By Jack Wilkinson
2002 President of the Marin Association of REALTORS®
Jack Wilkinson, GRI, is a 29-year member of the Marin Association of REALTORS®. He is a certified instructor of all phases of real estate education, a trainer of the required ethics introduction for MAR and contributing editor of the newly required real estate course, “Blueprint for Success” published by Kaplan Professional Schools.Code of Ethics
A fellow REALTOR® (A) asked me a question the other day. It seems she has a listing that is a bit over-priced. She knows it and the owner knows it too. It is one of those things that we, as listing agents hate, but sometimes do, in the interest of keeping a good client happy. The property is not so over-priced that it makes no sense, but it is enough that an offer may be unlikely, especially in today’s market.
Her question was about an incident in which another REALTOR® (B) called the owner and began the conversation by asking the expiration date of the listing agreement.
Article 16“REALTORS® shall not engage in any practice or take any action inconsistent with exclusive representation or exclusive brokerage relationship agreements that other REALTORS® have with clients.” (Amended1/04)
Standard of Practice 16-4
“REALTORS® shall not solicit a listing which is currently listed exclusively with another broker. However, if the listing broker, when asked by the REALTOR®, refuses to disclose the expiration date and nature of such listing; i.e., an exclusive right to sell, an exclusive agency, open listing, or other form of contractual agreement between the listing broker and the client, the REALTOR® may contact the owner to secure such information and may discuss the terms upon which the REALTOR® might take a future listing or, alternatively, may take a listing to become effective upon expiration of any exclusive listing.” (Amended 1/94)
On the face of it there appears to be no problem. However, the calling REALTOR®, after being told the expiration date, which was 34 days in the future, proceeded to tell the owner how much better off the owner would be by canceling the listing and re-listing with her, REALTOR® B. She went on to say that the price was much too high and the marketing no where near adequate enough to get the house sold.
The reality is that the current real estate market can cause people to do things that they might not otherwise do. But, is it ethical? NO!!
The first violation is the fact that B did not communicate with A. This is a clear breach of Article 16, Standard of Practice 16-4. B’s claim that a call was made and a message left is weak, indeed, as there is no record of any call. Secondly, more than one call should be made and a refusal obtained in order to be anywhere near compliance with 16-4. This didn’t happen.
While no expiration dates are given in the MLS data, it seems to be common practice that most (I have no actual figures, but I’ll use 99%) residential listings are for a 90 day period. At least, this has been true for the 29 years I have been in business. The listing information does show the listing date and number of days on the market. Simple arithmetic should give an idea of the expiration date. If it was on for 56 days, 90 – 56 = 34 days left. Prudence and ethical practice on B’s part would be to have at least waited for that time to pass. While still in violation, a very weak case could be made that “I thought it had expired.” Unfortunately, this is right up there with the third grade excuse of “the dog ate my homework.”
So it appears there is a clear violation. When A contacted B and asked why she called her client, B simply said “Oh, I thought it had expired, so very sorry.”
No evidence of remorse. Instead, a clear indication of no sense of wrong doing.
The important question here is not, “was it wrong?” It is more important to ask, “what should be done about it?”
While this question boils on A’s back burner, I’d like to hear from anyone as to what you think should be done.
What would you do? Let me know.
