Virtual Office Website
Encyclopedia
A Virtual Office Website (VOW) is a web site that is used to conduct business activities. One example is a VOW used as a real estate
property search site allowing the public to conduct searches of approved Multiple Listing Service
properties in a given area under certain conditions. Also see Virtual Company.
Site users have to provide personal information before they can actually look at the listings. Also, Realtors who use VOW can choose to “opt out” from the local Multiple Listing Service, which means that these Realtors’ properties will only be displayed to people who have signed in with the VOW.
The benefit to Realtors is that registered users of their VOW web site become customers under contract. Registered users gain the benefit of more detailed information about each property and can generally see all available properties.
which generally forms policy around the recommendations of the National Association of REALTORS
.
The National Association of Realtors
, which created the VOW policy, is under an ongoing antitrust investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, which deemed the VOW policy as anti-competitive.
, the VOW policy has been replaced by a new Internet Listing Display
policy created by the National Association of Realtors.
On May 27, 2008, NAR and the U.S. Department of Justice reached a favorable settlement, concluding a two-year DOJ investigation (followed by two and a half years of litigation) regarding NAR's multiple listing policy as it pertained to the display of listings from the MLS on brokers' virtual office Web sites, or VOWs. http://www.realtor.org/law_and_policy/doj/nar_doj
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
property search site allowing the public to conduct searches of approved Multiple Listing Service
Multiple Listing Service
A multiple listing service is a suite of services that enables real estate brokers to establish contractual offers of compensation , facilitates cooperation with other broker participants, accumulates and disseminates information to enable appraisals, and is a facility for the orderly...
properties in a given area under certain conditions. Also see Virtual Company.
Features
The VOW allows the public to:- provide contact information
- agree to become a bona fide customer / client
- get a password protected private account
- describe property interest(s)
- and then conduct searches of all available Multiple Listing ServiceMultiple Listing ServiceA multiple listing service is a suite of services that enables real estate brokers to establish contractual offers of compensation , facilitates cooperation with other broker participants, accumulates and disseminates information to enable appraisals, and is a facility for the orderly...
properties in a certain area.
Site users have to provide personal information before they can actually look at the listings. Also, Realtors who use VOW can choose to “opt out” from the local Multiple Listing Service, which means that these Realtors’ properties will only be displayed to people who have signed in with the VOW.
The benefit to Realtors is that registered users of their VOW web site become customers under contract. Registered users gain the benefit of more detailed information about each property and can generally see all available properties.
Regulation
Certain rules apply to the real estate companies ability to display each detail about a property, these "display rules" are set by the Multiple Listing ServiceMultiple Listing Service
A multiple listing service is a suite of services that enables real estate brokers to establish contractual offers of compensation , facilitates cooperation with other broker participants, accumulates and disseminates information to enable appraisals, and is a facility for the orderly...
which generally forms policy around the recommendations of the National Association of REALTORS
National Association of Realtors
The National Association of Realtors , whose members are known as Realtors, is North America's largest trade association. representing over 1.2 million members , including NAR's institutes, societies, and councils, involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries...
.
The National Association of Realtors
National Association of Realtors
The National Association of Realtors , whose members are known as Realtors, is North America's largest trade association. representing over 1.2 million members , including NAR's institutes, societies, and councils, involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries...
, which created the VOW policy, is under an ongoing antitrust investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, which deemed the VOW policy as anti-competitive.
, the VOW policy has been replaced by a new Internet Listing Display
Internet Listing Display
Internet Listing Display is a set of rules put forth by the National Association of Realtors that regulate how homes and properties can be displayed on internet sites...
policy created by the National Association of Realtors.
On May 27, 2008, NAR and the U.S. Department of Justice reached a favorable settlement, concluding a two-year DOJ investigation (followed by two and a half years of litigation) regarding NAR's multiple listing policy as it pertained to the display of listings from the MLS on brokers' virtual office Web sites, or VOWs. http://www.realtor.org/law_and_policy/doj/nar_doj
See also
- Internet Listing DisplayInternet Listing DisplayInternet Listing Display is a set of rules put forth by the National Association of Realtors that regulate how homes and properties can be displayed on internet sites...
(ILD) -- a newer policy that will replace VOW and IDX - Internet Data ExchangeInternet Data ExchangeAn Internet Data Exchange is a real estate property search site which allows the public to conduct searches of approved Multiple Listing Service properties in a certain area.Site users generally gain the benefit of anonymous property searching and review...
(IDX) -- an older multiple-listing policy also being replaced by the ILD - Real Estate Transaction Specification (RETS)
- Multiple Listing ServiceMultiple Listing ServiceA multiple listing service is a suite of services that enables real estate brokers to establish contractual offers of compensation , facilitates cooperation with other broker participants, accumulates and disseminates information to enable appraisals, and is a facility for the orderly...
(MLS) - Real estate trendsReal estate trendsReal estate trends is a generic term used to describe any consistent pattern or change in the general direction of the real estate industry which, over the course of time, causes a statistically noticeable change...