Severity of killing a listing.
Unless the listing is less than 24 hours old killing a listing is aiding and abetting a felony and you could go to Federal prison.
MLS Rules
The Real Estate Listing Content Copyright FAQ - How Do I USE THIS DOCUMENT?
This document is divided into two primary parts.
Part 1 is this set of Frequently Asked Questions based on issues/questions that have been raised to us during the past year. Part 1 explains in layman's terms why copyrights are important to our industry and underscores the value of the real estate professional and the work each professional creates. It also discusses what can be done to foster collaboration and information exchange in a manner that lawfully recognizes the value and contributions made by real estate professionals, and multiple listing services (MLS’s).
Part 2 is a more detailed explanation of the copyright Laws and our updated program for real estate professionals and MLS’s to create a comprehensive copyright program so that each contributor to a real estate listing may properly recognize the value of, and appropriately administer his or her rights in, real estate listing content. Also in Part 2 we provide our recommendations about how to clarify the copyright rights of each contributor to a listing in a manner that (1) allows brokers to retain their copyrights in their listings, and (2) concurrently positions the MLS to register and enforce copyrights in the listing content, so that the content's value may be realized and maintained more effectively.
Use of the MLS Use of the term MLS in a domain name.The following is from NAR: A company has set up a domain name which includes the acronym "MLS" because they believe the domain will attract visitors or because they have a name which either includes or forms the acronym "MLS." The other situation is that a company uses the acronym in their name. Generally, the first thing I have to clear up is that "MLS" is not a trademark of the National Association. In fact, if you take a look at Section 1.1 of the MLS Handbook you will see that it suggests the first uses of "multiple listing" predate the existence of the National Association.The National Association's position with regard to the status of the terms "MLS" and "multiple listing service" is that, as used in the real estate brokerage business, they are the common name of a type of service available to real estate professionals to assist them in the process of marketing properties offered for sale. The MLS serves as a facility through which real estate brokers may exchange offers to cooperate with one another in the sale of a property and arrange for the fee to be paid to the broker who is successful in procuring the buyer of a property listed for sale by another broker. This needs to be cleared up because it is for this reason that the National Association does not have a system of rules governing the use of this name in the same way it does for the term REALTOR, which is a registered collective membership mark. As a common term the National Association lacks the right to regulate its use in the same way it does REALTOR either in or in connection with the name of a firm or in a domain name. This does not, however, conclude all of the issues raised by the use of MLS.Article 12 of the Code of Ethics requires all members to assure a true picture in their representations to the public and certainly both domain names and firm names are representations seen by the public. If they are not accurate or are such that the public is likely to be deceived or mislead by them then such conduct may violate the standards established by the association for its members. The terms "MLS" and "multiple listing service" are both well understood by the real estate consuming public to be a powerful tool facilitating the marketing of properties and if a member of the public were to be led to believe they were dealing with the MLS in the market, then there could be a violation of that rule. Ultimately the decision as to whether any conduct is inconsistent with the Code of Ethics is vested in the association's Professional Standards Committee, but it should be clear that individual brokers are not and can not fulfill the role of a multiple listing service. This is the kind of conflict which should be explained to the members involved so that they understand why their name might be viewed as failing to present a true picture to the public. If despite that information they elect not to change their name then the association could do nothing unless and until a complaint was brought and then all it could do is administer the complaint in a manner consistent with its rule. There is one additional point I make when dealing with the use of "mls" as a part of a domain name. I make it because of a case that was brought by a local association when an outside vendor adopted the use of a domain name similar to the name by which the local association's multiple listing service was known and then began marketing real estate services. The case is Staten Island Board of REALTORS v. Smith and you can read about it on Realtor.org. Hopefully the following link will take you to the case summary. http://www.realtor.org/LetterLw.nsf/pages/0302statenisland?OpenDocument Mike Thiel Associate Counsel National Association of REALTORS
Secretaries:
There is a new policy for secretary access to MLSNI and the fees that will be charged. MLSNI offered limited secretary access to MLSNI for free so the secretaries may assist the agents/offices in inputting listings. Therefore, there will be no free secretary access to MLSNI for appraisal offices since they are not licensed to list and sell and therefore are not inputing listings.
For those who are licensed to list and sell real estate they will have a formula for secretaires who may gain access to MLSNI without a charge:
1-10 agents in the office - one free secretary access
11-50 agents in the office 2 free secretary access
over 51+ 4 free secretary access
MLSNI-The Commercial Glossary has been compiled to help you quickly and easily interpret the various fields on the Multiple Listing Service of Northern Illinois, Inc. connectMLS Input Forms; instructions and examples of their use are included. You may also use the HELP function when working on the system by hovering your mouse over a question mark adjacent to the field.
Exempt/Office Exclusive = the owner does not want the
listing in MLS. Please note: Exempt/Office
exclusives may have a yard sign and may be advertised. Please check with your company for their policy:
What Is a Deeded Parking Spot? What exactly is Deeded Parking, and what makes it different from any other parking space? In a deeded parking situation, the owner of the space has fee simple ownership of the parking space. Deeded parking is bought and sold like a property - it even has it’s own property category in MLSNI (Property Type 7), and its own distinct, different listing input sheet. In addition, the owner of a deeded parking space pays taxes on the space, like he/she would on any other property.
Since most deeded parking spaces are tied to condo or townhouse developments, there are often restrictions on ownership. In many cases, the owner of the deeded parking space must have ownership of a unit within the development. However, in some cases, the space may be conveyed by the owner to a person who does not own a residential unit in the association (association regulations should indicate whether or not deeded parking may be owned by non-residents).
Please be aware that, when buying or selling units in highrise buildings (especially in Chicago), parking spaces are not always included, and may indeed require the additional transaction of a deeded parking space in order to insure on-site parking.
