Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for Realtors - What a concept!

Today as I was going through a very informative e-mail from the National Association of Realtors that reminded me that it was that time again to take a refresher Ethics training class. This requirement comes every few years so it had been a while since I last read NAR's code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Although I could go on forever on this topic I will keep it shorter and just focus on the Preamble. It is similar in purpose to the Preamble of the Constitution (I can talk about that because I have a daughter just finishing 6th grade and we studied that together this year!) which is a "brief introductory statement of the fundamental purposes and guiding principles which the US Constitution was meant to serve".

Here is an excerpt:
"Under all is the land. (I love that!)......They (Realtors) require the creation of adequate housing, the building of functioning cities, the development of productive industries and farms, and the preservation of a healthful environment.........Realtors therefore are zealous to maintain and improve standards of their calling and share with their fellow Realtors a common responsibility for its integrity and honor.........Realtors continuously strive to become and remain informed on issues affecting real estate and , as knowledgeable professionals, they willingly share the fruit of their experience and study with others........The term Realtor has come to connote competency, fairness, and high integrity resulting from adherence to a lofty ideal of moral conduct in business relations."

The Realtors Code of Ethics was adopted in 1913 with only limited changes over the years and I have to say it makes me proud to say, "Yes, I am a Realtor" and no matter what the newspapers print about us nothing is going to change that! I stand by my code and I challenge all you other real estate practioners to stand firm, take your ethics training, reread the Code of Ethics, and BE the REALTOR you have pledged to be. We are to be in cooperation with one another, stay informed and be competent, deal honestly with all parties ALL the time, and ABOVE ALL protect and promote the interests of our clients!

Well I do not know about you but I have been rejuvenated today after my class, Thank you NAR for reminding me why I do what I do and why I love what I do. Couldn't we all just change the world a little bit today by doing what we learned in Kindergarten and following the Golden Rule!