Newsletter

November 2022

SCWMLS Officers and Directors Elected for 2023



We are pleased to announce our incoming officers and new directors for the South Central WI MLS.    

President Michael Collins

Rock Realty

Vice-President Tom Weber

First Weber Inc 

Treasurer David Stark

Stark Company, REALTORS

Robert Grether

Weichert, REALTORS–Lakepoint

Director 2023-2025

Peter Sveum

Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group

Director 2023-2025

See all 2023 SCWMLS Officers and Directors

See Activity on your Listings



Did you know you can track the number of times your listing is viewed by agents and consumers via Paragon? To access this information, pull up your listing via Listings -> Maintain, and click on Select an Action.  From the Select an Action box, choose View Activity Report.  Within the report there is a link that defines the statistics displayed.

Why are some "no showings until" listings Active instead of Delayed?

We are generally seeing two reasons a new listing is not available for showings right away. The first is the property is not ready to be marketed via the MLS due to needed clean up, timing for professional photos, desired staging, etc. You will find these listings in the Delayed status as the listing agent does not want them to be visible to the public yet.

In the second situation, the property is all ready for public marketing, but the seller and listing agent decide to pick a launch date, often starting with an open house. You will find these listings in Active as the seller and agent want them to be visible to the public. The listings in Active must include the date showings will be allowed in the first line of the public remarks.



Our rules regarding “no showings until’ listings have taken both situations into account, and allow agents the flexibility to market these listings as either Delayed or Active.

The MLS has recently received multiple complaints from both listing agents and sellers regarding Realtors trespassing.  Please remember you must have a confirmed showing appointment to even walk around the outside of a property. Also, if the property is in Delayed status, or listed as Active with a future show date, this would not only be trespassing, but also a violation of MLS rules, as these properties are not allowed to be shown.  A showing occurs once you step foot on the property. Showing a property not yet available for showings can result in a hefty fine.  

Compensation Offer in the Broker-to-Broker Remarks

Any offer of cooperative commission noticed in the broker-to-broker remarks must be stated as a percentage of the gross sales price or a definite dollar amount, and must be a blanket offer to all MLS Participants, whether as a complete group or based on membership within a specific MLS.

Verbiage in the broker-to-broker remarks such as, “we co-broke as you co-broke”, would not be an acceptable notice, as it does not include all Participants of an MLS, nor is it stated is it stated as a percentage of the gross sale price or a definite dollar amount.  If the goal is to offer a different commission based on membership in an MLS, the proper way to accomplish this would be to state the lower commission you are offering in the commission fields, and then include verbiage such as, “Commission of x% to Participants of the South Central WI and Rock-Green MLSs”.

Offers of compensation that are anything other than blanket offers to all Participants within an MLS, must be made directly between the parties involved and not within the MLS. 

What Makes a Room a Bedroom?

The MLS does not define what is a bedroom. Listing agents should use common sense when calling a room a bedroom. If you are counting a room as a bedroom that is not a typical bedroom (i.e. does not have a closet, is accessible only by going through another room, etc.), please indicate in the remarks what makes it atypical so that showing agents and potential buyers are informed before a showing.

A lower-level room that does not meet safety guidelines for a bedroom, however, should NOT be labeled as a bedroom in the MLS. Click here for requirements from the Department of Safety and Professional Standards regarding lower-level bedrooms. MLS rules mandate a photo be included within Paragon showing the egress window for every lower-level bedroom.

Upcoming Training Opportunities 

Collab Center: Do you want to set up buyers with an automatic search that notifies them about new properties? Learn how to set up a Collab Center site for your buyers, and what they can do with it. This live class will be held via Zoom, please register here.

Map Search in Paragon: With Paragon's map search you can visually define areas on a map to search for listings. Join SCWMLS trainer, Dave Bass, for this 30-minute class where you will learn how to draw different shapes on the map and edit them, use layers to show lots of helpful information, and more. This live class will be held via Zoom, please register here.

Paragon Overview Classes: We offer weekly live classes for Paragon training. To register for an upcoming session click here.

In person:  We are offering an in-person Paragon training class at the MLS office on December 2nd at 2:00pm. To register click here.

South Central Wisconsin Multiple Listing Service

4801 Forest Run Rd, Suite 101

Madison, WI 53704

(608) 240-2800

www.scwmls.com