Our Founder's Story | Why We Don't
Believe in Fining Members
We don't believe in fining our members, but we know that not everyone shares our philosophy. In fact, an unreasonable fine bill is the whole reason our company exists. Check out our founder, Dawn Pfaff's story.
In the early 2000s, I was working as an appraiser and real estate agent. I had to join 7 MLSs, since the system was extremely inefficient in New York. At the time, the MLS would mail two different bills to my brokerage office, including one for the board and one for using the multiple listing service. I only received one of the bills, and my bookkeeper paid it immediately. A few weeks later, I reached out to the MLS because I couldn't get into the system. The MLS said I didn't pay one of the bills and that I had to pay a $150 fine, even after I explained to them that I paid the only bill I received.
About a year later, I wanted to buy a house in a new area. While I was with my broker/business partner, he searched properties through the MLS and sent them for me to look at. We went and looked at a house, and I decided I wanted to put an offer on it that day. The listing broker claimed that I accessed the MLS illegally and had the MLS fine my broker/business partner $1,000, without giving him a chance to refute it. That was the final straw for me, and I began work on the system that would become NY State MLS, and then My State MLS. From my experience, I decided that there are many other ways to maintain data integrity and rule compliance without fining members.
Does this sound a little too familiar? Got a similar story to share? Enter our Fine Festivus contest. We're collecting your stories, and our favorite will win a full year of free My State MLS services. The deadline is December 11th, so enter today!
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