Connecticut Statewide MLS (CTMLS)

Questions & Answers

 

To Download Common Question & Answer Information in a Powerpoint Presentation, Click Here

Below are some questions that are often asked about the new Connecticut Statewide MLS (CTMLS).  The answers to the questions have been provided by the Board of Directors of CTMLS and are based on information known to them at this time.  Since CTMLS is still in the development stage, some of the answers might have to be amended in the future as a result of ongoing, evolving planning by the Board and “happenings” not known at this time.

 

1. Why have a statewide MLS?

It’s what the state REALTORS® want.  In a recent CAR survey, 74% of the membership said they wanted one MLS, one MLS vendor, data in one format and one set of MLS rules.

 

2. What are some of the benefits of having a new statewide MLS?

Cost savings for REALTORS®

One MLS fee with costs spread over a greater number of users

Data protection

Costly data protection software is affordable for a large MLS

Access to all MLS data

CAR members will have access to the same data that the consumer already has access to via www.realtor.com and broker/agent sites

Statewide offer of compensation

No longer will a CT REALTOR® worry about being compensated for selling a listing that is posted on a MLS that the REALTOR® is not a member of

MLS data standardization

Will make the REALTORS®’ job easier

Uniform MLS rules and enforcement

A REALTOR® who currently belongs to two different MLSs is subject to two different set of rules and enforcement procedures

 

3. What is the name of the new statewide MLS entity?

             Connecticut Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (CTMLS)

 

4. How do I learn about the CTMLS?

             Go to www.ctstatewidemls.com

 

5. What’s on the CTMLS website?

-Frequently Asked Questions

-Board of Directors Meeting Schedule

-Summary of the Minutes of Each Board of Directors Meeting

-Board of Directors (with email links)

-Addition to the C.A.R. Bylaws

-Articles of Incorporation

-Bylaws

-Rules and Regulations

-Business Plan, revised 6/2/06

-Service Center Agreement, revised 9/15/06

-Subscription Waiver Form

-Give us Feedback, Ask a Question

 

6. What is the implementation plan for the CTMLS?

The data conversion committee is working with MLXchange’s parent company, First American MLSS, to map property information from ECRIS to the MLXchange data formats currently in use by the Co-Op members.  When completed, Subscribers to ECRIS will enjoy using most of the search/input parameters they have grown accustomed to with their current system.

 

Target dates:

Existing Co-Op and ECRIS databases migrating to the new service the second week in January.  ECRIS users will be on parallel systems through the end of the month.  They will be able to “see and search” data on MLXchange.  All listing modifications will be through ECRIS while they are trained on the new system.  Once training is completed by all ECRIS users, a date will be established after which these users will be able to add and modify listings on the CTMLS.

 

It is hoped that direct input into the system will be possible by February 1, 2007, for Fairfield County area users who are registered Participants and /or Subscribers.

           

7. How often does the board meet?

            Twice a month on the first and third Fridays with sub-committees meeting as needed.

 

8. If I have questions who should I call?

            Any of the members of the Board of Directors listed on the website.

 

9. How is CTMLS being funded?

The funding will come from both the participants and the subscribers (See question 11 for definitions of participants and subscribers).  To join, each Participant will have to pay a one-time membership fee of $200.  There is no such one-time fee for the subscribers.  After joining, each Participant and each Subscriber will pay a monthly membership fee of $26.

 

10. What type of legal entity is being formed?

The CTMLS is a non-profit corporation under Chapter 602 of the laws of the State of Connecticut.  In addition, the CTMLS also is a non-stock corporation within the meaning of the Connecticut Non-Stock Corporation Act.  The By-Laws of the Connecticut Association of REALTORS® (CAR) have been amended to allow CAR to be the sponsoring authority for the CTMLS.  The CTMLS shall conform its governing documents, rules, regulations, policies, practices, and procedures at all times to the Constitution, Bylaws, Rules, Regulations, and Policies of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

 

11. What is a Participant? What is a Subscriber?

A Participant is any Designated REALTOR® who is a principal, partner, corporate officer, or branch office manager acting on behalf of a principal.  A real estate firm can have only one Participant. 

 

A Subscriber (or user) includes REALTORS® and REALTOR®-Associates® who are non-principal brokers, sales associates, and licensed and certified appraisers affiliated with a Participant.

 

Each firm has one vote on relevant CTMLS business, as defined in the By-Laws, regardless of its size or number of offices.  

 

Only Participants have voting rights in the CTMLS, with one exception.

 

Exception: On any CTMLS matter on which CAR’s approval is required by the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the CTMLS or which is referred to CAR by a vote of the Directors of the CTMLS, the matter must be approved by both the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of CAR.

 

12. Who will control the statewide MLS?

The Board of Directors of CTMLS will control the CTMLS.  Participants who are REALTORS® and firm owners in Connecticut will elect the Board of Directors under a one-Participant, one-vote arrangement.  No firm may be represented on the Board of Directors by more than one member of the firm.  The bylaws of the CTMLS require that the Board of Directors consist 17 members consisting of 5 participants from the largest 10 firms in the State, 5 participants from the medium size firms and 5 participants from the smallest size firms.  In addition, there is one Subscriber on the Board of Directors and one non-voting representative of the 21 Board/Association Executives in the State.   Also, the bylaws state that each of the four CAR districts be represented in each of the three Participant classes of Board membership.  Directors will serve 3-year terms and their terms will be staggered so that each year, only five or six of the directors will possibly change.  At present, there are approximately 2,000 Participants in Connecticut. 

 

13. Can subscribers join the CTMLS if their Participant does not join?

No. 

 

A Subscriber can only be a member of the CTMLS if their Participant also is a member.  However, if a Participant is a member of the CTMLS, a Subscriber can elect not to join by filling out and submitting to the CTMLS the Subscription Waiver Form.

 

If a Participant/Subscriber/Other Member of the CTMLS allows access to the CTMLS to an unauthorized person, the Participant/Subscriber/Other Member can be fined up to $5,000 and have their membership suspended, as determined by the Board of Directors, for each occurrence.

 

14. Will directors be appointed or elected?

For the original corporation, the first slate of candidates selected for election to the Board of Directors was put together by the CAR Work Group members who functioned as the initial nominating committee.  This group was then elected by the 2,000 Participants.

 

The incorporators of the new corporation created by the Connecticut Association of REALTORS® elected the Directors of the old corporation in order to provide a smooth transition. There will be an election in 2007 that complies with the Bylaws. The directors of the corporation will be elected annually on a staggered basis by the 2,000 Participants who vote on a slate of candidates selected by a nominating committee according to the rules of representation described in the Bylaws. The Directors will elected to 1, 2, and three year terms. In the future, Directors will be elected to three-year terms.  No Director can serve more than two (2) consecutive terms.  The non-voting Board/Association executive will be elected annually by the Boards/Associations.  Additional candidates for each place to be filled on the Board of Directors may be placed in nomination by petition signed by at least 5% (five percent) of the Voting Members at least fifteen (15) days prior to the election. 

 

15. What about the officers?

Four officers will be elected annually by the Board of Directors.  They will be limited to three one-year terms.  The officers will be a President (or Chair), Vice President (or Vice Chair), Secretary and Treasurer.  In addition, the Chief Executive Officer of the CTMLS (the chief paid staff person) will be an ex-officio director without a voting right.  A Chief Executive Officer has not been hired yet.

 

16. Will the Boards/Associations or large brokers be able to override the decisions of the Board of Directors?

No.  The CTMLS will be a legal entity and its Board of Directors will have sole responsibility for making decisions for the corporation. 

 

17. How will the Board of Directors decide very important matters?

To ensure passage of Board of Directors resolutions dealing with very important matters, a super-majority of 80% of the voting directors will be required.  Matters such as changing the Certificate of Incorporation, modifying the by-laws, changing the REALTOR® Participant requirement, or modifying the one-Participant, one-vote requisite will require a super-majority vote.  Other matters such as mergers with other MLSs or the sale and dissolution of corporate assets will also require either a super-majority vote of the Directors or a majority vote of the members.

 

On some matters as described in the bylaws of the CTMLS, an affirmative vote of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of CAR, as described in the bylaws of CAR, will also be required.

 

18. What is a Service Center and what does it do?

A Service Center is a Board or Association or CMLS.  Those Boards/Associations or CMLS, that run an MLS today will probably want to be Service Centers under the CTMLS.  However, additional Boards/Associations may wish to serve in this capacity too.  Service Centers will sign up new MLS members, provide support to those members by answering questions and providing assistance, correcting listing errors, maintaining and distributing forms, providing training facilities for the MLS and dealing with ethics and arbitration matters.  Where the lockbox administration is now a function of the MLS, this could be a function of the Service Center.

 

19. Why would my Board/Association or CMLS want to be a Service Center?

Functioning as a Service Center will allow Board/Association or CMLS to continue to provide as many services as possible to its members.  The CTMLS will compensate Service Centers a “to be determined amount” per member per month for providing MLS-related services.

 

20. What MLS system will be used?

The Work Group considered quotations from five prominent MLS vendors and selected First American MLS Solutions, (FAMLSS,) (formerly Interealty,) for further negotiations.  The Board of Directors of the CTMLS agreed with this selection and has entered into a formal contract with FAMLSS.  About two-thirds of the REALTORS® in Connecticut use the FAMLSS system today and FAMLSS’s quoted prices were negotiated down to very favorable levels.

 

21. Will the CTMLS be housed with one of the existing Boards/Associations or with CMLS?

The CTMLS has entered into a contract for approximately 2.000 square feet of space in North Haven, CT.  The space is in the same building in which the Greater New Haven Association of REALTORS® is located, but it is separate and apart from the Association’s space.  Access to the location is very convenient from both the Merritt Parkway and I-91.

 

22. Are Participants required to join the CTMLS?

No. 

 

With the formation of the CTMLS there will be 11 MLSs in the State of Connecticut.  With the migration of ECAR to the CTMLS in January 2007, followed shortly thereafter by the five MLSs that collectively make up the Greater Hartford CoOp MLS, this number of MLSs in the State will be reduced to five, the CTMLS, the CMLS, the Greenwich MLS, the Darien MLS and the New Canaan MLS.  Each Participant in the State will have the option to join from one to all five of the remaining MLSs just as they have the option to join one or all 10 of the current MLSs.  This is a business decision that is up to each Participant to decide.

 

23. What will be the make-up of the senior staff of the CTMLS?

The senior staff of CTMLS will be:

A Chief Executive Officer, (CEO,) who reports directly to the Board of Directors,

An Administrative Services Manager, (MLS Director,) who reports to the CEO.

 

Barbara Horvath, currently with FAMLSS, has been offered and has accepted the position as the Administrative Services Manager.  Barbara will be joining the CTMLS on October 23, 2006.

 

An announcement is expected shortly on the Chief Executive Officer.  As soon as this person is hired, it will be posted on www.ctstatewidemls.com.

 

Although the Business Plan for the CTMLS provided for a Chief Operating Officer, (COO,) there are no plans at this time to fill this position.

 

24. Who has to post listings on the CTMLS?

 

All members of the CTMLS, whether they are Participants or Subscribers, have to post their “personal listings” on the CTMLS within 48 hours after obtaining all necessary signatures on the Listing Agreement. 

 

If a Participant is a member of the CTMLS but one of his/her Subscriber’s is not, and the Subscriber has a personal listings which is not a personal listing of the Participant, then the listing does not have to be posted on the CTMLS.  In fact, the listing cannot be posted on the CTMLS as only members can post listings.

 

Failure to adhere to the above will result in a fine as outlined in the Rules and Regulations of the CTMLS.