Ethics Exchange
A bi-weekly column by the
Greater Milwaukee Association of REALTORS®
Do you have a question or topic related to REALTOR® ethics that you would like addressed in a future issue of Ethics Exchange? Click here to e-mail Scott Bush at the GMAR.
Copying and Publishing Other Brokers’ Listings
In developing his website, REALTOR® A decided he would offer two pages of listings: his own and some featured listings of his competitors. Being careful not to present a misleading picture in his advertising, he was very careful to list the company name and phone number of the listing company with each of his competitors’ listings.

When REALTOR® B found one of her listings on REALTOR® A’s website, she filed an ethics complaint with the local Association of REALTORS® complaining that REALTOR® A had “blatantly and without authorization of any kind whatsoever advertised my listing on his website and in so doing was clearly in violation of Article 12 of the Code of Ethics as interpreted by Standard of Practice 12-4.”

At their next meeting, the Grievance Committee decided that the alleged conduct, if taken at face value, could possibly violate Article 12 and directed the Association’s Professional Standards Administrator to schedule an ethics hearing before a Hearing Panel of the Association’s Professional Standards Committee.

At the hearing, REALTOR® B produced a printed copy of her listing which was on REALTOR® A’s website. She produced a copy of her listing agreement and a photograph of the property, which matched the information in the listing. She testified that she had never been contacted by REALTOR® A for permission to advertise her listing.

When REALTOR® A presented his case, he showed the hearing panel several examples of REALTORS® providing links to sites with ads for other REALTORS®’ listings. He said he saw no fundamental difference between providing such links and actually advertising other listings on his website, especially when he was very careful to also give the listing company’s name and phone number. He went on to argue that REALTOR® B’s clients would be hard pressed to understand REALTOR® B’s objection to giving their properties the additional exposure they received on REALTOR® A’s website.

Upon the conclusion of all testimony and closing statements, the Hearing Panel met in executive session and decided that while providing a link to listings of other REALTORS® did not violate Article 12, by actually publishing REALTOR® B’s listing on his website REALTOR® A was not linking, but instead was advertising (by copying, as opposed to simply providing a link) without authority. In their findings of fact, the Hearing Panel also noted that even if REALTOR® B’s clients might not object to such advertising, the lack of objection could not be assumed and would not relieve REALTOR® A of the obligation to obtain REALTOR® B’s specific authority and consent to advertise her listings.

The Hearing Panel found REALTOR® A in violation of Article 12 of the Code of Ethics.
Procuring Cause vs. Listing Protection
A common point of confusion for REALTORS® is the difference between procuring cause and listing firm, better known as protected buyers. First, the discussion has to be framed in the context of the MLS offer of compensation — not the listing contract context of protected buyers. Listing protection is created by the listing contract and relates to protecting the listing firm’s commission under the listing contract. Therefore, if a listing expires and the buyer who wrote an offer during the term of the listing with another agent now comes back within a year of expiration of the listing, the listing firm now doesn’t just have the authority to represent the seller in that transaction — the listing firm also may enforce its listing contract against the seller. The firm that wrote the offer during the original term of the listing contract for that buyer may make a claim for the MLS offer of compensation, the standard of performance of which is procuring cause, even if the buyer wrote his or her second offer with the another firm. For the first cooperating firm to earn the MLS offer of compensation, the cooperating firm would need to show an uninterrupted series of events that resulted in the sale of the property to the buyer. The drafting of the original offer does not assure procuring cause for the cooperating firm. If the cooperating firm did not maintain the series of events resulting in the sale of the property to the buyer, its procuring cause claim would be unsuccessful.
We hope you enjoyed Issue #3 of Ethics Exchange 2022 brought to you by the Greater Milwaukee Association of REALTORS® (GMAR). The GMAR created this newsletter, each issue dedicated to a unique issue, because the REALTOR® Code of Ethics, on which our industry is built, is the foundation of what it means to be a REALTOR®.
Your proactive support of the Code of Ethics will assure your fellow REALTORS®, as well as members of the public, that every member of GMAR operates under the highest ethical standards.
Questions, comments or concerns regarding this issue can be directed to
Scott Bush at the GMAR Office (414-778-4929 or scott@gmar.com).