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REAL ETHICS by Steve Stazel | August 2009 | Index of all Real Ethics columns
Preservation of confidential information
What follows is a situation you could be faced with. What would you do?
Broker Bud Tugly had a listing that went under contract with buyer Les Ismore (an accountant). The contract price was well below the asking price.
Two days after contract acceptance, Helen Back (a travel agent) – another buyer to whom Bud had previously shown the property – told Bud that she wanted to buy the property. When told the property was under contract, she chose not to put in a back-up offer.
Two weeks later the listing contract expired. Three weeks later the contract failed. The seller refused to re-list with Bud. However, Bud did obtain permission from the seller to show the property to Helen.
After seeing the property again, Helen decided to make an offer. Here is the dilemma that Bud has…Since he is a buyer’s agent for Helen and has no relationship with the seller, does Bud tell Helen what price the seller accepted with the first buyer? If Bud were a transaction broker would this affect the situation?
This might be a good question to discuss around your office and with other brokers that you know. And here’s the answer...Bud should NOT tell Helen what the seller previously accepted. To learn more about it, and what rules of conduct Bud is following in making this decision, check Standard of Practice 1-9 in the Code of Ethics.
Each month, the Aurora Outlook features RealEthics, a column by Steve Stazel devoted to explaining Code of Ethics issues for members. The comments stated in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Association of REALTORS®, the Colorado Association of REALTORS® or the Aurora Association of REALTORS®. Ultimately, a hearing panel of the Professional Standards Committee determines whether a violation of the Code of Ethics has occurred on a case-by-case basis. These comments should not serve as the foundation of any ethics complaint, arbitration request or response.
If you have an ethical concern or an issue you would like
to see addressed, please call Stazel at (303) 773-3333 or e-mail him at
stazels@msn.com. The comments of this article reflect the understanding and
opinions of the author and do not represent an official expression of policy by the National Association
of REALTORSŪ.
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