You may be in violation of the NAR Code of Ethics

You may be in violation of the NAR Code of Ethics and not be aware that you are.

The National Association of Realtors® has made it mandatory for all Realtors® to take the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice update class. For those of you how have already taken the class you should find your copy of the Code of Ethics handy. For those of you who have not taken the class yet, make sure you pay close attention to Article 11.

Article 11
The services which REALTORS® provide to their clients and customers shall conform to the standards of practice and competence which are reasonably expected in the specific real estate disciplines in which they engage; specifically, residential real estate brokerage, real property management, commercial and industrial real estate brokerage, Land brokerage, real estate appraisal, real estate counseling, real estate syndication, real estate auction, and international real estate.

REALTORS® shall not undertake to provide specialized professional services concerning a type of property or service that is outside their field of competence unless they engage the assistance of one who is competent on such types of property or service, or unless the facts are fully disclosed to the client. Any persons engaged to provide such assistance shall be so identified to the client and their contribution to the assignment should be set forth. (Amended 1/10)

Why is this important for you to be aware of wither you are a Realtor® or one who hires a real estate agent to represent you interest? Well let us examine the Article closely.

The first paragraph states that “Realtors® shall conform to the standards of practice and competence…” The key word here is “competence”. The Wikipedia definition of the word competence is “Competence is the ability to perform a specific task, action or function successfully.”

The Code continues to identify the specific real estate disciplines in which they engage; “Residential real estate brokerage, real property management, commercial and industrial real estate brokerage, real estate appraisal, real estate counseling, real estate syndication, real estate auction, and international real estate, Land Brokerage… are stated.”

It is a fact that when one attends real estate schools for one hundred plus hours all over the county, that other than basic aspects of residential real estate brokerage, the other disciplines are not covered in the course materials. Therefore it is up to the real estate brokerage to train their agents in the disciplines of their practice. Or, they can encourage their agents to enroll in the many NAR Associations like The Realtors® Land Institute, www.rli.com , CCIM, Certified Commercial Investment Member, www.ccim.com , CIPS, Certified International Property Specialist,

www.retrainingcenter.com/Certified_International_Property_Specialist.asp , CPM, Certified Property Manager, www.certifiedpropertymanagement.net , IRAM, Institute of Real Estate Management, www.irem.org , CRE, Counselor of Real Estate, (www.cre.org), GAA, General Accredited Appraiser, www.realtor.org/appraisal/appraisal/designationinformation . There are other national real estate associations that provide the information and expertise to meet the purposes of this Code. www.nar.org

If you have not pursued a designation in your real estate discipline, you may want to get involved with one of these organizations. If you are a buyer or seller of real estate, you may want to solicit an agent who has a designation in the type of real estate you are engaged in. When we fly in an airplane or have surgery, we probably want a pilot or a doctor who does not have “training wheels”.

Paragraph two states; “REALTORS® shall not undertake to provide specialized professional services concerning a type of property or service that is outside their field of competence…” Every aspect of a real estate transaction demands that the “agent/s” that is/are employed have experience in their discipline. If they do not, research the industry until you find one that is qualified. Real estate is a serious business. It is not a good time to experiment.

Paragraph continues to state; “unless they engage the assistance of one who is
competent on such types of property or service, or unless the facts are
fully disclosed to the client.” This provides for those who do have “training wheels” to get the opportunity to learn by an experienced associate. If you are a Realtor®, remember that one or two transactions under your belt will not make you an expert. As a consumer, ask a lot of questions before you select an agent to represent you real estate interest. You can go to the NAR organizations web sites and find an agent in your market area.