Picture this – it’s a dark and stormy night. While you nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a pinging, as of your phone gently dinging, ringing that you had a new email. You open your inbox, and it looks like nothing is there. When suddenly, from out of the digital shadows, jumps out an unimaginable horror: a violation notice from CRMLS Compliance! BOO!
It’s always fun to indulge in some horror cliches during the Halloween season, but let’s get right to the point – even if you’re scared to receive word from CRMLS about any potential violation or fine, Compliance isn’t the boogeyman. While it may seem like there’s no greater horror than losing money to fines, Compliance is actually here to help and work with you, not to terrorize you. Let’s help make this misunderstood creature a little less scary.
To the surprise of many, the main goal of Compliance isn’t to seek out violations and make money off of hardworking real estate pros. The dedicated CRMLS Compliance team is actually busy seeking out listings that have incorrect, invalid, or potentially illegal information in them. No one benefits from bad listings, so it’s in everyone’s best interest that Compliance ensures that all photos are legible and safe, that no broker employs unfair selling advantages, and that the house isn’t haunted (kidding, we don’t employ any ghostbusters…yet). CRMLS is here to ensure truth and veracity for the benefit of everyone looking to buy and sell.
While those are all good intentions, you may be saying “Well, duh! But what about the little nitty gritty ‘gotcha’ violations?” Good news! Most potential violations will not immediately trigger a fine, and compliance isn’t here to jump-scare you.
All of the CRMLS Rules & Policies, which govern violations, are agreed upon by our Rules Committee populated by participating brokers and agents. It’d be pretty foolish for them to make their own “gotcha” rules to undermine themselves. It’s also important to remember that violations don’t implicitly mean fines. CRMLS is happy to offer warnings and work with you to help bring your listings back into compliance before money ever becomes involved.
In fact, over 65% of CRMLS violations come from only a small handful of rules. Most of those rules govern the nature of acceptable photographs, copyright, or a failure to correct any violation after already being warned. You might be surprised to hear that CRMLS doesn’t enjoy doling out fines; we’d rather work to ensure a more accurate and accountable MLS for all of our users. We don’t want you to be surprised by an esoteric violation showing up in your inbox, and even if you do receive one, our Compliance team is happy to help you understand and clear things up.
So, how can you successfully ward off Compliance? It doesn’t take crosses and garlic – it’s much, much easier. For one, make sure the email address associated with your MLS login is up to date, as this is where all Compliance messages will be sent, and you can’t really afford to miss them in a forgotten inbox. If you’re worried about listing photos, our photographer list has a collection of businesses who are familiar with MLS compliance and will take photos accordingly. Finally, don’t hesitate to contact us! Our Compliance team is full of real (and very nice) people who are happy to assist, clarify, and resolve any potential issues you may have.
There are many things out there to be afraid of – ghosts, demons, trick-or-treaters on dangerous sugar highs, etc. – but Compliance is just one of the branches of CRMLS that’s doing its part to ensure you have a better, cleaner, and more transparent MLS experience. Once you understand the process better, it becomes a lot less scary. If you want to know more, check out our series on Compliance in this blog (Parts 1, 2, 3) and consider attending one of our regular webinars about avoiding common violations.
Before we say goodbye and hope that you have a spooktacular Halloween, we gotta ask – among us real estate professionals, which movie haunted house do you think you could still move in today’s marketplace? Amityville Horror? The Conjuring? House on Haunted Hill? Let us know in the comments!