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Compliance Corner #60
August 15, 2022
STATUS AND CONTRACTUAL CHANGES As a listing agent, you must report a change in status within 24 hours of a written execution. This applies to all STATUS and contractual changes such as price changes, extensions, BAC changes, etc.
If the Listing Agent does not report the change in the allotted time, a fine will be issued. In the event of a CLOSING, the sales agent/office can contact SMARTMLS to report the change after the initial 24 hour period has passed. Documented proof of the transaction will be required from the sales agent/sales office in order for this update to be made.
Section 5.6 Reporting Sales and Leases to the Service. Status changes, including final closing of sales, shall be reported to the multiple listing service by the listing broker within 24 hours, excluding Sundays and holidays, after they have occurred.
When you get an accepted offer on a property and go into Matrix to update the status of the listing, you might wonder which status you should choose: Under Contract- Continue to Show (UC-CTS) or Under Contract (UC). These two statuses look and sound quite similar, which can sometimes lead to confusion.
Here are the full definitions of each, per SmartMLS Rules & Regulations:
Under Contract-Continue to Show (UC-CTS) - Means that either (i) have executed and delivered a purchase and sale agreement or, if earlier, (ii) have executed and delivered a written bilateral offer to purchase, and, in either case, contingencies remain and the Seller requests that the Listed Property remain on the market for backup offers.
Once a listing has been in the UC-CTS status for 60 consecutive days, the status will automatically change from UC-CTS to UC and remain that way until reported as Closed.
Under Contract (UC) - The status of a listed property when the Seller and the potential buyer of the listed property either (i) have executed and delivered a purchase and sale agreement or, if earlier, (ii) have executed and delivered a written bilateral offer to purchase, and, in either case, the Seller has not requested that the Listed Property remain marketed for back-up offers. Each Under Contract Listing shall be considered to be “off market”.
The major difference between these two statuses comes down to whether or not the seller would like the property to remain on the MLS for backup offers and additional showings.
- If the seller would like to continue to entertain offers and have the property be shown to other interested parties, the listing must be marked Under Contract- Continue to Show.
- If the seller does not want to deal with backup offers or have any more showings, the listing must be marked Under Contract.
Does the deposit check determine when a listing is marked Under Contract- CTS or Under Contract?
No, neither status is determined by a deposit check from the Buyer. These statuses are based on an executed contract signed by the Seller and Buyer (and whether the property is being kept on market for additional showings and backup offers).
- It is also not dependent on the satisfaction of any contingencies or conditions of the contract which must be met prior to closing.
Some additional notable information about UC-CTS and UC:
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- Neither status will expire in Matrix.
- Neither is dependent on the satisfaction of any contingencies or conditions of the contract that must be met prior to closing.
- You cannot go directly from Under Contract- Continue to Show to Closed. You must always mark the listing Under Contract first.
- Days on Market (DOM) will continue to accrue after a listing is marked UC-CTS; it stops accruing once a listing is marked UC.
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A Proposed Closing Date (PCD) is required on every Under Contract- Continue to Show (UC-CTS) and Under Contract (UC) listing. It is your estimate of when you think the listing will close. It is not a date that SmartMLS will hold you to, nor do you have to wait until the PCD has arrived to mark the listing Closed. In most instances, the PCD will (and should) be further into the future than the actual Closed Date.
The PCD must always be a date in the future. If the PCD passes and the listing is still not ready to close, you will be required to update the PCD to an estimated date in the future.
Under Agreement In the summer of 2021, SmartMLS created a new sub-category for the Active status, known as Under Agreement (UA). This was designed for those instances where, rather than having a binding contract in place, you have a meeting of the minds that has been documented by a memorandum of terms, offer to purchase or other type of non-binding agreement. These listings remain in the MLS as an Active status listing, but are required to use the Under Agreement flag. Doing so allows other agents and their buyers to know that the property is still for sale but is currently subject to a non-binding agreement.
In instances where a listing with an Under Agreement flag cannot be shown, the status must be changed to Temporarily off Market (TEMP) with the Under Agreement flag remaining in place.
Once a non-binding agreement is converted to a contract, the status must be changed to UC-CTS or UC.
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The Compliance Team values your opinions, comments and suggestions!!!
Never hesitate to contact us at compliance@smartmls.com or 203-750-6000
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