Participation: 1a. "Participants" - Participation in the Service is available to any firm, partnership, or corporation of any REALTOR principal who is an active member of a board of REALTORS or any REALTOR Association without further qualification except payment of required dues and fees and agreement to abide by these by-laws and the rules and regulations of the Service and completion of an orientation program of no more than three (3) classroom hours devoted to the MLS rules and regulations. However, under no circumstances is any individual or firm, regardless of membership status, entitled to Multiple Listing Service "Membership" or "Participation" unless they hold a current, valid real estate broker's license and are capable of accepting and offering compensation to and from other Participants or are licensed or certified by an appropriate state regulatory agency to engage in the appraisal of real property. Use of information developed by or published by the Service is strictly limited to the activities authorized under a Participant's licensure(s) or certification and unauthorized uses are prohibited. Further, none of the foregoing is intended to convey "Participation" or "Membership" or any right of access to information developed by or published by the Service where access to such information is prohibited by law. A REALTOR principal of any firm, partnership, or corporation, or the branch office manager who serves as designated broker or licensed or certified appraiser and who is designated by said firm, partnership, or corporation shall be termed the "Participant" in the Service and shall have all rights, benefits, and privileges of the Service, and shall accept all obligations to the Service for the Participant's firm, partnership, or corporation, and for compliance with the by-laws and rules and regulations of the Service by all persons affiliated with Participant who utilize the Service.

Section 4.9 Change of Status of Listing: Participants shall notify the Service of any change in the property status, i.e: pending sale contract, cancellation of pending sale, closed sale, change in price or terms or withdrawal from the market. A Report of any such change shall be made to the Service within 48 hours, excluding state and federal holidays, after the change is received by the Participant. The seller’s signature must be obtained to Report a change in price, withdrawal, extension, and back on market (after expiration). In the event of a dispute involving a status change, the Service reserves the right to contact the seller directly in order to clarify any and all status changes.

The remarks section is for promotional information of the property only, not the agent or the company. There is a $50 fine for entering names, telephone numbers, bonus information, open houses, websites or email addresses. Any of this information may be entered in the showing instruction field.

Section 5.6 Reporting Pending Sales (including Active Pending, Active Hubbard): “When a purchase and sales agreement has been executed by all parties, a Report of the pending sales shall be made to the Service within 48 hours, excluding state and federal holidays and shall include pending date, cooperating agent and cooperating office.”

Please note – when reporting listings as Active Pending and Active Hubbard, the listings will remain in active in MLXchange and RI Living.

Open Houses – Please be sure to advise sellers’ to remove valuables and prescription drugs during open houses. There was a suspicion of prescription drugs being stolen at an open house in the East Providence area.

Finished Living Area – The keywords – ALV and BLV on the listing data forms are to be used for approximate finished living square feet only.

ALV – Above Grade Living Area:  Heated living area on any level, which is at or above grade.  This area SHOULD NOT include the finished areas of a Raised Ranch, unfinished rooms on any level or additional finished areas outside the main dwelling such as a carriage house.

BLV – Below Grade Living Area:  Finished, heated living area which is below grade, and/or extraneous (separate) to the main living area can be included in this field; such as finished basements, the finished portion of the lower level of a raised ranch, finished attics, carriage houses, etc.

It is important to remember that the following status changes require the seller(s) signatures:

• Price Change
• Extension
• Back on Market
• Withdrawals

Caution: Changing the price or the expiration date in the system without the Seller(s) written authorization is a violation of State Law. Be aware of the consequences and fines.

All photos must be submitted within 7 days and at least one photo must be an exterior photo of the property.

Please remember, when ordering a virtual tour that includes an exterior photo, the photo is still required within 7 days to avoid a $50.00 fine.

The remarks section is for promotional information of the property only, not the agent or the company. There is a $50 fine for entering names, telephone numbers, bonus information, open houses, websites or email addresses. Any of this information may be entered in the showing instruction field.

• If the website pertains to just the property description and no contact information of the listing agent/company/seller is visible OR accessible through other links on the site, then it may be displayed in the remarks section.
• An exception would be if the website is used as the vehicle to submit bids/offers or obtain additional information on the process.
• Please note that if any contact information is accessible from the web address, the office will be fined $50.00 per offense

If the property is to be withdrawn, the sellers’ are required to sign the withdrawal form.

Remember … MLS conducts random documentation requests, and will be increasing the amount of requests to insure compliance.

2. 7-Day Photos - All Realtor-Submit photos must be submitted to MLS within 7 days. A $50.00 fine will be assessed for failure to comply.

4. When submitting photos to MLS – PLEASE BE SURE there are no signs or logos in your photos. MLS Rules and Regulations – Section 6.4 … “Physical depictions of listed property, including, but not limited to, photographs, digital images, virtual tours, and sketches, which are submitted to the Service shall depict the property for sale and shall not include marketing or promotional messages made on behalf of the listing broker or seller…

We have received numerous complaints regarding this. Please check your inventory and replace any photos that may contain any agent/office promotional information to avoid the fine of $50.00 per offense.

"Non-MLS Listing - entered for sold purposes only".

Once the listing number is assigned, report as pending and sold.

Submitting these properties into the system is beneficial to the agent and office for awards credit, while also being very valuable to MLS and its Members for market research and statistics.