Woman Stole My Contract and 17 Cars

You may have heard about the woman who recently went on a car stealing spree in the Austin TX area.  She managed to steal 17 of them before getting caught.  Her ploy was to hit local Gyms and check the Women’s locker room for unlocked lockers for keys.  After finding a set she would head to the parking lot and be gone in a snap. 

As it turns out, one of her victims was the sales representative for a local builder.  I had spent the previous day negotiating with this builder for one of my clients and we had reached terms late in the day.  Everybody signed the contract and the sales rep took the contract home with her so that se could drop it by the title company first thing in the morning.  On the way to the title company, she stoped at the gym for her morning workout but upon completing her workout, she noticed her purse had been stolen from her locker.  A little investigation turned up the fact that her car had also been stolen along with my clients contract that was setting in the front seat of her car.  After reporting the incident to the local police, she quickly called me to let me know what had happened.  Fortunately I had a copy of the contract in my car which I dropped by her office later that afternoon. 

The good news in this little ordeal is that the thief has been apprehended and I hope that has brought a little justice for the sales rep who lost her car, her ID, her credit cards, and our contract.  I know that I felt better after reading the story of the thief being caught.

What is the MLS and how does it work?

Multiple Listing Service (MLS)

What is the MLS?

The MLS is a data base of homes, condos, duplexes, town homes,  and land for sale and listed by a REALTOR.  MLS systems are set up by the local association of REALTORS and are based on the geographic area that the local association covers.  In Austin, TX the local association of REALTORS is the Austin Board of REALTORS also known as ABOR.  Each member must hold an active Real Estate Salesperson license or active Real Estate Brokers license issued by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC).  Each member must submit an application and pay dues to the local association to maintain their membership with the association.  Additionally, members must join the Texas Association of REALTORS (TAR), and the National Association of REALTORS (NAR).  Members are bound by a code of ethics designed to protect consumers and the REALTOR brand name.  Only member real estate agents can be called REALTORS.

A vital part of the local association of REALTORS is the MLS system.  The MLS is a tool for collaboratively sharing listing information between member agents.  This tool allows all members to view property details, schedule showings, and track market statistics of all properties listed through the MLS by any member agent.  The MLS use to be a printed binder listing all properties on paper form.  With the advancements in technology the MLS was migrated to a digital database in the late 80’s and early 90’s.  By the late 90’s the MLS was connected to the Internet to allow customers and clients access to a portion of the data available in the MLS system.  The MLS also creates the working relationship between sellers agents, sub-agents, and buyers agents.  I’ll go into more detail on these relationships in a separate blog. 

MLS Access

Why do members have access to data in the MLS that is not available to the general public?  First and foremost is the privacy and protection of confidential client information.  Things like the occupancy of the home, the access instructions, and the security system information are restricted to member only access to protect the security of our clients and their property.  Other items like the owners contact information are restricted from public access to enable a certain level of privacy for clients.  Finally, and just as important, is that sales information is restricted from the public in the state of Texas.  Why?  Because Texas is a Non Disclosure State.  This means that real property sales prices are not a matter of public record.  Sales prices are not recorded along with the deed in Texas.  Why not?  Texans decided long ago that property sales prices were a private matter and created laws to protect this confidentiality. 

Why are there so many websites that show MLS listings?  In addition to the local board of REALTORS website, each member agent or brokerage is allowed to display listings on their own website through an IDX agreement with the local board.  This IDX agreement sets the ground rules for how the agent is allowed to use and display the data.  For example, the agents website must clearly display the name of their brokerage on the website.  The individual listings must provide the name of the brokerage that has the listing.  Take a look at our MLS Search for Austin to see an example.

I need more information than is available through the IDX MLS search.  Where do I go?  You can contact a REALTOR who would be happy to provide a custom search for you.  The REALTOR can also provide information about the active, pending, and sold properties in the area in which you are interested.  If you need more information about properties in the Austin MLS, please call me at 512-659-5506 or email me at allen@shipmanpartners.com.