REALTOR® Ethics

Under All is the Land

The Code of Ethics of the National Association of REALTORS® was first adopted on July 29, 1913, and it has changed many times since then.The Code was known then as?Rules of Conduct? to be recommended to real estate boards for voluntary adoption.Compliance with the Code was made a condition of membership in the National Association of REALTORS® in 1924, and has remained so until now.

Ethics play a role in each of our lives on a daily basis, whether it is concerning something as small as telling a ?little white lie? or as large as not notifying the cashier that they did not charge you the correct price for a grocery item.

Statistically speaking, the longer a REALTOR® has been in business, the less ethical he or she is, and the more money a REALTOR® earns, the less ethical he or she is.I believe it is important for any REALTOR® to think about and consider this fact every day, and during every transaction.

I WILL DO THE RIGHT THING, EVEN WHEN NO ONE IS LOOKING!

You do not hear much about ethics when you have a discussion with a REALTOR®, but ethics is a very large part of my professional approach to real estate.Among other courses, I am authorized by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) to teach the Ethics mandatory continuing education course, as promulgated by TREC, to real estate sales persons and REALTORS® in the State of Texas.

All REALTORS® take a pledge to adhere to the following?

Duties to Clients and Customers

• Protect and promote your client?s interests, but be honest with ALL parties.
• Avoid exaggeration, misrepresentations, and concealment of pertinent facts. Do not reveal facts that are confidential under the scope of the Agency Relationship.
• Cooperate with other real estate professionals to advance the client?s best interests.
• When buying or selling, make your position in the transaction or interest known.
• Disclose your own present or contemplated interest in any property to all parties.
• Do not participate in any ?side deals? without the client?s informed consent.
• Accept compensation from only one party, except with full disclosure and informed consent.
• Keep the funds of clients and customers in escrow, separate from your own funds.
• Assure, whenever possible, that ALL transactional details are in writing.

Duties to the Public 

• Provide equal service to ALL clients and customers.
• Be knowledgeable and competent in the fields of practice in which you ordinarily engage.  Obtain assistance or disclose lack of experience if necessary.
• Present a true picture in your advertising and other public representations.
• Do not engage in the unauthorized practice of Law.
• Be a willing participant in code enforcement procedures.

Duties to REALTORS®

• Ensure that your comments about other real estate professionals are truthful, and not misleading.
• Respect the exclusive representation or exclusive brokerage relationship agreements that other REALTORS® have with their clients.
• Arbitrate contractual and specific non-contractual disputes with other REALTORS® and with your clients.

Should you choose to hire me to represent you in a real estate transaction, I feel confident that the issue of REALTOR® ethics will be discussed more than once.Real estate Ethics and every day ethics is really a fascinating subject, and I do my best to learn something new on a daily basis.

If you would like to see the entire 2005 Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, this is a link to the National Association of REALTORS® website.