Effective March 28, 2023, Heartland MLS will improve and simplify the process for Private Office Exclusive listings and to ensure we are following the full intent of NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy. NAR’s interpretation of their policy is that all listings should be entered into the MLS system, regardless of whether it is a public or private listing, to provide a complete view of the marketplace for all MLS Participants/Subscribers.
The Private Office Exclusive Listing limits the marketing of a property to only other agents within the same listing brokerage (office) as defined by MLS Office ID. The Private Office Exclusive is available for the rare instance when a seller is concerned about privacy and does not want the impending sale of their property to have wide exposure or to be publicly advertised. The most common examples include high profile/celebrity clients or divorce situations.
If Private Office Exclusive Listings are displayed, advertised, or discussed with the general public*, those listings must be modified to Active-Public (Public Visible) immediately.
*For details on what is considered public adverting, see section below titled: What is considered public advertising as it pertains to Private Office Exclusives
A Private Office Exclusive Listing type should only be used for the rare instance when a seller is concerned about privacy and does not want the impending sale of their property to have wide exposure or to be publicly advertised. The most common examples include high profile/celebrity clients or divorce situations.
This type of entry should not be used when there is already a buyer and an agent is assisting with the transaction representing the seller. The property details should be entered as Active status and then immediately modified to one of the three contract statutes available with a “Sold Before Processed” reference in the Public Remarks section.
Please note that if you wish to keep the property details from being syndicated to IDX and VOW Websites, please locate the Display Listing field located on the Office tab of Input and select ‘No’ before clicking Submit Property.
Yes, the entry of these types of listings as Private Office Exclusive – Residential, Multifamily, Land or Commercial is required to be entered into the MLS system and will follow the same timeframe as a new public listing which is within 1 business day of the effective date (beginning date or seller’s signature date, whichever is later) and remain private until modified to Sold status.
Upon entry of the listing within the MLS, a copy of the following forms must immediately be uploaded to the supplements section of the listing:
In order for these documents to stay private and only viewable by the listing agent, the listing broker and MLS staff, you must mark the Supplement Type correctly. Exclusive Right to Sell – For POE & POE Modification form must be used.
This form replaces the previous “Private Office Exclusive Listing Agreement,” which will no longer be accepted by mid-March 2023 when this new policy takes effect.
The “Private Office Exclusive Modification to the Exclusive Right to Sell Contract” makes clear to the seller that they are opting out of ALL public marketing of their property, including public listing in the MLS. It also outlines that the property will only be marketed within their agent’s listing brokerage (which is defined by MLS office ID). This form does require the authorization and signature of the broker in order to be considered a valid listing agreement.
Generally, no. This document specifically explains what can and cannot be done and is not modifiable except if KCRAR forms are licensed, then the word KCRAR can be removed in Paragraph 5 after review by Heartland MLS.
The following property types have been added to the MLS for use on Private Office Exclusive Listings:
Upon entry of a Private Office Exclusive property type, the listing will be automatically designated in the “Active-POE” status. All other statuses must be modified in alignment with the Heartland MLS Rules and Regulations. In the event that a Private Office Exclusive Listing is marketed outside of the MLS office, the listiing must be modified by selecting “change listing to public-visible from private.”
Yes, as timeline events occur on a listing, change the statuses of the Private Office Exclusive listings to reflect the current status. If the price changes by the seller, please update the listing price on the private listing, and if other details change like remarks, property information, etc. for the listing, please update those as soon as possible. All status changes should be done as soon as possible and no longer than the timelines outlined in section 7.3 of the Heartland MLS Rules and Regulations.
Yes, however, you do have the option to modify the Internet fields (Display Listing & Display Address) to ‘no’ before modifying the listing to Sold status. This will remove the data from the IDX feeds. Please keep in mind that this information is still able to be viewed on county records.
Unfortunately, this is not an option. The Exclusive Right to Sell Contract as well as the Private Office Listing Modification to the Exclusive Right to Sell Agreement both authorize the listing brokerage and agent to enter the sales information into the MLS upon sale of the listing, as required by Heartland MLS. Sales information for comparative analysis purposes is a very important part of the local broker marketplace. If there are seller concerns, the use of the Internet fields can be used to restrict this sales information to stay inside the MLS system and not be distributed widely on IDX websites.
If shared with an agent outside of your MLS office ID, the listing is REQUIRED to be modified to a public status (Active) immediately and up to one business day.
If a Private Office Exclusive Listing is advertised publicly in any capacity by any party, including the listing agent, other listing office agents, the seller, etc., then the listing will be required to be modified to Public-Visible (Active) from Private status within (one) 1 business day of the advertising. Failure to switch listing to Active-Public (visible for all) will result in the Listing agent being assessed a $1000 penalty per Heartland MLS Rules & Regulations Section 7.3.
When modifying a Private Office Exclusive Listing to Public-Visible (Active) from Private status, from the Change Listing to Public-Visible from Private option screen locate the Display Listing and Display Address fields and be sure to keep them set to ‘No’ before clicking Submit Property. This will ensure the property details are not syndicated out to other websites and only MLS Subscribers and clients with access to the Client Portal are allowed to view them.
Per NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy and Heartland MLS policy, public advertising includes (but is not limited to):
Yes. Any existing effective Private Office Exclusive Listings will need to be entered into the MLS as “Active-POE.” If your list date is not accepted by the system, you may use the date of entry as the list date.
No. A private listing cannot be included in the BrokerBay system. Showings may only be coordinated directly with agents/brokers who share the same office ID as the listing agent.
In alignment with the Heartland MLS Rules and Regulations (section 7.3), including:
Yes, all listing timeline rules are to be followed for Private Office Exclusive listings. Specifically for photos, at least one photo is required to be added to the listing after listing submission and no longer than 48 hours after.
The days on market begin calculating upon entry of the Private Office Exclusive listing into the MLS system. If this listing is modified to Public Active, the DOM will carry through to the Public Active listing that is now visible to the public.
If the Private Office Exclusive listing is cancelled (with supporting documentation, Cancellation Agreement, and a new Exclusive Right to Sell Contract), and then reentered as a new Active or Pre MLS listing, the DOM (Days On Market) will start over at zero (0).
Director of Heartland MLS Rob Wagoner and Heartland MLS Compliance Manager Elaina Lueker appeared on this week’s episode of Kansas City RealTalk to clear up