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REAL ETHICS by Steve Stazel | September 2007 | Index of all Real Ethics columns
Ethical considerations for “Coming Soon” signs
Here is the situation…A “For Sale” sign goes up in a front yard of a home. Attached to the sign is a rider which says, “Coming Soon.”
The property is not submitted to the MLS. Is this a violation of the Code of Ethics?
The answer is, “It depends.”
It depends, I believe, on what the seller’s instructions were to the listing broker. If the seller didn’t know about the rider and thought the property was being actively marketed, I think there is a possible violation of the Code (maybe the seller was out of town or lived somewhere else). If, on the other hand, the seller wanted the house shown only after repairs or clean up efforts were accomplished – but agreed to allow the listing broker to obtain names of potential buyers – I think there is less of a potential violation. To me, the important factor in this type of situation is... “Did the seller know about and agree to the rider?”
Something else the listing broker needs to be aware of is what other brokers might think of a listing agent who has a sign in a yard and has not submitted it to the MLS. How important is your reputation, even if what you are doing is ethical?
Another situation where this sometimes comes into play is when the seller asks the agent (who has a variable rate commission) to try to sell the home on his own for a while. The seller may be hoping to save some commission. If the broker follows the seller’s instructions and puts a sign in the front yard without putting the property in the MLS, can you see how other brokers may wonder whether the listing broker is being ethical?
We all should be aware of Standard of Practice 3-8 which states that “REALTORS® shall not misrepresent the availability of access to show or inspect a listed property.”
Each month, the Aurora Association of REALTORSŪ Web site features Real Ethics,
a column by Steve Stazel devoted to explaining Code of
Ethics issues for members. A REALTORŪ since 1974, Stazel is a Professional Standards
instructor and senior Ethics
instructor for the Colorado Association of REALTORSŪ.
If you have an ethical concern or an issue you would like
to see addressed, please call Stazel at (303) 773-3333 or e-mail him at
stazels@msn.com. The comments of this article reflect the understanding and
opinions of the author and do not represent an official expression of policy by the National Association
of REALTORSŪ.
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