Greetings RANW,

 

In early July, RANW MLS opted in to the NAR settlement to protect our members.  By opting in, RANW MLS has agreed to make a few changes to our business practices.  Luckily in Wisconsin, we have been ahead of the game as far as transparency goes with our customers and clients so the changes we make in Wisconsin are lighter than many other states as we already had many practices in place.

 

Here is what is changing for RANW MLS on August 13th.

 

All commission fields will be removed from the MLS.  This includes the variable rate commission field.  Brokers will need to find a way to negotiate compensation outside of the MLS.  We cannot create a “workaround” in the MLS for offers of compensation.

Listing brokers must compensate cooperating brokers the amount offered in the MLS for any listings that have accepted offers prior to August 13.  TIP: It would be a good business practice to print/save the listing data sheet from Paragon for any pending listings that you are currently participating in as a record of the commission offered.  Any conflicts concerning commission will still be processed through required mediation/arbitration.

Compensation will need to be negotiated outside of the MLS for all listings that do not have accepted offers that are in the MLS on August 13th. 

 

RANW will not be adding a seller’s concessions field in our active data section of Paragon.  If the seller is offering concessions to the buyer, they can still be entered into the public remarks section.  Concessions may only be entered in the MLS as long as they are not conditioned on the use of an agent.  Agents cannot filter the remarks section by concessions.

In accordance with the settlement, policy letters or co-broke agreements between brokers where two brokers agree to compensation splits prior to negotiation with a seller are no longer allowed.  All such agreements that are currently in place must be rescinded by August 13th.  They will not just “go away” on August 13th, they must be rescinded.

 

All RANW REALTORS® assisting a buyer that is shopping for a RESIDENTIAL listing (this includes all multi-family residential listings) must provide the buyer with an agency disclosure prior to negotiating terms for any residential listings that the buyer is interested in. This could include the “Broker Disclosure to Customer” form or a “Buyers Agency Agreement”.  If you are in a pre-agency relationship with the buyer, you must complete the “Pre-Agency Showing Agreement for Wisconsin Properties” form or a similar disclosure provided by your company, prior to showing a buyer any residential listings.

 

If you are hosting an open house on behalf of the seller only and are giving access to an unrepresented buyer, you do not need a completed broker disclosure as you are working for the seller. 

 

If you are working with a buyer that is only shopping for COMMERCIAL listings, you do not need the broker disclosure form as the requirement is only for RESIDENTIAL listings.  Please do not submit your broker disclosure forms to RANW MLS unless requested.

 

In most cases, listing agreements and amendments usually contain compensation information, therefore RANW MLS will no longer accept these documents if they are uploaded into Paragon or emailed to us unless requested.  ALL OTHER FORMS ARE STILL REQUIRED like the “Seller’s Authorization for Delayed Showings” and the “Office Exclusive” form.

RANW MLS is responsible for enforcing the rules under the settlement that are explained here but the responsibility lies with the managing broker to make sure that all forms are being used correctly and policies are being followed consistently. 

 

RANW MLS has the authority to request any documents pertaining to any of the listings entered into Paragon. This includes, but is not limited to, listing contracts, amendments and broker disclosure forms.  If RANW MLS requests any documentation, please submit the documents within one business day of the request.

The RANW MLS listing entry procedures will remain the same outside of the changes outlined here.  All listings will be broker load into Unconfirmed status.  MLS Data Compliance will review all listings and once approved they will make the listing active in Confirmed status. 

 

As of August 13th, RANW will no longer offer our Listing Input Service for brokers that submitted their documentation to RANW MLS for us to enter into Paragon.  All listings must be entered by Broker Load.  If you are one of the companies that used this service, the managing broker and the agents in the office must complete the listing input and maintenance webinar and submit the Listing Input & Maintenance (LIM) form to Cheryl Dreger at cdreger@ranw.org.  Managing brokers may also give approval for their agents to have LIM access. Please email us with your intent if you wish to give them this access.

 

Please join us for our Virtual Town Hall.  WRA Attorney Jennifer Lindsley will be giving us a presentation on the changes from the settlement and discussing other possible disruptions to our industry.  We will also discuss our local changes to our rules and regulations.  We will have time for questions.  You will be able to ask them in the chat during the webinar or you can email them ahead of time to phall@ranw.org. This virtual town hall is for RANW members only.

 

Paula Hall, RCE, ePRO, AHWD, C2EX
Executive Vice President
REALTORS® Association of Northeast Wisconsin (RANW)

W6124 Aerotech Dr., Appleton WI 54914

phall@ranw.org   Office: 920-707-9900

Direct: 920-707-9901