When I first began my real estate career, before the formation of Regional MLS systems, each town in Fairifield County, Ct. had long established their own Board of Realtors. The local Boards were able to monitor the activities of member Realtors fairly closely due to the intimacy of each town. As the system became more regionalized, however, this was much more difficult to do and the consequence appears to be more infractions of the Realtor Code of Ethics on the part of some Realtors themselves.
Standard of Practice 16-4
One such code, Standard of Practice 16-4, states that “REALTORS® shall not solicit a listing which is currently listed exclusively with another broker.” In some communities, even those whereby most of the agents belong to the local board, this particular code seems to be ignored by certain Realtors. It’s not clear to me if it is intentional or if the Realtors who do so are simply unaware of its existence.
Interference
As we all know, however, ignorance of a law or rule is not an excuse to break it. For a Realtor to describe to a home seller the benefits of working with them, while the property is actively listed with another realtor, is interference. This behavior is the exception rather than the rule, but those who do engage in this practice do so consistently. They should re-think their approach, as this speaks poorly of the agent and is not fair to the homeowner or the broker community at large.
Have you ever observed or been made aware of broker interference?
What steps did you take to remedy the situation?
Please let us know in the comment section below.
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