Introduction I was recently employed at Baxter Brooks Real Estate and transferred to Coldwell Banker Pacesetter Steel as a customer relations manager or better known as a real estate assistant. I used to be a REALTOR® over six years ago and lived and breathed by a Code of Ethics. Ethics are based on cultural and business practices of the day and as such are always evolving over time (Miller, 1999). Since ethics are always evolving over time, what are the ethical issues or dilemmas common to the real estate industry today? How does the ethical issues in the real estate industry today apply to the moral theories of Which theory best addresses these ethical issues? To answer my questions, I turned to Judi Storms, a certified instructor/director of Mandatory Continuing Education (MCE) courses for REALTORS®.
Interview
During her first marriage to a Navy pilot of twenty years, Judi Storms was a stay at home wife. After her husband passed, she trained as a REALTOR® in 1992 to 2000. During this time, she met her second husband, who is the pastor of Covenant Baptist Church. She became a youth minister and also worked in every position at Family Outreach. This is where she found her true passion and calling… her love for teaching. As a marketing representative with Stewart Title, she became certified to teach continuing education courses for National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Texas Association of Realtors (TAR) to REALTORS®. Since the real estate industry is constantly changing, such as, paperwork, rules, contracts, technology, marketing, and social media, she wanted to teach REALTORS® how to do their job correctly and to conduct themselves as a professional throughout the community. To name just a few of the courses she teaches, they are TREC Legal Update, TREC Ethics, Communicating Effectively is Fun, and Being the Best You Can Be. REALTORS® are mandated to have an ethics training course every two years. According to Judi, REALTORS® do not really know their Code of Ethics, so she recommends “Being the Best You Can Be” because the class looks at the qualities of professionalism, how REALTORS® work with each other and their clients, and the amazing Code of Ethics. In business, you have to make a personal commitment to your own sense of integrity and always use your best judgment. Another way to look at it, it is a marriage; you have to work at it and continue to always stay on top of your profession. REALTORS® and where they work are dependent on their organizational culture by doing things right and ethically. Brokers have a responsibility to the policies they have. She added, Coldwell Banker does things right, ethical, and have a strong policy, while other brokerage firms are more casual.
Ethical Issues According to National Association of Realtors, the 2012 Code of Ethics Article 16 states REALTORS® shall not engage in any practice or take any action inconsistent with exclusive representation or exclusive brokerage relationship agreements that other REALTORS® have with clients. (Amended 1/04) Article 16, Standard of Practice 16-4 states REALTORS®