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IMPORTANT: Follow-up to Automated Emails from FlexMLS On Monday, you may have received one or multiple emails from the Columbus & Central Ohio Regional MLS via our provider, FlexMLS. The timing of this message was incorrect and unfortunate, and we are aware the emails have caused some confusion. Please accept our sincere apologies. However, this should be a reminder that beginning this Friday, August 16, no mentions of compensation or commission in any form may be communicated through the Multiple Listing Service. Our MLS staff will conduct a word search based on several key terms on August 16 and remove any references, including the deletion of the compensation fields inside the MLS. So, you may ask, what’s your responsibility to remain compliant? You, the agents, and the brokers are responsible for removing any references to compensation in agent-to-agent remarks or in documents uploaded to your listing. Again, we apologize for any confusion the automated FlexMLS emails may have caused. Never hesitate to contact Columbus REALTORS® support for clarification.
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Compensation Email – Warning about Documents and Text Fields An email was sent to many agents that was intended as a reminder the upcoming deadline to remove compensation offers from the MLS prior to August 17, 2024. Unfortunately, the email did not specify the exact field/document that may contain the prohibited information. Agents received the email if their listing met either of these criteria:
Reminder: Prior to August 17th: Property Description and A2A remarks fields will need to have the words manually removed by the listing agent. Any DOCUMENT attached to the listing that contains compensation information must be removed. Automatic removal of compensation fields: The compensation fields (ie Buyer Broker/Ten Rep, Sub agency, VRC, etc) will be automatically removed on Friday August 16th.
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New Columbus & Central Ohio Regional MLS Rules Go into Effect on Aug. 16 Beginning Friday, August 16, 2024, offers of compensation will be removed from the Columbus & Central Ohio Regional MLS, and written buyer agreements will become mandatory for all buyer’s agents. This will ensure that Columbus REALTORS® membership complies with the August 17 date of final implementation set in the proposed settlement terms with the National Association of REALTORS®. 1.) On August 16, offers of compensation will be prohibited on the MLS. Offers of compensation will continue to be an option consumers can pursue off-MLS through negotiation and consultation with real estate professionals. Offers of compensation help make homeownership and the benefits of professional representation more accessible to buyers, including first-time homebuyers, increase homeownership opportunities for historically underserved groups, and benefit sellers by expanding the potential buyer pool. The Columbus & Central Ohio Regional MLS will remove the compensation fields from the MLS at 8:30 a.m. on August 16, 2024. At this time, compensation fields will be removed for all new listings. Over the next few hours, the compensation fields for all existing listings within the Columbus & Central Ohio Regional MLS will be removed. The process is expected to be completed by early afternoon on August 16. An important reminder to all MLS subscribers is that offers of compensation should not be conveyed through the MLS in any other form, including broker remarks, document attachments, showing instructions, hyperlinks to external websites with offers of compensation, etc. Essential Forms & Educational Resources Columbus REALTORS® members are encouraged to attend an all-member Zoom webinar on Thursday, August 15, at 2 p.m., during which upcoming changes and the most asked questions surrounding the changes outlined in the settlement will be discussed. Register for the All-Member Webinar Links to previous Columbus REALTORS® video content surrounding the NAR proposed settlement can be found below: Updated Policies & Fines 1.05.04 – Failure to Present Buyer Representation Agreement MLS Participants working with buyers are required to enter into written agreements with their buyers before touring a home. *NOTE: The $0 Fine (warning) will be removed on December 31, 2024. From January 1, 2025, the fine will start at $1000. If the MLS Participant is working only as an agent or subagent of the seller, then the participant is not “working with the buyer.” In that scenario, an agreement is not required because the participant is performing work for the seller and not the buyer. Authorized dual agents, on the other hand, work with the buyer (and the seller). The written agreement must include: Failure to meet this requirement will result in the following: 1.05.05 – Prohibited Compensation in MLS MLS Participants are prohibited from specifying any potential offers of compensation in the MLS, whether directly (such as in any field or uploaded document) or indirectly (such as link to showing scheduling services, etc.,). Any reference to compensation will be removed and a fine will be assessed. *NOTE: The $0 Fine (warning) will be removed on December 31, 2024. From January 1, 2025, the fine will start at $1000. Violation of this policy will result in the following:
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MLS Tip: PDFs in MLS – No Compensation Allowed Columbus & Central Ohio Regional MLS will remove all compensation-related fields on Friday, August 16. Question: Can I include compensation in a PDF that I upload to my listing? Answer: No. Documents uploaded to a listing cannot contain compensation information. All public and private documents that contain compensation information must be deleted from all on-market listings prior to August 17, 2024. Read more about the settlement at NAR’s facts.realtor and Columbus REALTORS® website.
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RESOLVED: Flexmls Connectivity Issue Identified Our MLS vendor has provided the below information regarding current issues in the MLS 7/30/24 12:47pm: We’re investigating connectivity issues with Flexmls. This is resulting in pages not displaying for some users. 7/30/24 2:37pm: It appears that the issues are either resolved or significantly improved. We are closely monitoring the situation and will provide further updates as soon as more information becomes available. 7/30/24 4:15pm: This incident has been resolved.
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Compensation Fields: Removal from MLS – August 16 To ensure compliance within the Columbus & Central Ohio Regional MLS, Columbus REALTORS® is moving our implementation date to Friday, August 16. Two extremely important changes enforced due to the NAR settlement (additional NAR requirements here):
Read more about the settlement at NAR’s facts.realtor and Columbus REALTORS® website. What you need to know…
These fields will be completely removed from MLS on August 16th:
If you have any questions, please contact Columbus REALTORS at support@columbusrealtors.com or 614-475-4000. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we prepare our membership for these industry changes Read more about the settlement at NAR’s facts.realtor and Columbus REALTORS® website.
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Updated Listing Agreement – Revision Date 7/2024 The latest revision of the Exclusive Right to Sell Listing Contract (dated 7/2024) is now available in the Member Portal. Please note: The Listing Contract continues to be reviewed in light of the NAR Settlement. There may be additional updates over the coming weeks. To access the form (and future updates):
Click here to directly download the new form.
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Updated Listing Agreement The new Exclusive Right to Sell Listing Contract has been released. It is available now in the Member Portal. To access the form (and future updates):
Click here to directly download the new form.
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Sold Non-MLS Questions? New Help on Add/Edit What is Sold Non-MLS? The MLS Entry Date help text was added on June 28, 2024:  The Listing Member help text below will be added to the in early July 2024: Is this a Sold Non-MLS Listings?
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RESOLVED: DOM Displayed in MLS – Bug Identified As of 3:40 pm June 28th it has been reported that this issue is resolved. A new Days on Market bug is being investigated in the MLS. It appears to predominantly affect Coming Soon listings that have converted to Active status. The calculation for DOM and CDOM is not correctly removing all of the “off market days”. This may be causing an inflated DOM and CDOM value to be displayed. Our MLS Vendor, FBS (Flexmls), has been made aware. They are currently working to resolve this DOM issue. No ETA has been provided at this time.
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