Code of Ethics-Duties to Clients and Customers
Posted in REALTORS Code of Ethics by Karen Rhodes on October 31st, 2006 Standard of Practice 1-7
When acting as listing brokers, REALTORS® shall continue to submit to the seller/landlord all offers and counter-offers until closing or execution of a lease unless the seller/landlord has waived this obligation in writing. REALTORS® shall not be obligated to continue to market the property after an offer has been accepted by the seller/landlord. REALTORS® shall recommend that sellers/landlords obtain the advice of legal counsel prior to acceptance of a subsequent offer except where the acceptance is contingent on the termination of the pre-existing purchase contract or lease. (Amended 1/93)
Lets break this one down into parts. I have had this very issue arise with a seller client of mine recently.
When acting as listing brokers, REALTORS® shall continue to submit to the seller/landlord all offers and counter-offers until closing or execution of a lease unless the seller/landlord has waived this obligation in writing.
This was my clients issue. I received an offer at a lower price than what my client expected. After getting very upset that I would waste their time presenting this offer I explained this Standard of Practice. I had not been informed in writing to not present any offers less than X amount. Personally, I don’t think doing this is a wise move. If you get a low offer you can always make a counter offer. Every offer should be considered and handled in the appropriate way. The offer that I was chastised for presenting was countered and accepted by the buyer. The buyer was fishing to see how low the seller would go. Had I not presented it to my client then it certainly never would have been countered and accepted.
REALTORS® shall not be obligated to continue to market the property after an offer has been accepted by the seller/landlord.
Not difficult to understand. If the property is under contract, don’t expect it to continue to be in the paper, magazines, etc.
REALTORS® shall recommend that sellers/landlords obtain the advice of legal counsel prior to acceptance of a subsequent offer except where the acceptance is contingent on the termination of the pre-existing purchase contract or lease.
Another obvious practice. If your home is under contract with a buyer and another acceptable offer is received it should be accepted as a back up to the first one. You can’t have two working contracts on one piece of property. If you do, go ahead and find a good attorney.
