By Sue Van Woerkom, Chair, MLS Committee
Welcome to the MLS Committee! As the chair of MLS my job is to facilitate the meetings as we continue to provide and maintain a state-of-the-art MLS system, serve all of our members with data integrity and follow the lead of President Andy Mills.
Everyone has a family, be it a birth family or chosen family filled with friends or co-workers and office mates. We choose to have a few close allies on which we rely. In real estate, we are a part of a huge, extended family. We rely on each other to provide honest, true information and by doing so we are the leaders in real estate. We have the most up-to-date information, the most reliable, and the most accurate. We control the narrative; we are the voice of real estate.
The MLS is a huge part of that. In all aspects of real estate, we work together. We are one, large, occasionally loud, occasionally arbitrary, but always strong, big family. The job of the MLS is to keep the family running smoothly and meet the needs of our fellow REALTORS® and affiliate family.
Let me tell you about the MLS Committee. It is the backbone of our business. Keeping data accurate is imperative. To do that, we have amazing staff led by Matt Warren. There are many rules and timelines we must follow to ensure the data is accurate. For instance, we now have a data checker. If you end up on the wrong side of the data checker you could get a warning or a fine. The Committee and staff look at that as a learning tool. Take the class on MLS data and the fine could possibly be waived. It is not a punishment! It is a learning tool to keep the data accurate.
All that wonderful data is searchable thanks to all the search fields we have. Those are looked at routinely by staff and the Committee and added as needed to reflect the market. For instance, “land trust”, was just added as a field enabling homes to be searched that are on leased land but the structure is owned. “Income restricted” was also just added. Recently a decision was passed to allow staff to remove objectionable photos. Ones that come to mind were the dead deer at the hunting ground. Really, a dead, bloody deer? There have been stories that quick fingers accidentally uploading vacation pictures into the listing photos that could be quite entertaining to look at but definitely outside our purview. Did you know, if you have a suggestion there is a form to fill out, have the broker sign it and it will be discussed in the meeting?
Some recent decisions and additions:
Surveillance disclosures in the listing contracts. Increasing data accuracy in HomeSnap and what the consumer can see regarding contingent listings. Adding the Condo/HOA checklist so sellers can get ready. Clear Cooperation policy will be implemented May 1. Added option for Virtual Open Houses
We are in contact with the other large boards in our state including Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, and Dayton. We collaborate on how things are being done and often lead by example. Decisions that are made are carefully thought out, seeking suggestions from other boards, our members, and other CEO’s with whom John Geha is in frequent contact. In the world of MLS of choice, we are striving for some consistency.
The Multiple Listing Committee is working to remain flexible, react timely to the needs of the members and empower the members to conduct business with accurate data. The members on the MLS committee were elected/appointed by their brokers. They have great experience, leadership skills and wonderful insight to the business.
We are stronger together. It is an honor to serve!
