When building a team, don’t forget to consider Canopy Realtor® Association membership, Supra Key use and subscription to Canopy MLS.

Does the teammate need to join the Association?

Does the teammate need to join Canopy MLS?

Assistant access to Canopy MLS

Does the teammate need a Supra Key to access the team's listings or to show property?

How to set up a team in Matrix^TM

Unlicensed assistants - drawing the line between what they can and cannot do

Does the teammate need to join the Association?

All real estate licensees (including licensed assistants) affiliated with a Designated Realtor®/broker-in-charge must join Canopy Realtor® Association or have a non-member fee paid for them.

Does the teammate need to join Canopy MLS?

Some agents think that if they are a member of a team and only one person on the team adds or edits listings in the MLS, that the rest of the team does not need to subscribe to the MLS – that is false. All active real estate licensees, including but not limited to those who are part of a real estate team or who represent buyers exclusively, licensed or certified appraisers and appraisal trainees affiliated with a Member Participant (MP, typically the broker-in-charge) must subscribe to the MLS. All licensees on the team must join Canopy MLS and WILL NOT qualify for a waiver.

Each Canopy MLS user must use his or her own MLS login name and password, and he or she must not disclose an MLS login name or password to anyone. An infraction of this rule carries a fine: $1,000 for the first violation, $3,000 for the second violation, and a one-year expulsion from Canopy MLS for the third violation.

Assistant access to Canopy MLS

Unlicensed assistants who plan to access the Canopy MLS system must:

• complete the appropriate assistant paperwork, which must be signed by the MP of the firm
• pay a non-refundable, one-time orientation fee of $25 and quarterly fees
• attend MLS Orientation before access to the Canopy MLS system will be provided

The assistant will be provided a unique username and password. If an assistant assists more than one agent in different firms, that assistant will be issued two different user identification numbers and will be required to pay access fees under each firm.

Any assistant found to hold an active real estate or appraisal license or found to be a party to a listing agreement, a buyer agency agreement or named as the listing agent or selling agent on a purchase agreement will be immediately activated as a Subscriber, charged the Canopy MLS start-up fee and all applicable quarterly fees. The licensee will also be scheduled for the next available Canopy MLS Orientation class. Failure to attend this class will result in the inactivation of their MLS. The licensee has 15 business days to complete this process. In addition, the MP of the office will be fined $1,000.

Does the teammate need a Supra Key to access the team’s listings or to show property?

If the answer to this question is YES, then the team member must lease his or her own Supra Key. Important to remember is that unlicensed assistants are not eligible to lease a Supra Key. The lending of keys for any reason is strictly prohibited, and each Keyholder is obligated to maintain the confidentiality of his or her individual PIN.

Keyholders using electronic Keys from other MLSs or associations that cooperate with Canopy MLS are subject to the Supra DisplayKEY, eKEY and Lockbox rules and regulations, penalties and fines on the same terms as all other Keyholders.

An infraction of this rule carries a fine: $500 first violation. Thereafter fines shall be as determined by the Canopy MLS Board of Directors.

How to set up a team in Matrix^TM

Each Matrix user that is added to your team has full access to your Matrix account and can either “impersonate” you or “work on your behalf,” depending on the type of access you grant them.

Click the “My Matrix” tab, then the “Settings” link. At the bottom of the “My Settings” screen, you will find the “Team Settings” section. Click the link labeled “Click here to create a Team” and then again on the next screen.

Type in the agent ID for the agent you want to add to your team. If you do not know the ID, you can find it through an agent roster search (“Roster” tab).

Select whether you want this colleague to “Impersonate” you or “Work on Behalf” of you. Click the “Add” button.

After adding your first team member, you will come to the main “Team Settings” screen. Here you can control the following:

• Add additional team members (click the link “Click here to add a team member and/or someone that can work as you”).
• Delete team members or edit their impersonate/work on behalf status.
• Name your team (optional). Be sure to click the “Save” button after typing in your name.
• Set yourself up to either impersonate or work on behalf of the team.
• Allow team members the option of switching between their own names and the team name when printing and emailing to team contacts. Be sure to click the “Save” button after checking or unchecking this box.
• Disable the team function.

Unlicensed Assistants – Drawing the Line Between What They Can and Cannot Do

The following article is reprinted entirely from the North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC) Bulletin, October 2012, by Joan H. Floyd, Senior Consumer Protection Officer.

There is a line between licensed and unlicensed in the world of real estate brokerage that requires the careful attention of brokers with unlicensed assistants who help them with their business and may work directly with buyers and sellers.

A complaint from a buyer or seller that the “broker” with whom they are working is not licensed as a broker is often followed by the actual broker explaining that the “broker” is really an unlicensed assistant.

The question then arises: Did the assistant cross the line between licensed and unlicensed when providing services requested by the client or the broker?

Because clients do not always know who is licensed in a brokerage office or precisely what rights a license confers, brokers should inform clients of the limits placed on their unlicensed assistants in providing services. Otherwise, there is considerable opportunity for confusion.

The best course of action is to explain matters to the client at the beginning of the relationship and, as an aid in doing that, provide the two lists below which draw that important line between what is allowable and what is not.

Unlicensed assistants MAY:

• Receive and forward phone calls, texts and emails to the employing broker or other licensees in a firm;
• Submit listings and changes to a MLS provider, but only if the listing or change is based upon data supplied by a broker;
• Assist a broker in compiling documents for closing;
• Research and obtain copies of documents in the public domain, such as the Registers of Deeds, Clerks of Court, or tax offices;
• Obtain keys for listed properties;
• Record and deposit trust monies under the close supervision of the office broker-in-charge (BIC);
• Type in offer to purchase, contract and lease forms with information provided by brokers;
• Check license renewal records and other personnel information pertaining to brokers at the direction of the BIC;
• Prepare commission checks and otherwise act as bookkeeper for the firm’s operating account under the close supervision of the BIC;
• Place “For Sale” or “For Rent” signs on property at the direction of a broker;
• Order and supervise routine and minor repairs at the direction of a broker;
• Act as a courier at the direction of a broker;
• Coordinate or confirm appointments between brokers and other persons;
• Schedule appointments for showing properties listed for sale or rent;
• Show rental properties managed by the broker to prospective tenants;
• Complete and execute preprinted form leases for rental property managed by the firm.
• Answer basic questions from prospective buyers and others about listed properties if the broker has provided the information in promotional materials.

Only licensed brokers MAY:

• Show properties for sale to prospective buyers;
• Answer questions from prospective buyers and others about listed properties.
• Offer opinions as to the seller’s or landlord’s intentions about a listed property;
• Solicit listings or management contracts from prospective clients;
• Prepare information to be placed in promotional material or advertisements for properties for sale or lease;
• Discuss or explain listings, management agreements, offers, agency agreements, leases or other similar matters with persons outside the firm;
• Negotiate the amount of rent, earnest money deposits, due diligence fees or other contract provisions in connection with properties listed for sale or rent by the firm.

Finally, remember that if you are a broker-in-charge, you are responsible for all money being held in a trust account and the accuracy of all advertising. Brokers-in-charge should be closely supervising all actions in those areas, especially when those duties are performed by unlicensed persons.