Deleting properties safely

Bulk deletion belongs in MLS Import Settings, then Tools, then Delete Properties. It works through the taxonomies your properties are filed under, removes each property’s images along with it, and runs in small batches so your host does not cut it off half way.

Deleting from the WordPress properties list instead leaves the imported images behind and times out on any real number of listings.

Before you start

1. You are an administrator. The tool is refused to every other role.
2. You have a current backup. Deletion is immediate and nothing goes to the trash.
3. You know which taxonomy term isolates the properties you want gone, and you have checked what else carries it.

Run the delete

1. Open MLS Import Settings and go to the Tools tab.
2. Under Delete Properties, choose a taxonomy in Select Taxonomy. The list holds every taxonomy attached to your theme’s property post type, with the internal name in brackets.
3. Choose one or more entries in Select Terms. Hold Ctrl, or Command on a Mac, to pick several. Each term shows how many properties carry it.
4. Click Delete. A progress bar appears and counts up.
5. Leave the tab open until the bar completes. Stop halts it cleanly if you need to.

Expected result: the properties carrying those terms are gone, their attachments are gone with them, and the term counts across every property taxonomy are recalculated once the last batch finishes.

The tool deletes 20 properties per round and repeats until none are left, which is what lets it survive a host that limits how long a single request may run. If the browser tab closes part way, reopen the screen and run it again on the same terms.

Choosing the terms

Property status is usually the cleanest split, because imported listings carry MLS statuses and hand written ones normally do not. Deleting on active, pending, closed and active-under-contract covers most imported inventory.

Any other taxonomy works the same way. City, type, area and your own categories are all valid, and picking several terms at once is often faster than repeating the run.

Properties you created yourself

A property with no MLS identifier is never deleted by this tool. It is recognised as hand written, recorded as not deleted, and left in place even when it carries a term you selected.

Its images are a different matter. The images attached to a property are removed before that check happens, so a hand written property caught by your term selection survives with its gallery and its featured image gone. The post stays, the pictures do not.

That is the reason to check the term before you run it rather than to rely on the protection. Move your own listings to a status the import never uses, or delete on a taxonomy they do not share.

Where the deletions are recorded

Every property removed this way is written to Import History as a deleted row carrying its MLS number and last known status. The Source column reads reconciliation, because the tool shares the removal routine with the daily pass. A large block of reconciliation rows with the same timestamp is a Tools run, not the nightly job.

With logging switched on, the same deletions are written to the dated delete log inside the plugin’s logs folder, one line per property.

If it does not work

1. The term list stays empty. Pick the taxonomy first. The terms box is disabled until one is selected.
2. The progress bar stops before the end. The host cut the request off. Click Delete again with the same terms and it picks up where it stopped.
3. The counts on the terms still look wrong afterwards. Counts are recalculated only when the run completes. Finish the run rather than stopping it early.
4. Properties come back the next day. The import task that created them is still enabled and still matches them. That is the task to change, not the properties.

Frequently asked questions

Can I delete everything MLSImport imported in one action?

Not as a single button. Select every MLS status in one go, which is the closest equivalent, and repeat on any other taxonomy your imports use.

Do the deleted properties go to the trash?

No. They are removed outright, along with their meta, their term links and their attachments. Restoring them means importing them again or restoring a backup.

Does deleting properties free up disk space?

Barely. Imported photos are served from the MLS image source rather than stored on your server, so what goes is database rows rather than files.

Will this affect my listing allowance?

Yes, in your favour. Your allowance counts the properties on the site, so deleting them makes room. Re-importing the same listings uses it up again.

Related

1. How daily reconciliation works
2. Protected statuses
3. Closed and off-market listings
4. Import History and the activity log
5. Office page and agent pages without duplicate listings

Tell us which properties you want gone and we will confirm the taxonomy and terms that isolate them before you run it.