The GAMLS Board of Directors has recently passed a new rule regarding the illegal use of user IDs and passwords that everyone needs to be aware of:

1. First Offense - Offender's password will be changed by GAMLS and a letter is sent to the Participant or Subscriber and offending user stressing the importance of safeguarding the user's password.

2. Second Offense - Offender's password will be changed by GAMLS and a letter is sent to the Participant or Subscriber and offending user and a $500 fine is assessed against the Participant or Subscriber's account.

3. Third Offense - Offender's password will be changed by GAMLS and a letter is sent to the Participant or Subscriber and offending user and a $1,000 fine is assessed against the Participant or Subscriber's account.

4. Fourth Offense - Offender's password will be changed by GAMLS and a letter is sent to the Participant or Subscriber and offending user informing them that the offending user's services are terminated.

Listings may be subjected to various types of fines. Some of which include:

Broker offices with listings that are in violation of the GAMLS rules are faxed a notification and given until the end of the next business day to correct the errors. If the listings are not corrected after the initial notification, the listing office will incur an initial fine of $25 and then $5 per day until the violation is corrected.

PTYP - Misclassified Properties

Below you will find a list of the different property types and their definitions. Properties that are incorrectly classified should be withdrawn and re-listed in the correct property type to avoid a fine.

Single Family Residence (SF)

A property that is a free standing house, not attached to any other building. This includes traditional single-family homes, cluster homes, and mobile homes that include land.

Condo/Townhouse (CT)

A property that is physically attached to another home, in any manner. This category includes single units in condominium complexes, high-rises, duplex and multi-plex properties, as well as townhomes.

Multi-family (MF)

A property that includes two or more attached units but is for sale as a whole unit.

Lot/Land (LL)

A parcel of land fully developed and ready for construction. Once a foundation has been set, the property should be listed as either single family or commercial.

Commercial for Sale (CM)

A property that is zoned for business purposes and commercial income. Commercial listings must include sale of the land; business opportunities that do not include real estate are not eligible for listing in the service.

Acreage and Farms (AF)

A large tract of land that has not been subdivided and is available for sale as a whole.

Rental Residential (RR)

A single family residence or condo/townhouse unit that is available for lease.

Commercial Rental (CR)

A property zoned for business purposes that is available for lease.

DS - Duplicate Listings in the same office

A duplicate listing often occurs when the property is re-listed before the existing listing has reached its expiration date. This occurs when the an office chooses to re-list an existing listing instead of extending the expiration date. If the property owner signs the listing extension before the listing expires on-line, the listings can be extended and the expiration date changed to a new date.

There are multiple advantages to extending the listing rather than having to re-enter an expired listing:

• The listing does not expire so that your property owner will not receive unwanted calls.
• Status changes take less clerical effort than re-entering listing data.
• Most importantly, the property and the listing number have continuity. The listing maintains continuous exposure on-line and on the public and broker reciprocity site. There is no gap in the display of a listing photo. When the market is analyzed, the listing reflects a more accurate "Days on Market" time.

If the property owner signs the listing paperwork before the listing expires but the listing is not extended on-line and the listing expires, the listing should be changed to "Back on Market" with the new expiration date.

Finally, the same property listed more than once in the same property type, by the same company, will be subject to a fine.

PCD / LP PCD

Once a listing has been placed under contract and entered into RE/Xplorer, the listing agent will enter a PCD (Projected Close Date). The system will notify the agent that a listing's PCD is imminent and must be extended or the listing should be closed. A warning fax is also sent to the office at that time. If the closing has fallen through, the property can be put "Back on Market".  If the projected closing date passes and the listing remains in under contract status the listing agent is subject to a fine.

The LP (Lease Purchase) PCD follows the same rules as stated above as it pertains to a Lease Purchase contract.

CK / PCD

Once a listing has been placed in the CK status (Contingency with a Kickout Clause) and entered into RE/Xplorer, the listing agent must enter a PCD (Projected Close Date). If the closing has fallen through, the property can be put "Back on Market". If the status is not changed or the projected close date is not extended, and the listing remains in CK status the listing agent is subject to a fine.

Reminder - Listings that are in a CK status are still considered Active and have expiration dates that must be extended before they expire.

REMARKS

Violations for Prop Type Single Family (SF) Condo/Townhouse MultiFamily (MF) Acreage Farms (AF)

• REM UNAV - Remark fields on active properties that contain “Do not show”, “Off Market”, “Withdrawn”, or “Not available” or other language that conveys the property is no longer for sale are not permitted. The first 3 lines are displayed on public websites and listings that are no longer available for sale but are still found on web pages are in violation of GAMLS rules as well as NAR Broker Reciprocity agreements.
• REM CONT - In order to be IDX (Broker Reciprocity) compliant, there should not be any contact information in remark lines 1-3. This includes phone numbers, office numbers, fax numbers, email or web addresses. Personal information may be included in the 4th remark line.   All of the contact information should be included in the List Broker and List Agent information. This information may be updated at any time by clicking “Your Account” link on the homepage.
• REM COMP - No information about bonuses or other compensation to Selling Agents may be included in the remarks lines. Incentives to Selling Brokers may be noted as long as a dollar amount is not specified in remarks lines 1-3.
• REM ADDR - The property address may not be entered in the Remarks lines 1-3. These remarks may be viewed by non-member realtors and the public.

MISSING PHOTOS

All residential (single family, condo/townhouse and multi-family) listings must have a primary photo associated with it within 10 business days after the listing has been entered into the system. The primary photo may not be removed unless it is being replaced. Any violations will result in compliance penalties until a primary photo is present in the listing.

PHOTOS/VIRTUAL TOURS

Photos or virtual tours may not include web addresses, phone numbers, agent or office information or any other identifying remarks per Broker Reciprocity rules. Any violations of this policy are subject to a fine.

LP_ZERO

The listing price of a property must reflect the price agreed to in the contract signed by the homeowner.

SEC_AS LA

An office manager or secretary's id cannot not be listed as the listing agent. This is against Georgia Real Estate Law, Title 43 Chapter 40-30 (b)
"You must have a valid real estate license...to conduct business...or advertise himself or herself...in conducting the business of a licensee."

COMMISSION

The commission field in a listing may not be entered as zero. There must be compensation for the selling broker for the listing to be entered in GAMLS. The commission must be listed as a percent of the selling price or as a definite dollar amount.

AREA=COUNTY

The area number must be part of the county indicated. If they do not match, this is a misrepresentation of the location and is a violation of GAMLS policy.

AGENT /OFFICE MISMATCH

When transferring a listing to a new broker's office, please include the listing agents's id. If this information is omitted or if the agent is not on the roster of the new office at the time of transfer, GAMLS will use the broker's id for the listing agent. The office will then be responsible for reassigning the listing.

When an agent is removed from the office roster for any reason, all of his/her listings must be reassigned to a new agent id, transferred to a new broker's office or withdrawn from the GAMLS system within five (5) business days to avoid a fine.