I have an unusual hobby, I like to lurk on Trulia Voices. I rarely participate in the conversation mostly because I am not all that interested in chatting with people who don’t use their real names on-line and who use Trulia for a second opinion when they don’t like what their Realtor told them.
As I lurk I can see that someone needs to educate agents on some important rules. One agent on Trulia voices steered a consumer away from a neighborhood that he was interested in by saying that another neighborhood is better.
Another agent gave a potential home buyer some advice that looked to me like legal advice. I am not sure if it is just a local thing but I can not give legal advice or tax advice to clients or potential clients.
There are agents on Trulia voices who blatantly solicit business from consumers who are already under contract with another agent. That is against our code of ethics.
There is more but I don’t see the point in writing about all of it. If you are an agent using Trulia voices I believe that the same rules apply on line as they do off line when it comes to fair housing laws and to the Realtor code of ethics.
To brokers and managers who have agents working with them I think it might be a good idea to educate your agents. I am not a lawyer and can not give legal advice but it is possible that brokerages have some legal exposure too.
