
An animated discussion on ethics training
“Does anyone else find it ironic that NAR – the trade association for Realtors – has to mandate that members take an ethics class every four years?” An agent who attended one of my company’s broker opens yesterday posed that question to the wine and cheese grazing attendees. Of course, that opened up an animated discussion on the value of etchics training and the lack of enforcement when the rules are violated.
One agent volunteered that the guy sitting next to her in her last ethics class played games on his cell phone and then cheated during the test at the end of the class. Seriously, dude? You cannot even pay attention long enough to pass what should be the easiest test you’ll ever have to take in your career? Perhaps he was just seeing how far he could push it by cheating during an ethics test, to see if anyone else around him caught the extreme irony there. None of the other agents around him – including the agent he cheated off – turned him in and the instructor didn’t notice.
This same agent later called one of my sellers and tried to convince him to break a listing contract with me, because he had a “guaranteed buyer” in the wings. The seller was an attorney, and this bozo tried to get me cut out of the deal, offering the seller a reduced fee to dump me. The seller held firm and directed the agent to call me, then the seller called to let me know about the conversation.
“But you know if you file something the other agent will know.”
It gets better. After the deal closed, I requested paperwork from our local Board of Realtors to file an ethics complaint. The person in charge said, “But you know if you file something the other agent will know.” Gee. Really? I asked her to send the paperwork over anyway.
I called the seller/attorney and asked him to repeat the conversation to me, because I was documenting it to file a complaint. He turned wishy washy on me at that point and his story changed from “The other agent tried to get me to dump you as the listing agent to cut you out” to “Well he really only asked a few questions and I told him to call you. He probably didn’t mean any harm by it.” So there goes my star witness, who doesn’t want to rock the boat.
I didn’t file the complaint. I resorted to the “turn the blind eye but never trust the sleazeball again” path. And that is what happens to almost all ethics issues I hear about / see in person.
That’s what happens when you have a self-policing group of “professionals” who would rather not “narc” on a fellow agent. After all you’re probably going to end up on the other side of a deal from this guy some day, right? The guy in my example has sold two of my houses since that run-in. Why tick him off by filing a complaint and going through all that hassle? If he stops bringing buyers to my properties then my sellers ultimately lose, right?
Boiling down the CoE
The NAR Code of Ethics takes up pages and pages of tiny print, and it runs each year in their trade magazine (I think it’s the January issue). Does anybody read that? Probably not many. I’d argue none of us ever should have to read it again. Simply follow this advice instead. The thousands of words in the Code boil down to one thing: Do unto other agents, and consumers, and clients, what you would have them do unto you. It’s the Golden Rule. Simple. Well, obviously not, for many agents and brokers.
The sad part is the agent in my example had no clue how close I was to filing that compaint, and if he did know he’d probably scratch his head and wonder why his actions were “wrong.” Making us take a one-day class every few years won’t “make” the unethical agents suddenly operate ethically. Most of them just don’t get it.
Ginger Wilcox
September 23, 2008 at 10:51 pm
There really isn’t much worse than having a seller give you a guided tour of the property. They almost always stick their foot in their mouth. I recently showed a property listed by another agent. The seller had my phone number because I had to call them directly to make the appointment to show. He called me three times after the showing to tell me how motivated he was. I finally had to call the agent and tell him to leave me alone, my client wasn’t interested. If you are that motivated, drop the price.
Rich Jacobson
September 24, 2008 at 2:17 am
I bet this guy was an engineer? Obviously very proud of his home improvements. Rarely does a Sellers presence help facilitate a good showing. List and Leave!
Steve Simon
September 24, 2008 at 6:34 am
Pride of Authorship exists a little in us all, and a lot in some of us:)
When the Seller starts talking about the paneling they installed (of course the Buyer is wondering what it will look like when they rip that crap off the wall?). it is with pride and love. They are thinking that worm hole pecan look is perfect for the living room and Michaelangelo wouldn’t have done anything different…
Vicki Moore
September 24, 2008 at 10:59 am
Ginger – Oh my! I’ve actually been in a similar situation where I’ve called the other agent to say Hey! Your client is cheating on you!
Rich – He was extremely proud of the home. And a really nice guy. You know how it is on tour, run through there real quick to get to the next house.
Steve – You are so right. They raised their family there and they want to share the love they have for the home.
Unfortunately now I know they’re getting a divorce because his wife has a new boyfriend; that the listing agent wants the price to come down….
ines
September 24, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Wasn’t it Hubris that brought down Julius Caesar? – “manage your clients and their assets”….well said