SRCAR Connect

Understanding the different ways to describe commissions on the MLS often can be misunderstood. Selling Office Compensation is a required field and must be entered as a percentage or fixed dollar Amount.  In addition, any specific conditions related to estate sales, probate listings, auctions, sales dependent on lender approval or other special circumstances must be entered in Agent Remarks. Below are some typical questions and answers that should help clear the obstacles when placing your listing on the MRMLS Matrix system.

Questions and Answers:

Q. What is a Dual Variable Rate Commission?

A. The CARETS Rules and Regulations section 7.22 provides that a dual or variable commission is one in which the seller agrees to pay a different commission if:

• The Listing Broker represents both the Seller and Buyer (dual agent) or
• The Seller finds the buyer themselves: or
• The Listing Broker is not the Selling Broker.

In situations like these, you must disclose this information by using the Dual Variable Rate field when you add a listing in MRMLS Matrix.

Q. Is Selling Office Compensation based on Gross or Net Sales Price?

A. Selling Office Compensation is calculated on the Gross Sales Price. If applicable, listing brokers can invite a cooperating broker to “contact the listing broker for terms of additional compensation” in Agent Remarks.

Q. Are Conditional Offers of Compensation allowed on the MLS?

A. No. Conditional or discriminatory language regarding the payment of compensation is not allowed in public or agent remarks. Examples of discriminatory language include: “If the listing agent shows the property first to a buyer, total selling office compensation will be reduced to ’x‘%”, or, ’y’% compensation is given for full price offers, or ‘z‘% compensation if offers are less than full price.”

Q. How can I protect myself if the cooperating broker insists on the originally offered commission when the commission is reduced by the lender?

A. The CARETS MLS Rules and Regulations Section 7.15.2, which mirror the C.A.R. Model Rule, allows the listing broker to reduce a commission offered in the MLS to the cooperating broker if the lender reduces the overall gross commission it pays to the listing broker.  In order to receive protection of this rule, a listing broker or agent is required to publish in the Agent Remarks field (a) the fact the sale and gross commission of the listing are subject to lender approval, (b) the amount or method by which the compensation offered through the MLS will be reduced if the lender reduces the gross commission and (c) to disclose the listing is a Short Sale.

Readers who require specific advice should consult an attorney. C.A.R. members requiring legal assistance may contact C.A.R.’s member legal hotline at 213-739-8282, Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm.  Broker-owners, office managers, or designated REALTORS® may contact the member legal hotline at 213-739-8350.  Or you may email your questions to legal_hotline@car.org or fax to 213-480-7724.

MRMLS Matrix is now pulling Open House information from the participating MLSs of CARETS–they include CLAW, CristNet, iTech and SoCalMLS.

MRMLS Matrix now provides YOU AND YOUR CLIENTS information on all Open Houses entered into the MLSs throughout Southern California from the San Fernando Valley to Temecula and from the Inland Empire & Foothills to the Pacific Ocean.

Continue reading ‘CARETS Open Houses on MRMLS Matrix!’ »

What is a better way to start your year than getting trained?  You could take FREE classes through your Association that will:

• Help you better understand how to use the MRMLS Matrix system
• Improve your ability to service your clients

The best part is… THE CLASSES ARE FREE!!!

Continue reading ‘Jump Start Your New Year with MRMLS Training!’ »

Common Short Sale Challenges

The dynamics of short sales present challenges to REALTORS® in regards to making status changes or offers of compensation for these properties in the MLS.  Below are some typical questions and answers that should help clear the obstacles when placing these listings on the MRMLS Matrix system.

Continue reading ‘Common Short Sale Challenges’ »

Get Trained Before Christmas!

Click on the link below to register your next Web Conference

Interested in Another Course?

If you are interested in another MRMLS course, or would like to see us offer a specific course offered in your area, please let us know by clicking here, or by calling (800) 925-1525.

Brokers & Office Managers – Want a Course Taught at Your Office?

We want YOUR agents to be efficient when using the MRMLS Matrix system.  If your office would like a private course taught to 15 or more agents, click here to schedule a course, or call (800) 925-1525.

Not finding what you need when you print listings for your client?  Based off member input, starting April 3rd, MRMLS Matrix offers three new customer displays and reports for your clients!

• Customer 1 Line
• Customer Thumbnail
• Customer Brief

Follow these steps to view the new Customer Displays and Reports.

1. From your search page, change your Display to view the new customer 1 line, customer thumbnail or customer brief.
2. To print the new customer 1 line, customer thumbnail, or customer brief report, click Print Report.

America On Line (AOL) actively blocks spam email for their users. Unfortunately this approach also tends to block emails that your clients want to receive.

If your clients use AOL mail, they may not be getting your emails.

If clients mark your MRMLS Matrix Emails or Auto-Emails as junk or spam, AOL receives that as a complaint. If AOL receives enough complaints they block the entire system.

The MRMLS Matrix Email and Auto Email function was created for agents and brokers to communicate directly with clients. The MRMLS Matrix Email and Auto Email function is a communication system, and should not be used as a marketing system.

MRMLS is working with AOL to resolve this issue. The MRMLS Matrix system conforms to AOLs requirements, and has applied to be added to AOL’s “White List.” Until AOL approves that request, you may continue to receive email delivery failures from AOL.

We encourage you and your clients to contact AOL directly to request that they unblock MRMLS Matrix Emails and Auto Emails.

Here are some best practices for avoiding email problems:

• Keep your Client List Clean. Identify, modify and disable invalid email addresses when you receive a failed invalid email address notice sent to you via email
• Keep Your Client List Current. Disable Auto Emails that no longer apply
• Keep Your Contacts Current. Maintain and update your contact list in Matrix
• “Unsubscribe”, Don’t “Junk Mail.” Have your clients hit the “Unsubscribe” link in the Email or Auto Email rather than mark your email as junk or spam. At the bottom of each email there is a link where your clients can unsubscribe for example:

  If you wish to stop receiving these emails, please Unsubscribe by clicking:

  http://www.mrmlsmatrix.com/UAE.asp?ID=0-59253721-96

• Respect Clients That Unsubscribe. Do not re-enable Auto Emails that were disabled by your client. Doing so increases your chances of being “Black Listed.”

Note, no other major email providers are blocking MRMLS Matrix Emails or Auto Emails at that time.

Need training? All MRMLS training classes are FREE! For a list of classes go to www.imrmls.com/training

MRMLS is the first Multiple Listing Service to offer Department of Real Estate Continuing Education Credits in the Consumer Service Category.  Two hours of continuing education credits are given for each for Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Listing Management Matrix class.  These classes are offered at your local Association or Board of REALTORS®. Go to www.mrmlsu.com for the training calendar, online videos and other training materials.

MRMLS training classes include the following:

• Basic Matrix **
• Intermediate Matrix**
• Advanced Matrix**
• Listing Management**
• Realist Tax
• Pinpoint Mapping
• Smart Trac
• enCMA
• Wyldfyre7

**C.E. Credit Class

PLEASE NOTE: The regularly scheduled Matrix classes (3rd Thursday for Basic Matrix training, and last Mon. for Advanced Matrix Training each month) @ SRCAR DO NOT offer continuing education credits. We will be offering a few classes for credit in addition to the regular offerings. The reason for this is because they have to test on each section for credit and not as much information can be covered in the “for credit” sessions. We will offer the first for credit sessions in March. Online sessions for these for credit classes might be offered in the future.

We are excited to announce on December 3, 2008, your customers will be able to physically interact with their Auto Emails.  This improvement is called the Interactive Customer Portal.  This cool new feature will allow your clients to select listings as Favorites, Possibilities and Discard unwanted properties.  In addition, your customers will be able to rate these listings on a 5-star star system.

Important Note:  On December 3^rd, all listings that match your client’s criteria will be resent to your client to accommodate this new feature.  Please notify your clients to avoid questions or frustrations.

The Interactive customer portal will help you be engaged with your customers’ wants and needs.  To find your customer’s review of listings click on the Open Portal link in the Save/Automatic Searches in the My Matrix tab.

We are excited to announce users of MRMLS have the ability to access CARETS Residential and Residential Lease listings across ALL status types (actives and one year of solds; expired and canceled listings will begin to appear later this week) from the participating CARETS MLS organizations (CRISNet, CLAW, i-Tech, and SoCal MLS). We have MORE listings, MORE historical data, and MORE searchable choices in ONE convenient system for you, MRMLS! The only CHANGES will be MORE listings and EXPANDED search options!

Q. How do I retrieve CARETS listings?

A.  Run a Residential or Residential Lease property search to pull CARETS listings.  CARETS

Listings appear the SAME way MRMLS listings appear with a few noticeable changes.

They are:

1. More searchable options in the City, Market Area, and School District fields for Residential and Residential Lease property types.
2. A  MLS identifier has been placed on the far right side of the Agent 1 Line display.  The identifier indicates which MLS organization the listing originated from.
3. Thousands of listing data will have been imported into Residential and Residential lease property types.  Other property types are set to arrive in early 2009.

Agent 1 Line Display of Carets Listing