OK…Got that off my ample chest.
I know you guys just love the technological advances, but some days I just want to kick it all back to the 80’s. If you “kids” can say “I Want MY MTV!”. then why can’t I say “I Want My MLS BOOK!!!”
You guessed it. The mls is DOWN! It’s a beautiful sunny Sunday, I’m ready to show houses, and the system is acting up. Guess I’ll have to go to my own website, www.SearchingSeattle.com, and find properties to show.
We are getting a new super-duper, upgrade to the mls. Well thank you very much Rappatoni boys! Who asked for it! The whole system will be screwy in the meantime, for what? So we can say we “added” something? So the background color can be different or the buttons can be “cooler” and rad or whatever you kids say today.
Then I call the mls to gripe, so I don’t have to do it here, and they are closed for President’s Day from Sat. through Tuesday.
Are the upgrades really worth the inconvenience? Then we all have to take a class to learn how to use the stupid new upgrade…OK, I’ll find the homes the way that you do.
I bet the darned new upgrade is just a fire wall designed to help keep Robbie and his RSS feed out 🙂
I’m pretty sure the truth is in the last sentence.
Kinda off topic: I was curious if I can display available MLS listings on my site (I’m not a realtor) and I’ve been told that I only can display agents listings with their permission and not all the other reciprocal listings. According to that, I would be in violation displaying all the listings from your RSS feed. Would I?
1) It probably would in violation
2) If you’re going to do it anyway, use Windermere’s RSS feed. 🙂
Well Max, truth is you are not even subject to the rules that govern such things. The rules come from being a licensed real estate agent or from being a member of the mls or from being a member of the local, state and/or Nationional Association of Realtors.
When we become members of the mls we agree to abide by certain rules, including the one you mention that says we cannot advertise other agent’s listings without their consent. Reason being, we are eliciting buyer client’s with that listing that doesn’t belong to us. You don’t have that motivation and are not subject to the rule, since you are not a member. Same goes for being a member of the Board of Realtors that has about the same rules.
Rules are not for consumers. Consumers can pretty much do whatever they darned please, unless you are truly violating copyright law…which I sincerely doubt.
So as with all rules and laws that govern us, the real question is this.
Why do you want to do it and how will you get it there? If you answer those two questions, I might be able to better answer your original question.
Max,
Robbie is right. 95% of the time MLS’s only provide IDX feeds after making you sign off on the approved ways of displaying the data.
Ardell, I just sent Dustin over some MLS stuff that will hopefully spark a fun debate! Get your thinking cap ready!
I’m not sure Dustin wants any more fun debates, LOL. Can get a little controvesial in here at times. I love it! But then again, I’m the descendant of the Pasta Nazi 😉
Wow, guys – you rock! 😉
I’ve been lurking your blog for a while now – just never had brains to say something smart :)ha-ha
Robbie, I wouldn’t like to mess with laws – it is so popular in the US to get sued 🙂 So I better make sure what is right and what is wrong.
I’m running a small real estate directory with a few extra features and would like to take it to the next level. Looks like I will have at least 200K uniques by the end of this month, so traffic is good and I would like to make sure the members of the directory get it. I was thinking promoting agents and framing their listings or using RSS if possible (not everyone has it though). Some IDX sites have really cool features like saved searches – you can save and link to let’s say all oceanfront condos, or specif properties in a specific areas. So I was thinking actually creating content pages in the directory with links to those specific searches and displaying the results in the iframe or something.. of course that would something like agent sponsorship where they provide all the info and I just give them legit traffic and help to convert some leads. The main question was if I frame those listings (which are ok to appear on the agent’s site) – will that be a violation from my side? Of course that would count as an advertisement by the agent and the listings wouldn’t be only his/her – I wouldn’t frame anything on my own, only if they wish to. I just don’t want to get in trouble with any Association of Realtors or other Realtors that know the laws 🙂
I have RSS feed inclusion into realtors listings/membership(in the directory) and some of them include their blogs – others MLS listings. I assume that not all of those property listing are theirs.. also, those point2agents sites have RSS feeds of MLS listings and I don’t see a point in it if not syndicate them.
Thanks guys.
Don’t feel bad the MLS system here in Boston, Ma is not much better.