Code of Ethics-Duties to Clients and Customers
Posted in REALTORS Code of Ethics by Karen Rhodes on December 6th, 2006 Article 3
REALTORS® shall cooperate with other brokers except when cooperation is not in the client’s best interest. The obligation to cooperate does not include the obligation to share commissions, fees, or to otherwise compensate another broker. (Amended 1/95)
REALTORS®, acting as exclusive agents or brokers of sellers/ landlords, establish the terms and conditions of offers to cooperate. Unless expressly indicated in offers to cooperate, cooperating brokers may not assume that the offer of cooperation includes an offer of compensation. Terms of compensation, if any, shall be ascertained by cooperating brokers before beginning efforts to accept the offer of cooperation. (Amended 1/99)
There is a difference between cooperation and compensation. A REALTOR® working with a buyer or tenant must work out compensation prior to making an offer to the selling or landlord agent. For example: I can’t write an offer on a home for a buyer and just automatically assume the selling agent is going to compensate me for bringing a buyer to the home. In most cases if a home is listed in the MLS on offer of compensation is in the listing so we don’t run into this often. However, we do have some agents who don’t list in the MLS and the compensation or lack of must be worked out prior to an offer being made. Sometimes the buyer pays for my services themselves and in that case, I would not accept compensation from the listing agent.
Totally confusing??
