Over the past several months, "Real Estate Issues", a publication of the Counselors of Real Estate has published two articles that focus on the importance of ethics in real estate education.  Along with Hugh Kelly, PhD., CRE and Desmond McGowan, CFA, CIPM, Steve Norris was honored to be a co-author of these articles. 

Ethics should be a key element of real estate education and a foundational component in sound real estate practice. Attention to ethics has been heightened in recent years, in the public domain, in professional settings, and in questions of both personal and corporate practice. Ethical failures were at the core of the Great Recession, but ethics as a subject of crucial focus is often passed over in real estate academic programs. 

The first paper argues for including ethics study as part of the core body of real estate knowledge, those subjects considered essential for real estate professional competence. There is ample evidence that successful real estate practitioners are deeply committed to high ethical standards. The authors urge curriculum attention to this educational need, and a more expansive consideration of ethical matters on the part of professionals.

In the second paper, the authors turn to some of those practice matters. In some we will find positive examples of ethical behavior in action; in others, examples of shortfalls. We will see real estate leaders reflecting on moral reasoning, reflections valuable not only for young persons entering the field, but veterans for whom ethical consideration is a life-long matter of concern. Examples are drawn from the disciplines of development, finance, management, and consulting, among other specialties. The real estate discussions will, in turn, examine the philosophical, cultural, and psychological foundations upon which ethical reasoning rests. 

For PDF copies of the articles, go to:

 

The Case for Real Estate Ethics Education

Real Estate Ethics in Practical Applications

Each quarter in my Argus Cash Flow class at UCLA, I ask my students if they can site the following quote:

"The true test of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching" 

When I started teaching eight years ago, most of the class could still remember the source of this quotation.  Today, it is rarely the case when a student remembers.  Time marches on.

The source of this wisdom is one of the real sports heroes of the past century, Coach John Wooden of  UCLA (my Alma Mater).  I had the opportunity to meet "Coach" as he was simply known several times - I will never forget those events.

Recently I located an important reminder of this adage, located deep within the Federal Tax Code.  And as it turns out, character matters to the IRS as well.  Buried within the Tax Code is Section is a thrilling section entitled "Substantial and gross valuation misstatements attributable to incorrect appraisals".

Preparation of an appraisal report may be thought of as a place where "no one is watching".  But review of this section of the Tax Code reveals that substantial valuation misstatements in appraisals can directly result in substantial penalties for offending appraisers.  

In our lengthy experience related to tax matters over the past decade, valuation misstatements can be very significant and have resulted in Federal Tax Court findings that have ended the careers of appraisers who did not conduct careful and unbiased valuation work.

For a link to the IRS Code Section 6695, go here.