106 N. Bloomington St. Suite N
Lowell, AR 72745
P: 479-770-0241
F: 479-770-8966
[email protected]
February 20, 2009
To: Principal Brokers, Executive Brokers, Associate Brokers, and Office Managers
From: Arkansas Regional MLS
RE: COMPLIANCE WITH NAR/DOJ SETTLEMENT- NEW REQUIRED FIELDS FOR LISTINGS
PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION TO YOUR AGENTS!!
THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN IT TO THE PROPERTY OWNERS!
In order for the MLS and all Boards to be compliant with the Department of Justice/National Association
of REALTORS settlement from last year, new fields were added to MLXChange. In essence, the property
seller has more rights. Input sheets for each property type have been updated with the new fields.
The new fields are as follows:
•
Allow VOW: Y/N - Does the seller wish to allow their listing to be displayed on Virtual Office
Websites? (Virtual Office Websites currently do not exist in our MLS but they will)
•
Allow Address: Y/N- Does the seller wish to allow their listing to show the property address on
any website?
•
Allow Auto Valuation: Y/N - Does the seller wish to allow their listing to have an auto valuation
on a website? (think Zestimates from Zillow.com)
•
Allow Blogging: Y/N - Does the seller wish to allow blogging when their listing is displayed on a
website?
2009 Real Estate Contracts DO NOT include verbiage about the new VOW Requirements. The NAR/DOJ
Settlement came after ARA’s deadline for changes on real estate forms for 2009. An ARMLS committee
member will be submitting a request for VOW Requirements to ARA for inclusion in the 2010 contracts.
To help ease the transition, we have provided a frequently asked questions (FAQ) sheet for you, as well
as some guidelines to help agents address these issues with their property sellers.
Revised Definition of MLS Participation
for inclusion in Association and MLS Bylaws
Note: The revision for Participation is a required change by National Association of REALTORS®. The
underline portions have been added, and the strike-though portions are to be removed.
FAQs about the VOW Policy and VOW Rules
What is a VOW?
By definition, A Virtual Office Website (“VOW”) is a Participant’s Internet website, or a feature
of a Participant’s website, through which the Participant is capable of providing real estate brokerage
services to consumers with whom the Participant has first established a broker-consumer relationship
(as defined by state law) where the consumer has the opportunity to search MLS Listing Information,
subject to the Participant’s oversight, supervision, and accountability. A non-principal broker or sales
licensee affiliated with a Participant may, with his or her Participant’s consent, operate a VOW. Any
VOW of a non-principal broker or sales licensee is subject to the Participant’s oversight, supervision, and
accountability. (Section 19.1 )
What’s the difference between a VOW and an IDX site?
An IDX site is considered advertising – and listing brokers’ consent is required before another
broker may advertise his or her listings. A VOW is considered on-line brokerage. Listing brokers’ consent
is not required to display on a VOW any listing otherwise available to MLS participants and subscribers
for Internet display. Sellers retain the ability to withhold their properties from Internet display or to
withhold the display of their property’s address from Internet display. A website that offers online MLS
listing searching capability that does not comply with the detailed requirements of the VOW policy is, by
definition, an IDX site.
Does the settlement agreement affect the IDX Policy?
No.
What is an Affiliated Vow Partner (“AVP”)?
An Affiliated Vow Partner (“AVP”) is a vendor or other service provider that operates a VOW on
behalf of a Participant, subject to the Participant’s supervision, accountability and the terms of the VOW
policy.
Must an MLS provide a VOW feed to an AVP?
Yes. An MLS must, at the request of a Participant, provide a direct data feed to the Participant’s
AVP, and may not require that MLS Information be retransmitted by the Participant to their AVP.
Can MLS Participants “opt-out” of having their listings shown on the VOW sites of other Participant?
No. The policy does not provide for broker opt-outs.
Per National Association of REALTORS® MLS Policy, updated January 2009
FAQs about Seller’s Rights
Can sellers “opt-out” of display of their property listings on VOWs?
Sellers may “opt-out” of having their property listing displayed on any Internet sites or,
alternatively sellers can “opt-out” of having their property address displayed on any Internet sites.
Sellers may not opt out of having their listings shown on some, but not all, VOW sites. This means that if
a seller opts out of having his listing or property address displayed on VOWs, the listing (or property
address) cannot be displayed on IDX sites, third-party aggregators’ sites or
elsewhere on the Internet. (revised 12.24.08)
Can sellers direct that their listings appear on third-party aggregators’ websites (e.g. Realtor.com) but
not on other Participants’ VOWs?
No. if sellers withhold consent for display of their property or display of their property address
on the Internet, display on VOW, IDX and on third-party aggregators’ sites is likewise precluded. (revised
12.24.08)
Can sellers require that false information about their property be deleted from VOWs? How?
If a seller believes that information appearing on a VOW about his property is false, he should
share that concern with the listing broker who, in turn, will bring the false information to the attention
of the VOW operator, with an explanation as to why the information is false. The VOW operator will
then have an obligation to remove any false information.
If a seller won’t permit information about his property to be displayed on other Participants’
VOWs but wants it marketed on the listing firm’s website, can a Participant accept the listing?
Can it be submitted for inclusion in the MLS?
If a seller withholds consent for Internet display on all sites except the listing broker’s, the listing
broker may take the listing but it would not be eligible for inclusion in MLS.
HOW TO ADDRESS VOW REQUIREMENTS WITH PROPERTY SELLERS
Allow VOW(Virtual Office Website): Y/N
Does your seller wish to allow their listing to be displayed on a Virtual Office Website?
(ARMLS currently does not have any VOW Participants, but we will)
This requirement only pertains to VOWs. This does not affect if a listing will be on
websites, such as Realtor.com, or agent websites, or office/broker websites.
By allowing VOWs access to your seller’s listing, it would allow more marketing
exposure for the listing.
There would be less face-to-face contact. VOWs do most, if not all, transactions through
their website.
Allow Address: Y/N
Does the seller wish to allow their listing to show the property address on any website?
This requirement allows the property’s address to be hidden on all websites, including
VOWs, Realtor.com, agent websites, and office/broker websites. The seller can request that
their listing is available to view on websites, and request that their address be withheld.
If the address is allowed by the seller, then agents and potential buyers would be able to
locate the property. Some sellers might not want their address to be available on websites, for
security purposes.
Allow Auto Valuation: Y/N
Does the seller wish to allow their listing to have an auto valuation on a website?
This required field allows the seller to decide if they want to have auto valuation for
their listing. Example: Zestimates, which is part of Zillow.com
Auto valuation is a website’s marketing tool to give an estimated market value for a
listing. It can be helpful in providing more information than what a listing normally provides. It
can also be misleading, since an estimated market value is not an appraisal or a CMA, which are
performed by licensed appraisers and real estate agents, respectively.
Allow Blogging: Y/N
Does the seller wish to allow blogging when their listing is displayed on a website?
Some websites allow public comment for properties listed on their site. This
requirement allows sellers to decide if blogging would be allowed for their listing. Blogging
could provide more information than what a listing normally provides; however, negative,
derogatory, or erroneous verbiage could be included.