ethics: The Preamble & Golden Rule - the COE Re-loaded
- 06/05/15 06:06 AM
Welcome to the 2nd installment in my series on the Realtor® Code of Ethics! If you missed the inaugural article, you can find it HERE.
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)
Many professional actors who are classically trained employ the Stanislavski's System, which poses the foundational question, "What is my motivation?"
The same question would be good for us as real estate professionals today, "What is our motivation? What gets us out of bed in the morning? What is it that fuels our passion to serve our clients best … (3 comments)
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ethics: The Code of Ethics Reloaded
- 04/27/15 06:13 PM
Realtor® Code of Ethics Reloaded
This article signals the adventurous and daunting launch of an in-depth series concerning the Realtor® Code of Ethics. The recently released 2015 NAR Membership Survey revealed that association members place a significant amount of importance and value on the Realtor® Code of Ethics. Unfortunately, while most members willingly agree to abide by the Code of Ethics, very few truly understand their full meaning and the resultant impact they should have on their daily conduct and actions. My goal in writing this series is to dissect and define the major articles of the COE, and to explain their … (9 comments)
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ethics: The Deep Pockets of Real Estate and Passing the Buck (Literally!)
- 09/23/13 05:56 PM
(To my valued readers, please forgive me in advance for the following rant)
Things can go wrong in a real estate transaction. Shocking, I know. But trust me, things can and will go wrong. It's just Murphy's Law of Real Estate. Eventually your number gets called and you've got some glaring issue that needs to be resolved.
A friend once shared some sage words of wisdom, "If you don't make mistakes, you never do nothin!"
So let me begin with the honest admission that I am not without sin. I have made, and still make, my fair share of mistakes.
However, one … (6 comments)
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ethics: How To Succeed on ActiveRain without Really Trying
- 05/12/13 10:05 AM
How do you gauge your success here on ActiveRain?
How do you determine whether your time, energy, and resources spent participating on this platform have a reasonable return on your investment?
For many members, rising to the Top of the Point Scoring Heap is an obvious, measurable achievement. It's easy to get caught up in the competitive aspect of racking up points to achieve the top spot in your respective city, county, or State. We all like to be #1 and see our profile picture elevated above all the others.
Unfortunately, all too many within our ranks choose the 'Easy Button' … (37 comments)
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ethics: Kitsap County WA Home Values are Skyrocketing!
- 04/25/12 01:51 AM
A little tongue in cheek posted on SoundBiteBlog for your Hump Day!
"Home Values Skyrocketing in Kitsap County WA!"
Do you ever grow weary of all the same candy-coated real estate rhetoric being broadcast around?
We owe it to our clients and prospective clients, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help us God!
Just imagine the rise in credibility our industry would experience if we would collectively stop embellishing, twisting the facts, or putting an overly optimistic spin on everything.
We need to tell people what they need to hear, not what they want … (1 comments)
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ethics: Rants, Rights, and Reputations - Lessons in Online Behavior
- 05/23/11 05:11 PM
If you've been navigating the Internet for any length of time, at some point, you'll no doubt encounter a flame war, some fisking, or a good old fashioned comment stream smackdown.
At times, it's difficult not to allow our emotions to get the best of us and get caught up in the fray. However, as real estate professionals, and people whose livelihood/business is heavily dependent upon the nature of our online presence, the manner in which we respond to such situations needs to be tempered by calm civility, and a high concern for ethical integrity. And ultimately, by the … (174 comments)
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ethics: What's the Cost of Your Integrity?
- 05/10/09 01:05 PM
There is a Bible story in the Old Testament that never fails to amaze me, no matter how many times I read it.It's the account of Esau selling his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of soup (Genesis 25:19-34).To understand the full weight of this story, you really need to understand the extreme value and importance the Jewish people ascribed to the firstborn son. It was a position of great privilege, prestige, and status. It afforded a double portion of the Father's inheritance. And, prior to the Levitical Era, assigned the responsibility of family Priesthood.And so it is with … (89 comments)
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ethics: Dear Agent 'No-Show' - Demonstrating Basic Professional Courtesy
- 04/20/09 09:21 AM
Dear Agent 'No-Show'
"How to Demonstrate Basic Professional Courtesy"
Okay, so I've got these really awesome Sellers with a really nice view property out on Hood Canal WA. Their home had been listed previously with another agent for over 8 months, but with only 4 showings as a result. It's not a matter of pricing. I think the home is being offered at an attractively fair market value. The problem has been two-fold:
1. The previous agent did very little to effectively market the property, other than placement in the local MLS.
2. The home is located in a fairly … (110 comments)
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ethics: "Free Speech has a Cost" - The ActiveRain Community Guidelines Re-Visited
- 08/13/08 09:31 AM
It's been a while since our last installment, so just to recoup:
We've been reviewing and dissecting, in order, each of the AcitveRain Community Guidelines at length to ensure that we're all on the same page, and are fully aware of the expressed expectations for members who participate in our valued community.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
Our next guideline reads as follows:
"We encourage free speech and defend everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. But we don't permit hate speech which contains slurs or the malicious use of stereotypes intended … (55 comments)
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ethics: "Yielding the Right-of-Way" - Representing Your Client's Best Interests
- 10/06/07 10:01 AM
Money, or the allure of money, sometimes does the strangest things to people. It causes them to lose sight of their priorities and purpose. It clouds their judgment. It changes their focus from serving others to serving themselves.
In real estate, it can be an easy temptation to lose sight of our statutory or fiduciary responsibilities and obligations, especially in a slowing market. Commission checks are farther and farther apart. We're scrambling to make ends meet. Every closing counts.
To read more about the importance of relentlessy representing our client's best interests, go to SOUNDBITEBLOG.
(opens up into a separate window for ease of viewing)
another quality consumer article from Sparky
… (11 comments)
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ethics: "Monsters in the Blogosphere!" - Blog Tips for Rain Drips
- 10/03/07 08:08 AM
A while back, I wrote a fun, somewhat comical, somewhat serious, piece entitled, "Armchair Quarterbacks in the Blogosphere." It was written in response to an encounter I had with someone who had commented rather maliciously to an article I published on my 'other' blog, SOUNDBITEBLOG.
If done well, conversational blogging should foster good, impassioned debate, and the healthy exchange of ideas/opinions.
Unfortunately, all too many times, people use blogs as a battleground in which to assert their egos and to showcase their obviously superior intelligence. Or, if nothing else, to dazzle us with an expanded vocabulary.
The greater blogosphere has become a breeding ground for verbal … (23 comments)
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ethics: A Welcomed Reminder
- 05/18/07 02:10 AM
Something happened yesterday that reminded me of why I chose to be a licensed real estate professional.
Granted, there are certainly times when I have questioned my chosen career path. Especially when you experience a rash of tough, challenging transactions. There are days when the job of checking shopper's receipts near the exit door at the local Costco store seems extremely attractive. Or maybe being one of those county road workers who leans on their shovel all day long.
Yesterday I met with a client who is asking me to help him with the sale of his small single-wide manufactured home here in Silverdale WA. He doesn't want to sell. But he needs to sell. An … (54 comments)
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ethics: A "Convenient" Truth
- 04/17/07 07:36 PM
It always amazes me how so many real estate agents will try all the latest and greatest marketing gimmicks to attract new clients, but completely ignore or neglect the easiest and most basic principles of our business.
Case in point: I am representing some Sellers on a really cool restored Turn-of-the-Century farmhouse on acreage. We went under contract with some Buyers just a week after going on market, but the deal fell through due to some very unfortunate appraisal issues.
Suddenly, a couple weeks ago, I got a phone call from out of the blue....
To read the suspenseful conclusion to this tale, check out the complete article … (20 comments)
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ethics: "The Dark Side of Real Estate"
- 02/03/07 10:02 AM
In any job that involves the transfer of money, there is always an opportunity and temptation to be swayed by the "Dark Side of the Force." Many times we feel we can bend the rules, however slightly, to justify the means to an end. We try to convince ourselves that we are genuinely serving our clients greater good. We argue, "I'm only trying to get the deal to close," as our tainted hand slowly slithers under the table....
Does our Hero triumph over Evil? Or does he succumb to the Dark Side of the Real Estate Force?
Go to SoundBiteBlog to find out how this thrilling episode ends!
(opens up … (7 comments)
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Welcome to the 2nd installment in my series on the Realtor® Code of Ethics! If you missed the inaugural article, you can find it HERE.
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