Mortgage Basics
(MLS) Multiple Listing
Services
To provide greater coverage for their
listing, a group of real estate agents conducts a cooperative listing
service or multiple listing service MLS. The group often consist of
members of a local real estate board or association.
The MLS is used most often with an
exclusive authorization and right to sell listing, but it may be used with
other listings as well. A member of group who takes any listing turns it
to a central bureau that distributes it all participants in the service
usually ob the internet. All members have the right to sell the property.
However, they must have the listing broker's permission to advertise or
promote it. When a sale is made on an MLS listing, the listing broker and
the broker who found the buyer share the commission.
Suppose, for example, an MLS
commission split was 50/50. The listing broker would get 50% of the
commission, and the broker who found the buyer would get the other 50%.
Within each agency the broker would, according to the contractual
agreement between the broker and the salesperson, also split his or her
share of commission with the salesperson who had actual contact with the
seller or buyer. Only brokers may receive commissions, but they may share
them with salespeople who work with them.. When a property is sold out of
an MLS, the licensee who makes the sale is considered to be a subagent of
the listing owner.
