
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.
Jonathan Dalton
March 25, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Very well said …
I once was told I don’t “share” what I’m doing that makes me successful. Maybe it’s because I don’t always feel successful. Or maybe that when I do, it’s because I have my head down and am just plugging along doing much of what others are doing.
Vicki Moore
March 25, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Me too! I’m with you. Once I realized people were reading what I wrote, all of a sudden broke out with writer’s block. Genius or no, I enjoy reading what you write and I’m looking forward to hearing more.
Mariana Wagner
March 25, 2008 at 9:23 pm
I *heart* HouseChick … Even IF she winds up with a “massive truck of fail” … which is highly unlikely.
Maureen Francis
March 25, 2008 at 11:07 pm
The moniker weighs heavily here too. Maybe we should just post questions and let everyone else supply the answers.
Benn Rosales
March 25, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Humility is not a fail, and is the notable quality in which many of you were chosen. It is in essence what makes AG real and sincere, and the epic following and contribution at AG proves it.
The great thing about AG is what is someone else’s stregnth is another’s weakness. When one is blocked, another writer fills the void and inspires.
So even if you’re sitting idle on the sidebar with nothing to contribute, someone else will surely fill the void.
c’est la vie
Bill Lublin
March 26, 2008 at 3:02 am
Kelly – looks like you did insert genius here – nice post – well written thoughtful and articulate – Like Woody Allen said, “90% of life is just6 showing up”
Don’t mean to put any pressure on you but I certainly felt enlightened – 🙂
Teresa Boardman
March 26, 2008 at 4:33 am
I write because I am afraid of Lani. I am positive that she does have a way of throwing flaming poo at me even though we live at opposite ends of the country. I have also gone through a bout of writers block. Much has happened in the last couple of weeks. Not being able to write happens to everyone at some time. We just have to make sure that it does not happen to all of us at once. I don’t think Lani would actually hurt us but I like to be careful just in case.
Shailesh Ghimire
March 26, 2008 at 10:22 am
Kelley,
Very relevant. Needing every post to be a home run is not the reason to blog – and trying to prove you’ve got all the answers is not the point either. I blog therefore I am and to me that is all that matters. I agree with Benn’s assessment about the group of writers – the folks on AG write heart felt and genuine posts.
Matthew Rathbun
March 26, 2008 at 7:27 pm
There is nothing like the threat of crap covered with combustible fluid, ignited and then catapulted at you; to encourage you to author your best diatribe!
(I can translate that for those who didn’t get the humor)
I have to say I am not easily intimidated at all, but when Benn and Lani e-mailed that we needed to write more; I developed a little blockage or my own.
I love your honesty and I can completely agree…. it’s hard to write opinion when everyone expects you to be a world changer. Today, I’m with you. I don’t care about MLS or NAR. Tomorrow I’ll care about something – I suppose.
I happen to like you for your Twitter posts, so unbury yourself and come back here to post!
Gena Riede
March 26, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Great article. Nice to see that there are so many “geniuses” right here…who would have thought!