"Yep, the barn door's open and the cow is gone.  It's too late to close the door now!"  That's what my grandma used to tell me when I mistakenly left the barn open as a young child.  The two of us would go to the field and try to coaxe ol' Bessie back into the barn.   I was thankful for fences, otherwise a certain backside might have been warmed!

Maybe the powers that govern the MLS didn't have grandmas to tell them the cow was out of the barn.  Maybe they didn't learn that lesson.  I couldn't say for sure, but the cow is definitely out!

The MLS rules and regulations were changed last March to prohibit all members of the MLS from using the terms "MLS" or  "Multiple Listing Service" in their web sites or advertising when they offer the ability to search listings to the public.  When the public searches listings on my web site or any other web site, they think they are searching the MLS, but they are not.  They are searching a data base provided by REALTORS® for public use, but it is not the true MLS.  That's why properties that  are not active can not be found on any REALTOR's® web site.  Only the active listings are available to the public.  This ability to search listings is provided by individual agents and companies as a means to market listings.

The true MLS can only be searched by REALTORS®.  It is a security protected site and one must be a member of the Regional Multiple Listing Service and pay fees to gain access.  Much more data is available from the MLS than what is given to the public.  Archived listings, total number of days on the market, sold listings, mapping, tax records, and more are availabe to REALTOR® members of the MLS.

Too late the governing board of the MLS decided to restrict use of the term.  They want to protect the public from being confused into thinking they are accessing the MLS when they use our web sites.  The irony of this restriction is that the very people who have access to the MLS, the REALTORS®, are the ones who cannot use the term.  Others, who do not have access to the MLS, can use MLS to describe property listings on their site and in their domain names, but we can't.  The board can police its members, but there is no ability to police non-members.  So, if I put "Search the MLS" on my website, the penalty will be to be cut off.  You heard it right.  I would be thrown out of the MLS and no longer allowed secure access to their online MLS.  Essentially, that would end my career.  I would not be able to do comparable market analyses, find homes for buyer clients, check market activity, or market my listings on the MLS.  That's a hefty penalty.

If the MLS authorities didn't want to confuse the public into thinking they had access to the MLS, they've made the policy too late.  The public already is confused and considers their access of listings to be the true MLS.  This is especially true for real estate offices that placed "MLS" in their company names, like The MLSOnline.com.  It's a company name and the public believes when they use that company's website, they are on the MLS online!  That company's name will be "grandfathered" in so they can continue to use their website and their name with disclaimers.  Who reads disclaimers? 

Hundreds of agents will have to shut down their websites that have names like "SearchTheMLS.com" or "TwinCitiesMLS.com".  Other, non-members can buy and use those domains giving them an advantage over the true MLS members.  Of course, the non-members can't access the MLS, but they can get people to their web sites under false pretenses.

I hate to say it, but the cow's out of the barn and it's too late to shut the door.  In this case, I'm not sure Bessie will ever return to the barn!

(c) Bonnie Erickson 2006