR’s web site at http://www.columbusrealtors.com shall be on file with the MLS.

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It is highly recommended that you fill out the Green Features Y/N field immediately.  If you do not complete the Green Features selection now, you will be forced to do so when you attempt to mark the listing as closed.  This will be very inconvenient because all of the sold information you entered on the Closing window will be lost when you are forced to go back to the main listing edit screen and and make your Green Features selection.

If you are unfamiliar with the new Green Features Y/N field, you can read the full Green Features story below.

Original Green Features Y/N story:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-==-=-=-=-=

A new field, “Green Features Y/N – Form Required” has been added to the Residential property type.  Because the field is brand new, it will take some time for the new field to be fully populated.  Agents will be required to make a Yes or No selection in the Green Features Y/N field for all new listings.  Existing listings will require a selection in the field the first time the listing is edited.   If Yes is selected, then the Green Features Checklist form is required to be completed and attached as a PDF to the listing on the MLS.

This Green Features Checklist can be used to detail the green features present on a Residential property.  Items on the form include Energy/Green Certifications and Energy and Water Efficient Features.  The Green Features Y/N field allows agents to search specifically for listings that have “green/energy efficient features” of some type.  After searching, they can then review the attached form to see all green features present on that property.

It is highly recommended that you immediately update your listing for this new field particularly if your listed property has energy efficient green features.  Simply edit your listing and look for the new, required Green Features Y/N field.  Do not forget to fill out and upload the complete Green Features Checklist to your listing as an attachment.

Download the Green Features Checklist  from www.ColumbusRealtors.com > Tools > Worksheets, Forms and Contracts page by clicking here.

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05/09/2018