Membership Information

New Subscribers

If you wish to become a GFC CMLS Subscriber, there are several criteria that must be met.

• Please be sure your Office is currently a member of GFC CMLS before registering.
• Complete the Subscriber Agreement, making sure that both you and your manager sign the third page, you as the Subscriber and your manager as the Participant.
• If you are going to be showing listings, you must purchase your own keypad and complete the DKEY Agreement,   Please remember, electronic keys cannot be shared.
• You will be required to register for the RE/xplorer New Users class within 30 days of joining the GFC CMLS.  

Once you have fully completed the necessary forms, refer to membership fees to determine what dues you will have to pay. Subscriber fees are payable upon joining the GFC CMLS. Fees are prorated based on when during the quarter a subscriber joins. In some instances, a new subscriber will have to pay for the prorated period of the current quarter and the full fee for the next quarter. If payment will be made with a credit card, you may fax your application to (203) 840-6678. Registration will be processed the same day and an email confirmation will be sent to you with your MLS ID and password. If payment will be made by cash or check, please mail your application along with payment to: Greater Fairfield County Consolidated MLS, 101 Merritt 7- Suite 23, Norwalk, CT. 06851

Or you can bring your application to the GFC CMLS office in Norwalk or to one of our Service Centers.

Returning Subscribers

If you are returning from a Leave of Absence (within a two year period), please complete the Reinstatement/Transfer Subscriber Agreement, then refer to the pro-rated fee schedule to determine what dues you will pay in addition to a $50 reinstatement fee.

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New Offices

If your office is looking to join the GFC CMLS, there are several criteria that must be met.

• In the case of a real estate office, the head of the office must have a valid CT Broker′s license and be a member in good standing of a Board of Realtors®.
• In the case of an appraisal firm, the head of the office must have a full membership to a Board of Realtors®.  Affiliate memberships are not accepted.
• You will be required to register for the RE/xplorer New Users class within 30 days of joining the GFC CMLS.  

Once these criteria are met, the head of the office must fill out both the Participant Agreement and the User Certification Form.  There is a one-time start-up fee for a new office of $212.00, and the head of the office is also responsible for the quarterly MLS user fee and other applicable fees.  Any subsequent branch offices of that main office are not responsible for paying the start-up fee.  Any additional agents/appraisers with the office will need to fill out the Subscriber Agreement and pay the MLS user fee.

Once an office is a member of the GFC CMLS, if it is within the GFC CMLS′ primary service area, any agents/appraisers within that office who are actively engaged in the sale or appraisal of residential real estate must become dues paying Subscribers.  Please refer to section II of the GFC CMLS Rules & Regulations for additional rules regarding office membership.

For an office which is not within our primary service area, any agents/appraisers within the office who will have access to the GFC CMLS service in any manner must become dues paying Subscribers.  Any persons caught using the GFC CMLS service without being Subscribers will be made to join, and their respective head of office will be susceptible to fines levied by the GFC CMLS for violation of the GFC CMLS Rules & Regulations.

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GFC CMLS Billing Policies

GFC CMLS Quarterly Billing:

• The GFC CMLS bills quarterly for MLS services.
• The quarterly start dates are July 1st, October 1st, January 1st and April 1st.
• Invoices are emailed 45 days prior to the start date of the quarter and are due 15 days prior to the start of the quarter.
• Second/Final Notices are emailed and mailed 15 days before the start of the quarter.
• If payment is not received at the GFC CMLS office or one of its authorized Service Centers by the 1st day of the quarter, GFC CMLS services will be suspended until payment is received for the original invoice plus a $25 late fee.
• On the 15th day of the quarter all outstanding invoices become the responsibility of the sales person’s broker and a $25 termination fee is applied to unpaid Subscriber’s account.
• If said fees remain unpaid for an additional thirty-day period, all services to the entire office will be suspended until such time as payment is made or the proper paperwork terminating the unpaid sales person has been submitted.
• The GFC CMLS will provide at least ten days notice prior to suspending an office’s service.

Click here to view specific billing policies and procedures.

GFC CMLS Monthly Billing:

• The GFC CMLS bills for products/supplies and infractions the first of every month. Invoices are mailed to the Subscriber’s office.If the invoice is not paid within 30 days a second notice is mailed.
• If payment is not received within 90 days all of the Subscriber’s and/or office’s (if outstanding invoice is an office invoice) GFC CMLS services are suspended until payment is received.

NOTE:   Any fines incurred will continue to accrue monthly if infraction is not corrected. Payment of said infraction DOES NOT correct the listing. You must correct the data to avoid additional monthly fines!

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GFC CMLS Service Fees and Charges

• One time office start-up fee - $212.00
• Participant/Subscriber Fee - $78.78 per quarter

MLS Data Checker

Data Checker Tidbits.  Click here for more.

Tier 1 Violations

• Acres

  The acrege is not within 25% when compared to the acreage in the tax data.

• Text Fields

  All Free Form Text Fields are checked against a database of possible inappropriate words, phrases, marketing information, etc.

• Bathrooms

  Each Single Family, Condominium, Multi-Family or Rental listing is expected to have at least one full bathroom

• Bedrooms

  Each Single Family, Condominium, Multi-Family or Rental listing is expected to have at least one bedroom, except Studios.

• City/Town

  The city/town field is inaccurate when compared to the tax data.

• Mil Rate

  Mil Rate is either missing or has been input in an incorrect format. Mil Rates should be input in the following format xx.xx.

• Parcel ID

  All listings in Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven Counties need to have a parcel ID number. The Parcel ID 999999999 is only acceptable if there is no other valid Property ID in the tax data system.

• Pending Status

  The Proposed Closing Date has passed, and the listing is still marked Pending or CTS.

• Photo

  All listings except land, rentals and business for sale need to have at least one photo of the property within 5 days.

• Rooms

  Each Single Family, Condominium, Multi-Family or Rental listing is expected to have at least one room.

• Sales Price

  The sales price is not within 25% of the listing price.

• Square Feet

  The square footage is not within 25% when compared to the square footage in public records.

• Street Name

  The street name field contains extraneous or redundant information, which may jeopardize the listing's ability to be found by an address search.

• Tax Amount

  The tax amount is not within 25% when compared with the tax data.

• Tax Assessment

  The assessment amount is not within 25% in comparison with the tax data.

• Virtual Tour

  Information in Virtual Tours is restricted to information that describes the property, its amenities and the neighborhood. Virtual Tours cannot contain any information identifying or promoting the listing agent, listing broker or seller.

• Year Built (Resale)

  The year built is not within 5 years of the year built on the tax record.

• Year Built New Construction

  The year built is not within a year of the current year.

• Zip Code Check

  The zip code on the listing does not match the zip code on the tax record.

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Tier 2 Violations

• Cancelled and Relisted Properties

  A listing cannot be Cancelled and Re-Listed without the listing agent obtaining fully executed copies of both a cancellation agreement for the Cancelled listing and a new Listing Contract.

• Off Market

  This listing went off market within days of being listed. If the listing was cancelled because of a listing error, contact the GFC CMLS office. If the listing was sold without the assistance of the MLS, contact the GFC CMLS office.

• Sold List

  Checks for listings that have not been reported as Sold, but the tax data system is reporting as having passed title within a few weeks of the listing having been cancelled or expired.

Tier 3 Violations

• Buyers Agent Compensation

  All listings on the MLS must offer compensation to the selling broker. The BAC can be a % of selling price or a dollar amount.

• Timely Listing Entry

  The listing was not entered into the MLS within 2 business days of the execution of the listing contract.

Tier 4 Violations

• Duplicate Listing

  There is another active listing on the system with the same Property ID Number and the same property type.

• Re-entering previously notified inaccurate/inappropriate listing information.

  The system checks for violations that had previously been flagged and corrected and subsequently re-entered.

Violation Notifications

• Courtesy:

  These do not carry any fines and are not tracked for repeat violations.

• Warning:

  This type of notification provides a grace period of two to five business days to correct the violation. If the violation is not corrected within the grace period, a fine is issued.

• Fine/violation citations:

  Immediate fines are issued under these citations and no grace period is provided for correction.

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Violation Definitions & Fine Schedule

• TIER ONE

  $10 initial fine to both the listing office and listing agent. TIER ONE fines are repeated every 30 days until the violation is corrected. There is a five day Grace Period to correct TIER ONE violations.

• TIER TWO

  Violations are more serious and will incur graduated fines, to both the listing office and listing agent, based on the following schedule: The first offense within the last 365 days will incur a $25 fine, the second offense within the last 365 days will incur a $50 fine, the third offense within the last 365 days will incur a $100 fine, each additional offense during any 365 day period will incur a $250 fine. There is a five day Grace Period to correct TIER TWO violations.

• TIER THREE

  Violations incur the same penalties as in TIER TWO violations, however, there is only a TWO day Grace Period to correct TIER THREE violations.

• TIER FOUR

  Violations are the most serious. The first TIER FOUR offense within the last 365 days will incur a $100 fine, the second offense within the last 365 days will incur a $500 fine, the third offense within the last 365 days will incur a $1000 fine. There is only a TWO day Grace Period to correct TIER FOUR violations.

Please note that all invoice and receipt information is available on-line under the MANAGE ACCOUNT section of our Web Site.

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