As the market picks up it is very important that you remember a few simple things to avoid hefty fines.  First, you have to submit to the MLS office ALL Exclusive Right to Sell Contracts taken in Berkshire County within 2 business days (or one business day of marketing). For active and coming soon listings, that submission is done when entering the listing in flex… all others should be emailed to Listings@BerkshireRealtors.org. Mistakes are costly – $50 per day for each day it’s late!

To avoid a $250 initial fine please make sure that your listing is classified correctly.  Active listings must be available for showing.  How soon?  The MLS Board clarified that ACTIVE listings must start scheduling showings in less than 48 hours, otherwise it’s a coming soon listing with marketing or a delayed listing without marketing. This has always been the policy but was not included in the fine matrix… now it is.

NEW CLARIFICATION:  Failing to classify a listing as active, coming soon, delayed or office exclusive properly:  $250 first offense; $500 second offense, Additional offenses will be administratively assessed after a hearing with the MLS Board, the Participant, and the offending user; per Section 7 of the Rules and Regulations.

You may have seen a few listings coming on the market with remarks saying that it couldn’t be shown until a future date… staff followed up immediately in those circumstances to convert the listing to a coming soon status or to make the listing available for showing immediately. It’s very important in this tight market that we are being as transparent in our showing process because it is under great scrutiny by all the buyers who are frustrated with this lack of inventory. We’re trying to make “Clear Cooperation” clear.  Here are the MLS Policies and the video (less than an hour of your time can save you $$$) in case you need a refresher!   Thanks so much.