Under All Is The Land

So begins the Preamble to the amazing Realtor Code of Ethics. Read carefully, it contains some powerful statements. Under all is the land. Upon its wise utilization and widely allocated ownership depend on the survival and growth of free institutions and of our civilization. REALTORS ® should recognize that the interests of the nation and its citizens require the highest and best use of the land and the widest distribution of land ownership. They require the creation of adequate housing, the building of functioning cities, the development of productive industries and farms, and the preservation of a healthful environment.

Such interests impose obligations beyond those of ordinary commerce. They impose grave social responsibility and a patriotic duty to which REALTORS® should dedicate themselves, and for which they should be diligent in preparing themselves. REALTORS® , therefore, are zealous to maintain and improve the standards of their calling and share with their fellow REALTORS® a common responsibility for its integrity and honor.

In recognition and appreciation of their obligations to clients, customers, the public, and each other, REALTORS® continuously strive to become and remain informed on issues affecting real estate and, as knowledgeable professionals, they willingly share the fruit of their experience and study with others. They identify and take steps, through enforcement of this Code of Ethics and by assisting appropriate regulatory bodies, to eliminate practices which may damage the public or which might discredit or bring dishonor to the real estate profession. REALTORS® having direct personal knowledge of conduct that may violate the Code of Ethics involving misappropriation of client or customer funds or property, willful discrimination, or fraud resulting in substantial economic harm, bring such matters to the attention of the appropriate Board or Association of REALTORS®.

The term REALTOR® has come to connote competency, fairness, and high integrity resulting from adherence to a lofty ideal of moral conduct in business relations. No inducement of profit and no instruction from clients ever can justify departure from this ideal. In the interpretation of this obligation, REALTORS® can take no safer guide than that which has been handed down through the centuries, embodied in the Golden Rule, “Whatsoever ye would that others should do to you, do ye even so to them.”

Accepting this standard as their own, REALTORS® pledge to observe its spirit in all of their activities whether conducted personally, through associates or others, or via technological means, and to conduct their business in accordance with the tenets set forth below.

Our Advice: The lofty ideals in the Preamble set the stage for the Code of Ethics itself. The Code is comprised of Standards of Practice and Codes that all Realtors must abide by or be subject to sanction or removal by the Board of Realtors. Read them and you will understand the strength of a Realtor. Not all agents are Realtors. Code offenses should be reported, whether by a member of the public or other Realtors. It is how the ideals are maintained and the public protected and better served.

Under all is the land … the foundation for greatness. Disclosure – deleted one paragraph for space. When it comes to choosing professionals to assist you with your real estate needs… Experience is Priceless! Lisa Wetzel & Jim Valentine, CDPE, SFR, RE/MAX Realty Affiliates, 775-781-5472. carsonvalleyland@hotmail.com, www.carsonvalleyland.com

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Lisa Wetzel and Jim Valentine are the authors of this blog. Lisa, Jim and Jessie are experts in Carson Valley , Carson City and the tri-county area of Douglas County , Carson City and Lyon County. Call our team anytime at 775-781-5472 or 775-781-3704. To Search for Homes go to: Carson Valley Listing Book or visit our website at www.CarsonValleyLand.net or www.CarsonValleyLand.com

Stealth Agents

We responded to a Craigslist listing and got a real estate agent … is that legal?

Absolutely not – it’s called a “blind ad”. Real estate agents must disclose their licensed status in all advertising – it’s the law in the State of Nevada. Further, if the agent is a Realtor they are also violating the Realtor Code of Ethics. The public has the right to know if they are being “sold” something by a licensee and not an unlicensed owner representing himself. This is a very basic law and practice, but in this challenging market some agents are desperate … and desperate people do desperate things.

It is unfortunate that some are driven to gain advantage over their fellow practitioners by what they perceive to be cleverness when in fact it is shameful. We are witnessing it with increasing frequency in our local market and we do take action. We first warn the agent out of courtesy. If they don’t change their ad and disclose their licensed status they are reported to the Board of Realtors and the State of Nevada for the appropriate policing action. There are reasons for the existing laws… consumer protection… and they must be complied with. There isn’t a place in the real estate business for scofflaws as evidenced by the widespread lending fraud recently perpetrated by unscrupulous lenders and real estate agents. That practice is substantially to blame for the current loan industry crisis.

The Internet and newspaper classifieds are good tools for buying, selling, lending and borrowing … as long as it is done in the appropriate manner. There are a lot of people trying to get in your pocket these days. Are you getting unsolicited emails? Phone calls? Everybody has a “better mousetrap” to make you money, save you money … something to do with your money. There is a catch – somebody is making money along the way. Be careful – you can make money in this market but you shouldn’t be compromised by unethical/illegal behavior in your effort to do so.

Our Advice: If you find yourself in a situation where you asked for “free” information on your home value, “free” foreclosure information, or details on an offering you thought was a private party, and you are suddenly faced with dealing with an agent … run! Even an agent offering his own property for sale is required by law to disclose his status. There is no plausible explanation for this behavior other than blatant deception against the public … you. It is not how professionals conduct themselves in their business. Stick to professional representation when you need real estate services as this is not a market for amateurs. If you experience a “stealth” agent “strafing” you to do business by all means report them to the Board of Realtors, 775.885.7200, and/or the State of Nevada Division of Real Estate, 775.687.4280. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing. If an agent is unethical and illegal in their initial contact with you, where else are they compromising their integrity and your financial and emotional safety when it comes to buying and selling real estate?

Experience is Priceless! Lisa Wetzel & Jim Valentine, RE/MAX Realty Affiliates, www.carsonvalleyland.com , 775-781-5472.

Realtor Code of Ethics Changes

I keep getting misdirected when looking for property on the Internet … what can I do?

There is little more frustrating in our contemporary lives than getting misdirected, or getting unwanted solicitation and contact, when searching the Internet for something important to us such as real estate. This is quite prevalent in real estate related sites, ie.- “free” home valuation or listing sites, where you request information only to have a local agent call you. It can be really frustrating to search for an area, such as the Carson Valley, and come up with only one company. It is maddening when you search for a particular company or agent and are directed elsewhere. That is not the fault of the search engines, but of the website owner and their actions.

Those actions can include putting the name of your competitor in your metatags, the group of select words that the search engines see when looking at your site to determine if it meets with the search criteria. If you search for ABC Company in Carson Valley and you get XYZ Company then you know you are dealing with somebody misrepresenting themselves to the search engines. The National Association of Realtors has recognized this consumer frustration and the questionable moral and ethical integrity of those that partake in such activities and made significant changes to the Code of Ethics that all members subscribe to.

Among the new changes that take effect January 2007, this month, are Standard of Practice 12-8, which mandates keeping website information current; SOP 12-9, requires firm name and state of licensure to be readily apparent; SOP 12-10, obligates Realtors to present a true picture in their advertising and representations including the URL’s and domain names they use. Prohibited here are deceptive framing of brokerage websites, manipulating listing content in any way that deceives or misleads, and “deceptively using metatags, keywords, or other devices/methods to direct, drive, or divert Internet traffic, or to otherwise mislead consumers.” SOP 12-11 states that “Realtors intending to share or sell consumer information gathered via the Internet shall disclose that possibility in a reasonable and readily apparent manner.”

Our Advice: If you find that you are being mislead in your electronic real estate commerce contact the Board of Realtors to learn how you can file an ethics complaint against the offending party. Report transgressions to your Realtor if you don’t want to file the complaint yourself. All Realtors are obligated to maintain the integrity and honor of the industry which involves bringing forth Ethics complaints when made aware of violations. Not all web activities are immoral or illegal even if you get the same agent in response to your searches. Some agents subscribe to a “click” service, or other web services that work to keep their website in the forefront of the search engines results. More information on the Realtors Code of Ethics is available at www.realtor.org/mempolweb.nsf/pages/code where you can see the Code of Ethics in its entirety.

When it comes to choosing professionals to assist you with your real estate needs ... Experience is Priceless!