ShareMany real estate professionals may start noticing new safety fields in their MLS. How MLSs gather information on property safety conditions can be important. But don’t misunderstand what these safety fields are for because inaccuracies can cause a ripple of issues. Host Tracey Hawkins discusses the purpose of MLS safety fields, as well as best practices for using them, with two practitioners who have been intimately involved in bringing these fields to fruition.
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Meet the Guests
Sam DeBord is CEO of the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO), which is the body that creates standardized policies and procedures for the real estate industry. He is a former practitioner who served as managing broker at Coldwell Banker Danforth in Seattle. DeBord also has served NAR as president’s liaison for MLS and data management; a mentor with the REACH tech accelerator program; and a director for Second Century Ventures and CRMLS.
Johnny Mowad, ABR, is an associate broker with Ebby Halliday, REALTORS®, in Dallas, and founder of The Mowad Group. He is the 2024 chair of NAR's Multiple Listing Issues and Policies Committee, which worked with RESO and other industry stakeholders to create standardized MLS safety fields. Mowad also is the 2024 president-elect for the MetroTex Association of REALTORS®. He was president of the board for North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, a 50,000+ subscriber MLS.
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About the Host
Tracey Hawkins, also known as “Tracey, the Safety Lady,” is a former real estate agent who founded her own safety education program, Safety and Security Source, in 1995. Hawkins is a content creator who teaches 12 interactive safety classes that she wrote herself. She teaches agents to stay safe and build their businesses by protecting the consumer. She teaches brokerages how to reduce liability. Hawkins has written expert safety content for REALTOR® Magazine and other national real estate publications, including RISMedia, Inman and The Close.