VOW = Virtual Office Website – This is a website, or feature of a website in which a Participant (as defined in the SWMLS Bylaws) provides real estate brokerages services to a consumer. An established broker-consumer relationship must exist with the Participant and the client using the VOW service. After this relationship is established (as defined by state law) the consumer will have the opportunity to search MLS listing information that is subject to the Participant’s oversight, supervision, and accountability.
An IDX website is a website that is setup to display SWMLS information to any member of the public who visits that website. To use a Virtual Office Website, an individual must first agree to a client-broker relationship.
Complete the VOW Agreement form and submit to SWMLS staff for approval. Engage a web design company, if needed. Once approved by SWMLS staff for VOW your web developer will be contacted and registered as an Affiliated VOW Partner (AVP). The SWMLS VOW feed is available as RETS or API.
VOW rules are found in Section 19 of the SWMLS Rules and Regulations. These rules were adopted from the National Association of REALTORS® rules. You are strongly encouraged to read this section thoroughly before establishing your VOW. You should become familiar with the specific rules that pertain to operating a broker-client relationship through a website. Also, the AVP must adhere to defined rules to ensure that you remain in compliance.
For your consideration:
RETS Option: The RETS feed is the IDX feed used most frequently with web developers using SWMLS data. This data feed allows web developers to query or pull from the RETS database the specific property data applicable for the website. For more information about RETS visit, rets.org.
*Costs are subject to change and will be reviewed frequently by the SWMLS Board of Directors.*