THE MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE

The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a service of the Daytona Beach Area Association of REALTORS open to any broker who is a member of a REALTOR association in Florida and chooses to participate. Simply put, the MLS is a computerized network of hundreds of participating real estate offices in Volusia and surrounding counties. Through an internet-based system, photos and information on properties for sale is quickly disseminated to more than 2,500 cooperating REALTORS.

This powerful system strengthens the marketing possibilities for sellers and enables REALTORS to better satisfy the needs of sellers and buyers.

The MLS and its participants recognize the existence of national, state and local laws concerning discrimination in housing. Discrimination in the sale, rental or leasing of housing based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, handicap or families with children is illegal. As participants in the MLS, REALTORS must abide by the letter and spirit of the law.

When a seller signs an Exclusive Right to Sell listing agreement with a REALTOR, one broker is appointed as the agent of the seller. He or she is given the exclusive right to sell the property with an additional authority and obligation on his or her part to distribute the listing to other cooperating brokers in the Multiple Listing Service. The advantage to a seller under this form of listing agreement is that all the members of the MLS are offering the property to prospective buyers.

When a property is listed for sale, the required information is entered in the MLS system and is instantly accessible to all the REALTORS who have access to the computer system, complete with a photos, videos, and virtual tours. The information is also available to the public through www.DaytonaRealtors.com, through our national site at www.realtor.com, and hundreds of broker sites through our Internet Data Exchange (IDX) program.

This marketing method provides the maximum exposure of the property to other REALTORS who will try to help sell it, and to buyers who may be interested in purchasing the property.

When a property goes off the market either through a sales contract or the seller takes it off the market, information about the property remains in the REALTORS' computer system, but the status changes to indicate it is no longer available for sale. Listings no longer available for sale are not displayed on www.DaytonaRealtors.com, www.realtor.com, or any IDX sites.

When the transaction actually closes and the property is sold, the REALTOR changes its status in the MLS to sold. The information about the property remains in the computer system as a sold listing. This information helps other REALTORS determine a fair market price for similar properties.

In addition to providing the most efficient way of marketing properties, the MLS also maintains an on-line public records system with access to the public tax records in Volusia and Flagler Counties.