Many in real estate delude themselves if a home has the right price it overcomes all objections and will sell if placed in the MLS. I disagree. My proof are the thousands of MLS listings that expire or withdrawn every day without ever selling. Since I specialized in expired listings for a long time I have found there is always a reason why homes do not sell. Contrary to what many believe in our business, it isn't always the price that prevents a sale.

Sometimes the listing languishes on in the MLS system for years and -- no sale, and the reason? The listing is totally flawed! Incorrect data, price, directions, wrong MLS areas, and missing data prevent anyone from finding the listing.

Sellers do not understand that other agents cannot notify them of the mistake. Since they are already listed with another licensed real estate agent, and to do bring the error to their attention would be considered a solicitation of that listing.

That is a violation of real estate license law. Seller's should personally review the MLS listing and check it for errors and completeness. They should question any missing data fields and check their address and city for typos and errors. Agents should request a dated and initialed copy along with corrections to be placed in their clients file when the errors have been corrected.

Placing a new listing in the MLS is just passive marketing if it's done with the belief the entry alone will sell the home. The new listings, many of which are short sales and foreclosures are entered with little or no accompanying data or photos. A shoddy listing entry that is void of detail only ensures the home will never sell or sell at a greatly depressed price. Agents or brokers that believe that details are not important and that MLS entry itself will sell the listing if priced right are dead wrong. Listing agents that act this way obviously do not understand marketing on any level. There more persons that are interested in a property, the higher the bid price will be. This is the day of the Internet and custom searches by consumers to find and preview homes and properties online. However, if they entered incorrectly, no one will ever find them. Personally I believe that our industry is pre-occupied with fear and not doing the job the way we used to. As an industry we're reeling from a bursting real estate bubble and we're obviously not policing our own to ensure sellers get their homes sold and buyers can find what they are looking for.

Homes these days are being entered so poorly into the MLS system that no one will ever find the listing. They simply cannot be found. It does not matter the shape of the home, the upgrades or the price. The listing is in limbo if entered incorrectly or with only sparse data! There should be a law against this called "Criminal stupidity!" Think about it. Sellers that are relying on the broker to sell the home…will never have a chance of anyone finding the listing. This is an inexcusable offense, and the MLS systems that allow listings with loads of errors, or omitted data to be placed into the system is in big trouble. It is conceivable that you could list the perfect home, and no one will ever find it.

The MLS coupled with IDX allows buyers across many portals to search for homes. They all rely on the original data entry to make this viral marketing work. An MLS should never allow fields such as schools, and MLS area should never be allowed to be entered blank, or incorrectly. We all know there is manipulation of fields – listing a home in another city or school district to warrant more exposure or a higher price. Misinformation - really borders on illegal, and fraudulent since it tends to deceive and manipulate unsuspecting buyers.

Ages of homes should be filled in. Many buyers will search for a home or property by zip codes or by schools, city or map. If the listing is entered without schools, or correct cities … what chance is there ever of finding it? Agents that do this should leave the business, be fined, or have their incomplete or erroneous listing pulled. Just because an agent has no interest in entering what they consider minor details - they cannot overlook the fact that their actions may ruin the life of a home owner or seller forever. They are depending on us to get the home sold! There is no bigger abuser of this right now than those listing short sales, foreclosures, and bank owned properties. The losses to the sellers are criminal!

Examples of MLS entries that should never be allowed:

• Wrong addresses
  
• Partial Addresses
  
• Age of home should be filled in - as opposed to wild cards or "unknown!”
  
• Wrong City
  
• Wrong Zip Code
  
• Wrong MLS area
  
• Schools not listed
  
• Acreage
  
• Room dimensions where required
  
• Wrong Schools listed
  
• Wrong number of bedrooms / baths
  
• Missing features
  
• No photos
  
• No Virtual tours
  
• No descriptions / remarks
  
• Wrong directions
  
• Wrong features
  
• Wrong photos
  
• Wrong price
  
• Wrong Map coordinates
  
• Wrong Subdivisions
  
• Misspelled Subdivisions
  
• No Map Coordinates

Published: November 2, 2009

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Jim Crawford, ABR, e-PRO 500 is currently licensed as a Broker Associate with RE/MAX Paramount Properties in Atlanta Georgia, and as a Broker Associate with Prudential PenFed Realty Fairfax Virginia. Jim and his wife Ellen work as a husband and wife team in the northern Atlanta suburbs, and have recently expanded their web business to Northern Virginia and Maryland. As the team's rainmaker, Jim is a self-taught webmaster and designer, and he relies exclusively on the Internet for marketing. He is considered an expert on marketing, nationwide relocation, cutting edge technology, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for real estate, and Internet marketing. Jim's seminars, online contributions, and technology ideas assist real estate agents to maximize their business results, and raise the industry's professional service level skills. His common sense marketing ideas have been published and quoted regularly in trade publications. He has also consulted and advised NAR offices regarding Internet issues, and Internet ethics for Realtors. In between sales, Jim is a popular speaker at national and regional real estate seminars, REBAR Camps, Blogging seminars and retreats. Jim is a major proponent and advocate of online ethics and the development of social media policies. He is also an online real estate coach, with a self-tutorial coaching site for real estate professionals for webs and Blogging. Jim was a featured speaker at the November 2004 National Association of REALTORS® convention in Orlando, and has spoken at the several REALTORS® conventions both in the United States and Canada. Visit his website at RealEstateTechCoach.com, or e-mail him at .