Thanks for the feedback. I sent an email to my realtor telling him that he needs to talk to the listing realtor or to his broker about it to clarify the rule. He responded to this, and called the realtor. It was changed the next day. It was kind of annoying because he told me he was able to "negotiate" this on my behalf, when in reality it is not something that had to be negotiated.

I agree, it is a violation of MLS rules and should be changed to CTG or A/I as soon as possible. If the seller's agent refuses to change the listing status, then your agent can easily report the offending agent by clicking on the Additional Information link on the top right-hand corner of the listing and choose "Report Rules Violation". Its easy to do and I think agents need to be more proactive in policing our own industry.

Hi Rand,

According to the Three Rivers Association of Realtors, the one I belong to, if an offer has been made on a short sale it must be put under a contingent status, while the lender is working on the response (sometimes this takes months!). Honestly, I don't agree with this. Normally in a short sale situation, a person is trying to avoid forecosure, needs as much of a chance as possible to get their home sold. A riduculously low offer would essentially take the home off of the market. This will waste precious time and possible buyers when a seller needs them most.

Have a Great Day!

Tim
tfitzgerald@c21proteam.com
815-353-1901

Rand
I would ask for clarification.
In my MLS there are three Active statuses
1. Active
2. Back Ups Offers - you haven an accepted offer, buyer is still doing inspections, you'd like a back up offer
3. Right of First Refusal - you have an offer, however the offer is subject to another (better) offer being sought. If received then the first offer will have the option to bid higher if they want.

For purposes of a site like Trulia, in all three cases, the status would be Active.

Maybe they have something like that in your MLS.

I do believe that the rules concerning status state that the status must be changed within 24-48 hours in the MLS (not sure which time frame is correct) and MUST reflect the correct status. Perhaps you are confused by the main status categories and the sub categories. For instance, the main status categories are ACTIVE, PENDING, CLOSED, EXPIRED, CANCELED, RENTED. The sub categories of ACTIVE are New, Active, Contingent, Back on Market, Price Change and Reactivated. If you are viewing the listing on a web site, it may be showing ACTIVE when in truth it is the ACTIVE Contingent status on the MLS. You might ask your agent to remind the listing agent to change the status to PENDING once the A/I (attorney approval/inspection) contingencies have been waived.

The information your agent gave you is incorrect. The listing agent of the home you have a contract on has to change the status to A/I in the MLS within 72hrs of receiving a fully executed contract. If they do not change the status your agent needs to report that agent. If you feel your agent is going to have a problem with that, then if I were you I would call the listing agent's broker mgr and report them myself.

Kathy Diegel
Coldwell Banker
Buffalo Grove, IL

Rand,
If they accepted your offer, and took your earnest money, then it should go into the MLS as CTG. I would have your agent contact the other agent and make him change the status. Unless you have a contract in which they are allowed to entertain other offers? I would need to know more about the stipulations of your offer, but if its just the basic acceptance, then it should go in as CTG.

Matt Laricy
Americorp Real Estate
Brokers Associate, e-PRO
mlaricy@americorpre.com
708-250-2696

They have to change it within 72 hours. Otherwise its a violation.

Hi Rand

Obviously, I can't answer your question specifically, as I am in NJ, so I don't know what is done in Chicago.

I can suggest, however, that if you doubt what your agent told you, and since your understanding of the MLS rules is different, you can always ask the broker for more clarification.

I am sure a few Chicago agents will join in here and help you out with the rules of the Chicago MLS.

Good luck with your purchase!
Debbie