January 2024 Broker Report

Personal Assistants and Office Assistants of Brokers and Office Managers Can Now Call in & Speak to a Compliance Analyst

Personal Assistants & Office Assistants can reach the Helpline in three simple steps: 

1. Make sure your MLS ID is ready (note that only active Personal/Office Assistants connected to a Broker or Office Manager can use the Helpline on their broker or manager’s behalf). To learn if your ID has the correct MLS user class, please email brokers@crmls.org. 
2. Call 909-859-2043.
3. Press 3 to speak directly to a Compliance Analyst for assistance. 

You can reach us Monday – Friday from 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM PT. Please do NOT share this phone number with agents. 

If you have questions regarding your user class or Personal Assistant/Office Assistant accounts, please email us at brokers@crmls.org. 

Compliance

Please Review the New Changes to the CRMLS Rules and Citation Policy

As of January 1, 2024, the CRMLS Rules and Citation Policy have been updated and published on the Compliance page.   

Addition of New Rule:

Rule 14.7 – Any information received by the MLS in response to an investigation that results in a “no violation” ruling may be shared with any reporting party. 

Additional resources are available here: 

• Compliance Rules and Policies
• CRMLS Compliance FAQs

2023 Compliance Top Violations Recap

As we enter 2024, we wanted to share with you the Top Compliance Violations for 2023. 

• Rule 11.5 (e) Branded Media – 19.2% of citations issued 
• Rule 11.5.1 Mandatory Submission Photograph/Rendering – 17.7% of citations issued 
• Rule 8.3 Accuracy of Information; Responsibility for Accuracy (Auto Sold) – 14.1% of citations issued 
• Rule 14.4 Duty to Correct and Cooperate – 13.3% of citations issued 
• Rule 10.2 Reporting of Sales – 11.8% of citations issued

As a reminder, CRMLS Compliance is available throughout the year to provide you with various training topics for your members, both in-person and virtually, to improve agent knowledge of the CRMLS Rules & Policies. You can schedule Compliance training for your office from our webpage. 

Share the New CRMLS Compliance Quiz with Your Office

We recently launched a newly revised CRMLS Compliance Quiz! The quiz is short, optional, and anonymous. It will help educate agents about common rule violations, which saves you time, money, and stress. We encourage you to share it with your office. The Compliance Quiz is a great opportunity to learn common rules and pitfalls –  rather than through a violation notice.

Check out next month’s Compliance section for our question of the month! 

Marketing/Advertising a Property Without a Listing Agreement

There have been reports to CRMLS that some agents are advertising and marketing properties for sale with no listing agreement. This can occur for a few reasons, though the two most common examples are (1) the agent or broker is expecting the seller/landlord to sign a listing imminently and wants to get started with the marketing early, and (2) the agent or broker has some sort of permission or agreement with the seller/landlord to market the property in order to “test the waters” of the marketplace. If you are considering marketing or advertising a property without a listing agreement, even if you have intentions of securing one in the near future, please read this FAQ containing information that CRMLS finds pertinent to the situation. View our knowledgebase article to learn more.

Enhancements & Products

• How to Cancel a Listing
• View our quick video guide to show you how to create an eProperty Watch Report
• Make sure that your contact information is showing up correctly on all IDX feeds. To make any additions or changes, you can follow this guide to update how your listings display through IDX.

RentSpree Makes the Rental Business Simple and Effective

Renting is quickly gaining in popularity and market share, and real estate agents can’t afford to get left behind and miss out on rental business opportunities. No matter if you’re new to rentals or trying to expand your business, RentSpree is your one-stop platform for all your needs. 

From listing to lease, RentSpree simplifies the moving parts of rentals. CRMLS users can easily access background checks, credit reports, simplified document collection, and more. And, as a CRMLS core product, it’s all available to you right now at no additional cost. 

Get started today and build your rental business with RentSpree. Thank you for your support as we aim to provide our users with the best in real estate technologies and services. 

Flex

• The latest CRMLS Flexmls update brings features from the Flexmls Pro Agent App to the CRMLS Flexmls desktop and mobile sites
• Save a list view and view Sorts settings within Flexmls search results
• How to change client portal preferences within Flexmls
• The latest Realist update includes the new, mobile-friendly Realist Insights Dashboard

New Location Tab on Flexmls Mobile Website & Android App

On January 11, a Location tab was added to the Flexmls Mobile website and the Flexmls For Real Estate Pros Android app 

The new Location tab provides easy access to listing location information, including one-click Driving Directions on a convenient map that can be expanded to a full-screen view. You’ll find it on both the website and the mobile app in the navigation ribbon on the Listing Detail Page of any property. 

This update makes finding location info much easier and creates a smoother workflow when you’re working on the go with Flexmls mobile. 

Matrix

• The latest Realist update includes the new, mobile-friendly Realist Insights Dashboard

Quick Tips to Start 2024!

Here are some quick tips for the admin questions we get asked the most:

• Find Your Office Code
• View Your Active Office Listings
• Create Your List of Active Office Listings
• Edit Your Active Office Listings
• View Your Office Listings In My Favorite Searches

Paragon

• Create detailed searches, customize the included fields, and share searches with your Contacts in CRMLS Paragon
• The latest CRMLS Paragon update includes improvements to the Message History section of the Collaboration Center, along with several Paragon Connect enhancements
• Property Panorama’s latest update includes a new, modernized dashboard with quick access to all your most important listing tools

Beware of Online Scams

Online scammers will send you emails or text messages to try to trick you into giving your personal and financial information by pretending to be from an organization you may recognize. This scam, called “phishing”, has become more and more prevalent in the real estate industry, so CRMLS would like to make you aware of several ways to recognize a scam:

• Pressure to act immediately i.e., “Act now or your account will be frozen”
• Requesting your credit card information for immediate payment
• Saying they’ve noticed suspicious activity or log-in attempts
• Requesting to click on a complex, unfamiliar link

CRMLS does NOT ask for any credit card information over a call or a text message. The first payment requests on a citation will come via email from QuickBooks, specifically from the email address quickbooks@notification.intuit.com. Upon follow-up requests, you will receive the link from compliance@crmls.org and/or brokers@crmls.org.

In addition, scammers can format emails to make it look like they are from a company you know, with logos, headers, etc. Here are signs that such emails are a scam:

• The email has a generic greeting, i.e., not addressing you by your name
• The sender’s email address is not recognizable or from an unfamiliar domain
• Misspellings

If you’re ever unsure about the legitimacy of an email, please contact brokers@crmls.org in a new email thread (please don’t forward the initial email). We also have a blog series on CRMLS’s commitment to cybersecurity and how to protect yourself. View the resources below:

• Cybersecurity: Part 1
• Cybersecurity: Part 2