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REAL ETHICS by Steve Stazel | June 2009 | Index of all Real Ethics columns
Displaying another broker’s listing requires permission
Here’s the question of the month: “Can I advertise another broker’s listing on my website?”
Article 12 of the Code of Ethics requires that REALTORS® be truthful in all advertising they do, and Standard of Practice12-4 states clearly that “REALTORS® shall not offer for sale/lease or advertise property without authority.”
As a listing broker you obtain authority from the seller to advertise the property. But if the property isn’t your listing, you must obtain authority from the listing broker before you promote the home, even if your ad gives credit to the other company as the listing agent.
The same principle holds true for displaying another broker’s listings on your website, with one big exception: If you obtain another broker’s listings as a part of your MLS’s Internet Data Exchange (IDX) system, that means the broker has already agreed to give other brokers the authority to display all of those listings.
Each MLS has rules that specify the process and format for displaying other brokers’ listings on the web. For example, your MLS’s IDX rules may require that the listing broker’s name appear in the online ad and that you display a particular “IDX logo” on other brokers’ listings. As long as you’re using your MLS IDX system and you’re following your MLS rules, you have the authority to display other brokers’ listings on your website.
Each month, the Aurora Outlook features RealEthics, a column by Steve Stazel devoted to explaining Code of Ethics issues for members. The comments stated in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Association of REALTORS®, the Colorado Association of REALTORS® or the Aurora Association of REALTORS®. Ultimately, a hearing panel of the Professional Standards Committee determines whether a violation of the Code of Ethics has occurred on a case-by-case basis. These comments should not serve as the foundation of any ethics complaint, arbitration request or response.
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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