When you are making the biggest purchase of your life, it helps to have a trusted professional on your side. A Realtor is more than a real estate agent. Realtors have training in ethics for both their dealings with the public and with the real estate community. The Realtor Code of Ethics is the cornerstone of the National Association of Realtors ethics training. It guides Realtors and also shows the public the level of commitment, education and dedication to their profession that each member of NAR possesses. So what does the realtor code of ethics mean to you?
A Long Standing Tradition
This year, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Code of Ethics is 100 years old. The market has changed a lot since 1913, and the code is a living, dynamic statement that has moved with the times, updating annually to guide Realtors in their daily professional lives.
The code now been translated into Chinese (simplified and traditional), Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. What else has changed? Social media and the Web, of course.
The Code of Ethics
But other core principles are longstanding and guarantee fair dealings with clients, the public, and other Realtors. For example, the code’s articles include:
- Realtors protect and promote their clients’ interests while treating all parties honestly.
- Realtors refrain from exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts related to property or transactions.
- Realtors cooperate with other real estate professionals to advance their clients’ best interests.
- When buying or selling on their own account or for their families or firms, Realtors make their true position or interest known.
- Realtors make sure that contract details are spelled out in writing and that parties receive copies.
- Realtors give equal professional service to all clients and customers irrespective of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, or sexual orientation.
- Realtors paint a true picture in their advertising, marketing, and other representations.
- Realtors make only truthful, objective comments about other real estate professionals.
In choosing a Realtor, home buyers are selecting a professional who voluntarily holds to a high ethical standard. Many Realtors proudly display cover photos that identify them as Realtors who live by the code. To learn more about the code, visit the Code of Ethics Centennial page.
Written by Darren Wilson with the Wilson Team
931-520-7750 or 931-260-5599
