Bulletins – Hawaii Information Service

MLS Enhancements…..

The limit on initial Prospect matches has been increased from a limit of 100 to 500.

(Clarification added March 13, 2008. Now if your prospect matches more than a 100 matches (and under 500) they will be sent out before turning into a bad prospect.)

Bugs Fixed…….

Should you have any questions or concerns in regards to the enhancements and bug fixes we have just released, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-628-3121, if calling from the neighbor islands or 599-4224 if calling from Oahu. You may also send an email to TechSupport@Hawaiiinformation.com.

MLS Rules……

We are pleased to announce an oft-requested change in the HIS policy that allows copying of photos for re-use.

Effective March 1, 2008, the MLS Rules & Regulations is amended to establish photos for listings submitted to the service as a separate class of data not available for copying by other Participants and/or their agents for re-use in subsequent listings for any given property without the permission of the previous listors who originally submitted the photos.

(Clarification added March 13, 2008.The paragraph above reflects revisions since first being sent to all customers on March 06, 2008. Please note that the rule change only affects the re-using of listings photos. All other copying of photos currently permitted by the rules are not affected.)

HIS is now investigating watermarks and or other copyright notices on photos to prevent the scraping or copying of photos. At the same time, an enhancement to REsearch to allow agents to copy their own photos is now in the development queue.

Rules Clarification …..

Some of the most frequently asked questions regards the disclosure of license status. The MLS Rules and Regulations do not require licensee listors or licensee sellers/owners to disclose the status of their licenses in the listing Public Remarks. The listor/listing agent’s license status should already be on their web pages in which the listing record information is viewed by the public website visitors. Also participation in the MLS presumes that the listing agent holds an active real estate license.

Seller and/or owner who is a licensee does not have to disclose his/her license status in a listing of his/her property at all if it is listed by another licensee. If the seller and/or owner is listing his/her own property, he/she needs to disclose that he/she has ownership interest in the listed property in the Private Remarks. Prior to February 1, 2008, the “listor is owner/seller” disclosure was required in the Public Remarks.

The MLS rules prohibit persons to be shown in photos attached to listing records and many listors are caught by surprise upon receiving notice from HIS requesting the removal of photos they have attached to listing records that contain people in them. There may be exposure to liability with the publishing of such photos. Unless the subjects in the photos authorize their photos to be published in advertising, they may upon discovering it file lawsuits against the listors. There may also be problems in regards to Fair Housing Laws. For example, if photos show only people of a certain ethnicity in listings of properties in a community known to be predominantly populated by people of that ethnicity, however far-fetched or remote the possibility, there is a risk that someone may claim that showing photos of persons only of that ethnicity are in violation of Fair Housing Laws. There have also been reports that showing photos of only adults causing allegations of discrimination against prospective buyers with children. The rules prohibiting photos with persons in the service help listors to avoid being subject to such suits and charges. It should be noted that it is the Participants who are responsible for complying with all laws.

Screening all listings for photos with persons in them is tedious and time-consuming, and HIS does not have the resources to dedicate personnel to look at every photo loaded into the service. When it is reported to HIS that a particular listing has photos with persons in them, HIS sends a courtesy notice to the respective listor asking that photos with persons be removed from the service within 48 hours. If these photos are not removed within that timeframe, processing fees may be assessed. Currently the processing fees are $50 per listing initially, and then $50 per listing each week thereafter until these photos are removed. HIS also reserved the right to remove listings in violation of the rules from the service.

Also regarding Photos…..

The MLS rules require that a photo of the listed property or its vicinity be submitted to the service within 7 days of the release of a listing. Only listings of vacant land are exempt from this requirement. Failure to provide a photo within 7 days, may cause listors to be assessed processing fees in the amount of $50 per listing initially, and then $50 per week thereafter until a photo is provided.

Upon the sale of the listed property, at least one photo of the property or its vicinity is required to remain with the listing before a sale can be reported.

If you’ve not participated in our Customer Satisfaction Survey yet, we would like to ask that you spend a few minutes of your time to let us know how we’re doing. Just click here if you’re ready to take it…or come back later when you have the time. The survey will be available on line through Wednesday, March 12, 2008. Should you have any questions about it, please contact our Tech Support team by sending an email to TechSupport@Hawaiiinformation.com, or by calling 1-800-628-3121 if you’re on any of the neighbor islands or 599-4224 if you’re calling from Oahu. Mahalo!