How can I gain real time access from my PC to the full "broker" MLS
service for the Sarasota and Tampa bay areas. I'll assume there is a
creative and legal way to do this for under $200 a month. I'm not a
broker nor do I wish to become one. I will need access for 3 months.
Please let me know if you have an answer and I will submit an email
where you can send access information. |
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
29 Mar 2004 06:52 PST
Hello Sugarpop-ga,
First things first...please do not post your email address here, or
the editors are likely to remove your question. All communications
between customers and researchers are carried out right here in these
posted comments, but direct communications via email, telephone, etc.
are not permitted.
Secondly, I want to understand what sort of MLS capacity you need. I
have found sites that can search MLS listings for Sarasota, Tampa or
other Florida locations.
For instance, I can enter parameters such as: listings in Sarasota
for homes with 3 or more bedrooms, listed at $600,000 or less, and the
system returns 112 listings that meet these criteria.
Would that meet your needs? If not, please provide a bit more detail
about what sorts of searches you would to conduct.
Thanks.
pafalafa-ga
|
Request for Question Clarification by
umiat-ga
on
29 Mar 2004 14:00 PST
Hello, sugarpop!
You can indeed get full access to the MLS for Sarasaota and Tampa
online, from your home PC, as well as most other areas in Florida. You
do not need to be a broker to access the same listings that the
realtors see. The listings are "real time" - meaning they are
properties that are still for sale.
Please let me know if there is some particular feature you are
seeking while I am compiling my answer. You do not need to post an
email address. The service I have found is fully searchable at no
charge.
umiat
|
Request for Question Clarification by
umiat-ga
on
29 Mar 2004 22:18 PST
sugarpop,
I have the sneaking suspicion, upon reading your question many times,
that you want actual "broker" access to the MLS without being a
broker. In other words, rather than having access to the bulk of
publicly available Florida MLS listings that have been made available
online, you are wanting to subscribe to a broker database without the
professional license. Am I correct?
If so, I don't believe you will be able to find a subscription
service that allows you broker priviliges without producing a
professional realtor's license.
See the following question and answer from "Ask Realty Times" by Peter
G. Miller (October 10, 2003)
http://www.privatemi.com/askrealty/ask1010.cfm
Question: I'm researching the public's right to access to MLS
information. Does the public have the right to access MLS data
directly without a broker?
Answer: No. Imagine that someone made popular software. The fact that
everyone likes it does not mean the coding belongs to the public. It's
the same with MLS information -- you cannot reap where you have not
sown.
It costs a great amount of money and time to acquire listings, pool
data and operate computer systems. MLS benefits -- including access to
the system -- are reserved for those who pay the bills, MLS members.
MLS members may elect to show or withhold given portions of local MLS
databases to the public -- but only when MLS members benefit.
=
Again, I want to stress that the bulk of current Sarasota and Tampa
real estate listings are available online. In fact, I have found
public access to 21,106 current MLS residential property listings in
Tampa that you can narrow down with your own parameters. However, you
may miss out on a few that are kept within the private MLS, and you
may not have the "real time" access that MLS member have, such as a
24-hour notice of new listings.
Are you still interested in how to access the publicly available information?
umiat
|
