My point here wasn’t necessarily to examine the finer points of the COE, but to simply caution agents as to the nature of their comments on Internet-based forums and social networks. On ActiveRain, we have a ‘Q&A’ section that is frequented by consumers, and our members post responses to their questions. It concerns me, in this instance, that no one responding even asked the question. I simply felt it was warranted in order to guide further dialog.

Thanks again for your comment and compliment of our site. We kinda like it!

I might take issue with the exact wording of your position - I think you are advising Realtors to stay far and away from giving any represented clients any kind of advice.

And I don’t think this is entirely related to Q&A type forums:

Standard of Practice 16-6 states:
When REALTORS® are contacted by the client of another REALTOR® regarding the creation of an exclusive relationship to provide the same type of service, and REALTORS® have not directly or indirectly initiated such discussions, they may discuss the terms upon which they might enter into a future agreement or, alternatively, may enter into an agreement which becomes effective upon expiration of any existing exclusive agreement.

Ok so 16-6 is a little different in that we are assuming the client is contacting the 2nd Realtor for the sole purpose of entering into an agreement.

But as we know in the real world client arrangements rarely work like this (even for the first agent). Most sellers at first want to know what you’re going to do for them before they agree to list with you. The same would be true of any subsequent agents - if not more so (since they are decidedly unhappy with their 1st agreement).

It was also interesting that you used the word “counsel” when you said “NOT to engage, counsel, or solicit someone who is, by contract, under representation by another agent.”

I checked http://www.realtor.org/MemPolWeb.nsf/pages/COde and the word counsel was no where to be found in section 16.

I bring this up for a few reasons - only somewhat related to Q&A forums.

In the last few months I’ve been contacted by clients who were already represented by an agent.

One was a buyer who happened to overhear me talking at an open house I was visiting (I blogged about it on Active Rain: http://activerain.com/blogsview/485775/Another-Reason-to-Visit).

In that particular case I don’t feel I did anything unethical and they definitely contacted me to engage in an exclusive arrangement (as per 16-6) - so I’m all free and clear ethically speaking.

The other was a seller who contacted me via my blog and said:

“Our house is currently on the market with another realtor, however we are very unhappy with their service and wish to find another realtor to list our house with. If possible, could you please tell me what kind of marketing strategy you use to advertise the houses you have on contract and what kind of commission you expect for your services. Our house is located in Crofton and we need to sell asap, as we are moving overseas. I would appreciate any information you could provide about your services, as we would like to relist our house next week. Thank you kindly.”

Well - this is a nice little gray area. They are clearly in the market for a new Realtor - but they aren’t outright approaching ME for an exclusive arrangement.

If this same question appeared on a Q&A Forum would the Code of Ethics preclude me and other Realtors from answering? I don’t think it would. But I know that’s not a universally held opinion.

A similar question was posed in the last ethics class I took a year ago.

Essentially the agent wanted to know how she should handle real estate related questions from friends and family members she knew were represented by other Realtors - but approached her with the questions about what the other Realtor had advised, market conditions, etc.

Our instructors response: Walk away. Hang up the phone. Be polite as possible, but get yourself out of the conversations - otherwise you are asking for a world of trouble.

(Ethics instructors rarely deal in gray areas and always err on the side of caution. This same instructor said a Realtor was a fool if they ever represented themselves as a buyer or seller. His claim: even if they disclosed it (which was required by law) the non-Realtor party to the transaction could always claim there was an unfair advantage - even if they were represented by their own Realtor. I see his point, but again - that’s a bit extreme).

I thought his advice to “walk away politely” was a bit of overkill and called him on it.

I personally felt (and still feel) you can answer such questions if you couch them with a lot of disclaimers (e.g. “I’m answering as your friend and not as a Realtor, but…” or “Some agents do it that way, others do it this way and if you have questions go back to your agent and ask them”, etc.)

The instructor came back to me and said by doing that I was injecting myself as a person of authority/value and as a source of information into an agency agreement and by doing so I was threatening that exclusivity.

It was interesting to see the battle lines being drawn in the room. Older and more experienced agents sided with the instructor, younger and more green agents didn’t think such an extreme was called for.

(as a point of reference - I’ve been in real estate professionally since 1991, and licensed since 1995, I have about 200 transactions under my belt - you can decide if I’m experienced or not).

Look, we all know our industry is changing.

In the past our value to clients came from information, service, know-how and the MLS. Sites like Trulia and Zillow and even web available property records are taking one of the most vital assets (i.e. information) away from us. And with discount brokers, web access and open IDX standards - the MLS is becoming available to anyone.

So what we’re left with is service and know-how (how to market, how to negotiate, how to finance, etc.).

If Realtors can’t keep their clients with service and know-how, and their clients turn to the web for answers - I don’t know why the Realtors who represent them should be protected against all other Realtors by a Code of Ethics.

And how does this veil of secrecy benefit the perception of our industry?

It just doesn’t make sense to me.

But nice blog you have here

On the popular real estate forums, Q&A’s of Trulia and Zillow discussions, Linked In Discussions, etc. under the Code of Ethics, would a real estate professional be required to ask the consumer posing the question if they are currently working with an agent. And then, if another consumer chimes into the conversation, does the real estate agent then need to ask that consumer if they are working with a real estate agent before they answer them.

Please note, I ask this question in all sincerity. Thank you in advance for your response.

“Perhaps at the height of the housing market this 577-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bath condo was worth $259,000 — but no more.”

“Welcome to another slumping housing market. I’m sure the current slowdown has surprised those who think most investments, including houses, only move upward in value. Sorry, that’s never been the case.”

“About 110 properties were scheduled for auction in January and February combined, compared with 46 in 2007, according to the Bellevue-based ForeclosurePoint.com. Most were single-family homes.”

“Numbers from Kitsap County Assessor Jim Avery told the same tale. ‘Forced sales’ recorded by his office more than tripled between January and February 2007 and the first two months of 2008, from 33 to 101.”