VOW (Virtual Office Website) & Sold Listing Search Functionality

Video Demonstration:

Written Instructions:

Introduction

What is VOW (Virtual Office Website) & Sold Listing Search Functionality?

A VOW (Virtual Office Website) is when a real estate website offers consumers (ie: potential home buyers) the ability to create a password-protected account in order to view additional listings, and additional listing data and search historical sales on the MLS®. The consumer must agree to VOW terms and a professional relationship must be established before they can use the VOW.

Activation Instructions For Agents (Per Board)

Note: If your board is not listed then we currently do not have integration with it. We are working to expand this functionality into more boards in Canada and will keep you updated via our blog and our mailing list.

Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (GVR)

Step 1) Download the GVR MLS® VOW Agreement PDF
Step 2) Print the agreement and sign it (or digitally sign it) and email the signed copy to idx@rebgv.org. Note: Put "RealtyNinja" as your Service Provider, and your website's URL as the VOW URL.
Step 3) Wait for the real estate board to sign the agreement as well. Once you have a fully executed MLS® VOW Agreement (signed by all parties), email a copy to support@realtyninja.com to let us know. We will then enable VOW and Sold Listing Search functionality on your website and notify you when it's ready to use!

Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB)

Step 1) Go to https://www.fvreb.bc.ca/fvreb-vow-request-form/ and fill in their request form.
Step 2) Wait for them to send you the VOW agreement, and sign it electronically. Note: Put "RealtyNinja" as your Service Provider, and your website's URL as the VOW URL.
Step 3) Wait for the real estate board to sign the agreement as well. Once you have a fully executed MLS® VOW Agreement (signed by all parties), email a copy to support@realtyninja.com to let us know. We will then enable VOW and Sold Listing Search functionality on your website and notify you when it's ready to use!

Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB),

Step 1) Download the CADREB MLS® VOW Agreement PDF
Step 2) Print the agreement and sign it (or digitally sign it) and email the signed copy to memberservices@cadreb.com.
Step 3) Wait for the real estate board to sign the agreement as well. Once you have a fully executed MLS® VOW Agreement (signed by all parties), email a copy to support@realtyninja.com to let us know. We will then enable VOW and Sold Listing Search functionality on your website and notify you when it's ready to use!

How This Functionality Works

Once enabled and verified, VOW + Sold Listing Search are added onto the existing user-account functionality of your website.

Visitors simply create a free account through a variety of ways. For example via the navigation menu at the top of your website.

Upon registration they will be required to accept VOW terms, enter their name, email and phone number and verify their email before they can log in. They will also be required to create a password which expires after 30 days.

📌 Note: You will get a lead notification email (with the persons' details) anytime a user creates an account on your website, saves an MLS® search, fills in a contact form or inquires about a property.

In addition to the standard user-account functionality, VOW users will be able to:

See more listing information

When looking at a listings detail page they will see more information (price per square foot, list date, etc.) and a new table of data, as well as room sizes.

When not logged in, it will tell them that there's much more information available on the listing.

Search for sold listings on the MLS®

Every MLS® search will have a new dropdown on it which lets the user choose between active and sold listings (dating back 2 years).

Results are instantly displayed just like a normal MLS® search (which includes the ability to save the search and subscribe to daily sold email alerts that match their criteria).

See more active listings for sale in MLS® search results

Some listings are not allowed to be shown on the public MLS® and require a VOW to view. Unfortunately, we cannot provide screenshots of these listings, but logged-in users will be able to see them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I just want VOW and not the Sold Listing Search functionality on my website?

Not a problem. Once your VOW agreement has been verified by the board we (or you) can choose to disable the Sold Listing Search functionality that comes with it. This option will be available in the backend settings of your website.

I've already signed the MLS® Reciprocity Agreement. Do I need to sign another agreement for VOW?

Yes. You will need to sign a new agreement with your board specifically for this.

Can I create a pre-defined sold MLS® search page on my website?

Yes. If Sold Listing Search functionality is enabled on your website. As the website admin, you'll be able to pre-set an MLS search to display sold listings. Users will be prompted to register or log in to their VOW account before they can view results.

Can people search sold listings by MLS® number?

Yes, if they are logged into a VOW account and Sold Listing Search functionality is enabled on your website.

What happens to users who already have an account and signed up to receive daily email alerts on their saved searches?

Anyone who already has an account and tries to log in will be asked to accept VOW terms to continue. Note that they will still receive previously subscribed daily email alerts on searches regardless of if they log in to your website or accept VOW terms.

After VOW is enabled, if someone wants to create a new account they will be asked to agree to VOW terms and provide their name, email (verified) and phone number.

What are the terms that users have to accept to create a VOW account?

Please take a moment to review and understand the VOW terms that users will have to agree to upon signing up. They are:

The term Virtual Office Website ("VOW") refers to a Participant's (REALTORS®) Internet website, or a feature of a Participant's Internet website, through which the Participant provides real estate brokerage services to Registrants (clients and prospects) with whom the Participant has first established a relationship where the Registrant has the opportunity to search for MLS® data, subject to the Participant's oversight, supervision and accountability.

By agreeing to these "Terms Of Use", I (the Registrant):

Acknowledge receipt of, and have read and understand the documents published by the Real Estate Council of British Columbia and the British Columbia Real Estate Association entitled "Disclosure of Representation in Trading Services" and "Privacy Notice and Consent";

Acknowledge and understand that the Terms of Use do not create an agency relationship and do not impose a financial obligation on the Registrant or create any representation agreement between the Registrant and the Participant;

Acknowledge and enter into a lawful REALTOR®/consumer or REALTOR®/client relationship with the Participant, including, where necessary, completion of any applicable agency, non-agency, and other disclosure obligations, and execution of any required agreements;

Understand that all data obtained from the VOW is intended only for your personal, non-commercial use;

Do have a bona fide interest in the purchase, sale, or lease of real estate of the type being offered through the VOW;

Agree not to, and will not permit or assist others to, directly or indirectly:

copy, redistribute or retransmit any of the MLS® VOW Data or information provided;
display, post, disseminate, distribute, publish, broadcast, transfer, sell or sublicense any of the MLS® VOW Data to another person.
engage in Scraping (including "screen scraping" and "database scraping"), "data mining" or any other activity intended to collect, store, re-organize, summarize or manipulate any MLS® VOW Data or any related data;

Acknowledge the Board/Association ownership of and the validity of the Board’s proprietary rights and copyright in the MLS® VOW Data, and listing information;

Expressly authorize the Board or their duly authorized representatives, to access the MLS® VOW and Registrant’s information provided to the MLS® VOW Participant, for the purposes of verifying compliance with and pursuing enforcement of the Terms of Use and all applicable rules, regulations, bylaws, policies, and laws;

Agree to supply a username and a password, the combination of which must be different from those of all other Registrants on the VOW, before being permitted to search and view information from the MLS® database via the VOW;

Must provide a valid email address. The Registrant may be permitted to access the VOW only after the Participant has verified that the email address provided is valid the Registrant's agreement to the VOW's Terms of Use is confirmed;

Understand that information on this site is deemed to be valid but is not guaranteed. It is the responsibility of the registrants to confirm all information on their own. Broker may not have reviewed or approved listing enhancements. All information provided by the listing agent/broker is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified;

Understand any agreement entered into at any time between the Participant and Registrant imposing a financial obligation on the Registrant or creating agency representation of the Registrant by the Participant must be established separately from the Terms of Use, must be prominently labelled and may not be accepted solely by mouse click;

That a "mouse click" is sufficient acknowledgement and agreement to the terms;

Having agreed to the terms and conditions of use, I would like to have access to this VOW information.

VOW users will also have to agree to this privacy policy upon registration.

Have more questions?

Please get in touch!