E thics Exchange
A 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.
NAR Case Interpretation:
Intentional Misrepresentation of
a Competitor's Business Practices
Following a round of golf early one morning, Homeowner A approached REALTOR® X. “We’ve outgrown our home and I want to list it with you,” said Homeowner A. “I’m sorry,” said REALTOR® X, “but I represent buyers exclusively.” “Then how about REALTOR® Z?,” asked Homeowner A, “I’ve heard good things about him.” “I don’t know if I would do that,” said REALTOR® X, “while he does represent sellers, he doesn’t cooperate with other brokers and, as a result, sellers don’t get strong offers for their properties.”

Later that day, Homeowner A repeated REALTOR® X’s remarks to his wife who happened to be a close friend of REALTOR® Z’s wife. Within hours, REALTOR® Z had been made aware of REALTOR® X’s remarks to Homeowner A earlier in the day. REALTOR® Z filed a complaint against REALTOR® X charging him with making false and misleading statements. REALTOR® Z’s complaint was considered by the Grievance Committee which determined that an ethics hearing should be held.

At the hearing REALTOR® Z stated, “I have no idea what REALTOR® X was thinking about when he made his comments to Homeowner A. I always cooperate with other REALTORS®.” REALTOR® X replied, “That’s not so. Last year you had a listing in the MLS and I spent months working with the buyers that submitted a purchase offer. You didn’t pay me the offer of compensation, though; you paid another broker who stole my clients from me at the last minute, and all he did was submit the purchase offer.”
REALTOR® Z countered REALTOR® X’s statements, indicating he had made a blanket offer of compensation in the MLS, and that his refusal to pay REALTOR® X had nothing to do with him not cooperating with other brokers, but the fact that there was a procuring cause dispute at the end of the transaction. Upon questioning by panel members, REALTOR® X admitted he had no personal knowledge of any instance in which REALTOR® Z had refused to cooperate with any other broker, but assumed that his failure to pay the compensation REALTOR® X felt he had earned was likely how REALTOR® Z treated other brokers.

The Hearing Panel, in its deliberations, noted that cooperation and compensation are not synonymous. In fact, Standard of Practice 3-10 provided that the duty to cooperate established in Article 3 relates to the obligation to share information on listed property, and to make property available to other brokers for showing to prospective purchasers/tenants when it is in the best interests of sellers/landlords. In that respect, the Hearing Panel felt REALTOR® Z had, in fact, cooperated with REALTOR® X. However, to characterize REALTOR® Z’s refusal to pay requested compensation because of a genuine commission dispute as a “refusal to cooperate”, and to make the assumption and subsequent statement that REALTOR® Z “did not cooperate with other brokers”, was false, misleading, and not based on factual information. Consequently, REALTOR® X was found in violation of Article 15.
Leading By Example
Submit Your Positive Industry Related Story
for the Chance to Win a Gift Card to The Bartolotta Restaurants
Unfortunately, the general consensus from our members is that poor behavior in our market has been a significant problem. That is one of the reasons the GMAR created this ethics-focused newsletter. Through our new strategic plan, the GMAR and its Board of Directors are focused on improving the ethics and professional courtesies of our business.
 
At the GMAR, we hear many stories about poor agent behavior and we think it’s time we hear some positive stories about our members! Did you have a transaction where the co-broke or listing broker went the extra mile? Is there a REALTOR® that you enjoy working with because they know how to problem solve and make transactions go smoother? Would you like to share an inspirational story about a competitor? We can all learn from those who lead by example.
 
We will select and publish these inspirational stories through January 30, 2020. Following that time frame, the GMAR will select two winners, at-random, from all published entries. Both the REALTOR® who submitted the story and the GMAR Member (who is the subject of the story) will win a $100 gift card for The Bartolotta Restaurants compliments of Milwaukee HomeSight Inc.
Submit your entries to the GMAR:


We look forward to hearing your positive stories!
NAR Commitment to Excellence (C2EX) Program is Raising the Bar for REALTOR ® Professionalism
The National Association of REALTORS ® proudly introduces Commitment to Excellence, a cutting-edge program that empowers REALTORS ® to evaluate, enhance, and showcase the highest levels of professionalism. As members, you can get started today by logging into the page below and taking the self-assessment that measures your proficiency in each of the elements of professionalism, known as the C2EX Competencies. Based on your results, the platform will generate customized learning paths, recommend experiences, and provide tools and resources to increase your knowledge and enhance your skill-sets. We encourage you to check out the C2EX program, and pass it along to others in your office and our industry who would benefit from the assessment.
We hope you enjoyed Issue #23 of Ethics Exchange 2019 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.ws).