Home : Blogs : David Kyle, Charlotte SEO : Charlotte SEO

Does this MLS policy make any sense to you?

I'm a Realtor here in Charlotte, and I was really suprised to find out the CMLS policy on domain names that have an IDX feed.

The CMLS is carolinamls.com for Realtor access, and carolinahome.com for the public IDX. The policy states that Realtor's that are members of the system, MAY NOT have an idx feed on domains that have words like MLS, Multiple Listing, etc. This is so that people won't confuse it as the real MLS. Well that sort of makes sense from a VERY NARROW perspective.

The CMLS owned CharlotteMLS.com for some time and it used to be the public idx site before they turned it into carolinahome.com

I'm somewhat technically inclined, and I have a few scripts running 24/7 that keep an eye out for good domains that are expiring and are related to Charlotte Real Estate. So far I have acquired RealEstateCharlotte.com, RealEstateCharlotte.us, OwnCharlotte.com, CLTRealEstate.com, and last but not least CharlotteMLS.com

I was really suprised that the CMLS just let that one go. I mean for an organization that is supposed to be concerned with the integrity of the name, it would seem they would at least forward it to carolinahome.com.

So it turns out it was up for auction through Register.com. Long story short: I ended up winning the auction to the tune of $4500! The person who was bidding against me, lived in the UKRAINE! Now I don't know it for sure, but past experience tells me this: if you live in the Ukraine, and have $4500 United States Dollars to spend on a domain name called charlottemls.com... more than likely YOU ARE INVOLVED WITH INTERNET CRIME!!!!

I still felt good about the price I paid until I found out the policy I mentioned above. I couldn't believe this. I just saved the domain from some Russian gangster who was probably going to turn into some type of 'phishing' website (i.e. set up a site that says people can list their home on the MLS for 50$, just punch in your credit card details) and now I can't turn it into an IDX site like I wanted.

I was going to be very careful in disclosing that this was not the actual MLS, and that only a Realtor had access to the MLS. I was planning to explain what the IDX was, and how it should not be considered the actual MLS.

No Dice according to the CMLS board. So for now, I just have it set up as a SEO strategy for my main site, because it is an old domain with authority.

But how does this make sense? If I would have let the Russian gangster have it, it would be gone FOREVER! This guy could have turned it into whatever he pleased, and there would be nothing they could do about it. Do you think this guy would have had the "integrity of the MLS" in mind??

The only people that the CMLS board can prevent from using the domains are the Realtors who are a member of their system. These are the very people that the MLS is for. So it's not okay for me to have a site that "might confuse" the average person that this was the "real" MLS, but it's completley okay for some stranger to. I mean even if was just some national lead farming network, they could do all kinds of things that degraded the integrity of the term "MLS".

It seems to me that the way to preserve the integrity, would be to allow Realtors to buy these domains up. The board should have some standard guideline on what must be disclosed, etc, etc. The message that the board wants to get across the general public would be conveyed on a much broader spectrum, because it's all over the web on multiple sites.

I think what the board is trying to prevent has already happened anyways. Everyone is familiar with the term MLS, and every IDX website has a field for the user to put in a MLS NUMBER! Addressing this concern by putting restrictions on Realtor's is not the way to go about it. The public needs to be educated, and the only one who would be interested in doing that is a REALTOR!

The fear the board has is that everyone will think the MLS is a public thing, and that everyone should have free access to it. They fear that somehow this misconception will grow if Realtor's are allowed to have sites with MLS on it.

I think the fear is legit, but the solution is actually making the problem WORSE!!

As I have stated, the current policy is basically leaving these domains wide open for abuse by people that don't care about the MLS, Realtor's or the real estate industry in general. As people come across these bogus MLS sites, their perception of it could be negative. For instance, there are tons of lead farming websites that offer "Free MLS search" just input your name and email and you will get instant access. But when one does this, you are just taken to a page that tells you "someone will contact you". That person of course would be a Realtor that purchased the lead.

So now the consumer has been tricked, and are upset they didn't get what they were looking for. They associate that experience with the term MLS and how a Realtor called them when they didn't want to be contacted in the first place... all they wanted to do was a search. Stuff like this can degrade the "integrity" of the name MLS a lot worse than a licensed Realtor with an IDX feed.

And what can possibly happen with the way things are going now, is that the term MLS can become so stigmatized... that something else on the Internet comes along AND REPLACES IT!

But hey.. at least no one ever thought they could search it for free :P

I know that is an extreme speculation, but is it really that far off considering the situation and restrictions I have described? I don't think it is.

I am a dues paying member of the CMLS, therefore I am committed to it's integrity. I wish the CMLS board would realize that.

Well, I would really like to hear your opinions on this.

Posted by David Kyle, Charlotte SEO on 01/03/2007 05:09 PM

Comments (7)

mls, websites, domain names, idx

7 Comments on Does this MLS policy make any sense to you?

JAN

2007

Hey David-

CMLS has many, many ridiculous rules. Like only allowing IDX feeds through the broker website and being restricted to one such feed...so I have to use the RE/MAX search IDX if I want the benefit of remax.com even though our tech guy had built a waaay better search. Alas. The internet providers and web techies laugh when i tell them who our MLS is. We're notorious.

As far as the IDX vs MLS stuff-it's part of the battle with the DOJ's argument that MLSs are a public utility. When agents and boards and brokers refer to their IDX sites as MLS searches (which they aren't-IDX only feeds certain fields through, full information is only available to members), it sounds like we're already allowing full access to certain people. And it's a nasty fight that is going to get worse before it gets better. MLS is NOT a public utility-it's shared information among brokers, and I for one don't want to be told that I HAVE to disseminate my sellers' information to just anyone with a computer. Sharing with other professionals is different.

JMHO> =)

I agree with you 100%. I understand the difference between MLS and IDX. You most certainly have the option not to publish a listing to the IDX.

I understand people wanting to protect what the MLS is, but the fact is it has become a common term, and it isn't even trademarked. The company that owns MLS.com actually tried to have it trademakred to them, so they could take away MLS.biz from some Realtor in Maryland. They aren't even associated with the NAR!

You and I understand what MLS is, but the DOJ and the average consumer for that matter does not. The term is used very loosely I agree. It's not our fault that everyone calls IDX the MLS. It's not suprising to me that everyone does this, because almost every type of ad out there usually makes reference to a MLS#. I bet if we stopped 100 random people on the street, at least 80% of them would think they could "search the MLS" themselves

So if that were true, wouldn't it make sense to let Realtors have domains with MLS in it, and had them clearly define what the MLS actually is, and what it is they are actually searching?

I really think that if this policy stays in place, the damage done by those the CMLS has no control over will be not only greater but faster than the damage they think could happen with Realtors having these domains.

I wonder if I will get in trouble for putting a link to the IDX on another site I own. Worse case scenario... I will have to turn it into something that solicits flat fee listings... <yuck>

FEB

2007

Go get em!

If I were you I would follow their rules exactly. As in Exactly... "MAY NOT have an idx feed on domains that have words like MLS". Great, make it a FULL site about Charlotte and merely have the MLS IDX function sitting on a separate domain name. Click FOR MLS SEARCH and have it go to another URL.

Also mention to them that you can either sell the domain to them for $10k or to the RUssian gansta for $5k.

I would put a site up. They probably dont even know that domains can point and technically follow their rules.

Frank Borges LL0SA- Virginia Broker/ Owner FranklyRealty.com

Blog.FranklyRealty.com Featured in BusinessWeek, CNBC, WSJ etc.

MAR

2007

If you live in the Ukraine, and have $4500 United States Dollars to spend on a domain name called charlottemls.com... more than likely YOU ARE INVOLVED WITH INTERNET CRIME!!!!... I just saved the domain from some Russian gangster who was probably going to turn into some type of 'phishing' website.

I wonder what the Ukrainian (for that's the proper name for the citizens of that country) thought about you. I doubt he assumed the worst based on nationality and availability of some dollars.

BTW, Charlotte has a large Russian and Ukrainian population. I guess they shouldn't come looking for some real estate, since only gangsters can come up with the downpayment.

It doesn't matter what he thought about me seeing as how he was a criminal.

I wasn't basing my statement on nationality. Thats great that Charlotte has a large Russian population , however that has nothing to do with my statement.

The other bidder was located in the Ukraine. Other domains he had recently purchased were related to controlled substances, credit cards, and porn.

Consdering my extensive background in the internet marketing field, and seeing that it's been PROVEN that the majority of ALL internet scams are perpetrated by Russians... I feel my assesment was correct.

Even if this person wasn't a criminal, someone living in the Ukraine is not going to care about the "integrity" of the MLS, whether there is a large presence in this city or not.

JAN

2008

David;

I ran across the same issue when I came into town. Someone was clearly asleep at the switch at CMLS because they should not have let that go for fear they might fall into the wrong hands. What an embarrasement it would be if an IDX search really was about stealing identies. I thought it was lame that it wasn't until recently that remarks and virtual tours didn't make it onto the IDX sites. I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote and maybe someone got the message because they're finally available.

DEC

wow, really sorry about the $4500. Can you resell it? Also, the MLS rule has been for some time. You used to also not be allowed to use the word "realtor" anywhere in the www.com also, but that's changed because folks do it anyway. something about it being a registered trademark.

Leave a response…

Name:

Email:
(optional)

Comment:

What does the graphic say?