If your seller has expressed their desire to not have their property listed on SmartMLS, and thus not benefit from the exposure to our 21,000+ subscribers and their clients, you still must enter the listing in connectMLS. However, we have a mechanism that allows us to designate the listing as a Withhold from MLS (WFMLS) listing. By doing so, no one besides you, your office management hierarchy and SmartMLS staff will ever know that the listing is there.
Please follow these steps to enter a WFMLS listing:
- Have your seller(s) complete the Instruction to Withhold Listing from MLS form in addition to the listing agreement or Listing Agreement Compliance Certification. This form confirms they do not want their listing on the MLS for at least 30 days (or ever).
- Enter the entire listing in connectMLS as you would any other listing. At the beginning of the listing input process (when you 're entering the Basic Listing Information), make sure to set the Withhold from MLS YN field to Yes:
- Upload the Instruction to Withhold Listing from MLS and listing agreement/Listing Agreement Compliance Certification forms while the listing is still in the Draft status. Each form must be uploaded separately (each has its own specific document type).
- When you are finished uploading the listing (along with the necessary documents, photos, etc.), save the listing as Active. As long as you have set the Withhold from MLS field to Yes, no other users will be able to see it on the MLS.
Once the listing has been saved as Active, maintain it throughout its life cycle as you would any other traditional listing. This includes making any necessary price and status changes. This is especially important in case the seller decides that they would like the listing to be activated at some point in the future.
If the property closes without ever being activated on the MLS and the sellers agree for it to be added for comparable purposes, mark it Closed (click here for a refresher on marking a listing Closed). If the Withhold from MLS field is still set to Yes, the listing will automatically appear as a Comp Only listing once you have marked it Closed. There is nothing additional you need to do.
If the property closes but the seller does not want it on the MLS as a comp, let it expire naturally (when it reaches its expiration date). Do not mark it Closed, as that will automatically turn it into a Comp Only listing.
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Publishing a WFMLS listing as Active
If your seller(s) decide that they would like to publish the listing to the MLS so it is visible to all SmartMLS subscribers and their clients, please make sure of the following:
- You've uploaded a fully executed Instruction to File Listing with MLS form.
- The listing has been in connectMLS as a Draft for at least 30 days.
- There is at least one photo of the exterior front of the property.
Go to Add/Edit> Edit Listing Details:
After you've pulled up the listing, go to the Contract tab and click Edit Basic Listing Information:
Go to the Withhold from MLS YN field and switch it from Yes to No:
Remember to click the Apply Changes button in the top right corner to save the change you've made to the Withhold from MLS YN field.
That brings you back to the listing input form. If you have any additional changes to make to the listing, you can do so now. Just remember to click Validate for Publishing when you're finished. That is the last step in the process of activating a WFMLS listing.
The listing will now be visible to all SmartMLS users and their clients. If you have chosen to syndicate it to any downstream websites, it will now be included in the data feed as well.
Going forward, it is your responsibility to continue maintaining the listing on the MLS as you would for any other traditional listing.
Related articles:
Seller/Lessor Instruction to Withhold Listing from SmartMLS
Seller/Lessor Instruction to File Listing with SmartMLS
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