Any Florida Real Estate Agents?? (contracts, Realtors, agreement, foreclosure)

[FriendInNeed]

I'm an agent in California and have a question for a Realtor in Florida...


When a home is put "Under Contract" what does that mean? I saw an agent mention getting a listing Under Contact but it still shows "Active" on the MLS/Zillow in Florida... days later.


Is there a waiting period or something that needs to happen before an agent will change it in the MLS? Are you supposed to take it off Active when an agreement is reached?


I know in California you are supposed to change Status as soon as an agreement is made to either Under Contract or Back-Up.

I just wanted to see if Florida had different rules.

Thanks for your help.

[BrokerHarry]

Originally Posted by FriendInNeed

I just wanted to see if Florida had different rules.

I was a broker in CA before I became a broker here in FL.

I had to unlearn about 50% of what I was taught was the gospel at my CA GRI classes in order to pass my FL state exams.

Almost everything is different here. In CA you have Trust Deeds. Here it's mortgages.

The contracts are very different. Foreclosure & short sales & release of deficiency judgments are completely different.

CA RE laws are written to protect the consumer, in many ways, especially with limiting liquidated damages.

FL RE laws are written more to promote big business & corporations. FL allows up to 20% liquidated damages when an out of state would-be vacation home buyer fails to perform. Adios, deposit & upgrades!

A CA transaction might have 30+ pages of Disclosures. FL barely has any.

Yes...the FL contract you're questioning should be switched to Pending.

But last year, I bought a FHLMC foreclosure as an investment property. The FL REO listing broker was also an officer for the local board. She never entered the SOLD status for a couple weeks after I had closed escrow & recorded. I kept getting would be buyers sniffing around my rehab project.

I had to complain to her office multiple times to change the listing to SOLD.

If I did that as the listing broker on one of my transactions...I would have been fined by the same board.

You know how it is...do as we say, not as we do.

[EricBoyd]

Originally Posted by BrokerHarry

Yes...the FL contract you're questioning should be switched to Pending.

A listing in our MLS is marked as Active-Contingent until all contingencies affecting the sale are removed. Those contingencies can include home inspections and buyer financing. When the contingency is added to the listing, we can preset a date when the sale will go Pending, and that date is easily identified using the timeline set forth in the purchase and sale agreement.

[bbronston]

It wouldn't be a "Florida thing" as much as a MLS rule. You might want to say where the property is located so someone familiar with the appropriate system can comment. Ours is the Mid-Florida MLS and the property status has to be changed within 2 business days.

[AlexRodriguez]

Originally Posted by FriendInNeed

I'm an agent in California and have a question for a Realtor in Florida...


When a home is put "Under Contract" what does that mean? I saw an agent mention getting a listing Under Contact but it still shows "Active" on the MLS/Zillow in Florida... days later.


Is there a waiting period or something that needs to happen before an agent will change it in the MLS? Are you supposed to take it off Active when an agreement is reached?


I know in California you are supposed to change Status as soon as an agreement is made to either Under Contract or Back-Up.

I just wanted to see if Florida had different rules.

Thanks for your help.

"Under Contract" is when the contract has been signed by both parties - in the MLS it should show as PS (Pending Sale) or Accepting Back-up offers (BU)

I'm a member of the Miami Association of Realtors(R) and we have 2 business days to report status changes.

Now, a bunch of Realtors here don't follow that rule and I don't think that rule gets enforced unless the infraction gets reported to the Miami Association of Realtors(R) (MAR). The MAR is the largest local Realtor(R) Association in the country with more than 40K members, so who in the world can monitor all that activity?