Letter from the President

When watching your favorite television program, you may catch a new commercial created by the National Association of REALTORS to help the public understand the honesty and integrity that REALTORS bring to every transaction. This new broadcast ad is part of a larger campaign, now in its ninth year, to tell the public about the benefits of working with a REALTOR.

 

It’s one way the National Association of REALTORS wants you to know that a REALTOR is someone you can trust and is held to a higher standard than other real estate professionals. REALTORS subscribe to a strict Code of Ethics and have done so since adopting the code in 1913 – becoming only the second trade or business group in the nation to embrace mandatory ethical standards. The Code of Ethics predates real estate license laws, and when these laws were established, many were based on the standards set in the REALTOR Code of Ethics.

 

Back when the REALTOR Code of Ethics was established, home buyers and sellers did not confront the real estate realities of today such as disclosure requirements, environmental regulations and an expanding universe of mortgage and financing options to plow through and digest. More than ever, buyers and sellers need to know that their real estate professional is someone they can trust.

 

"Few, if any, other professional organizations in the nation have put in place such rigorous ethics training requirements for their members as we have done," said [full name of local/state association president.]

 

All REALTORS must know and comply with the Code of Ethics, which goes beyond state licensing requirements and sets REALTORS apart from other real estate licensees. REALTORS must complete ethics training by taking at least 2.5 hours of instruction at least once every four years to keep membership in NAR.

 

The Code of Ethics protects all parties to the real estate transaction, not just a REALTOR's client. If a local association of REALTORS finds a REALTOR in violation of the Code of Ethics, disciplinary action can be imposed. Real estate professionals who are not REALTORS are not subject to these measures.

 

For a REALTOR, living with the Code of Ethics means being honest and dependable, never putting your interests ahead of your client's, and speaking the truth to all parties. The broadcast ads drive home the message that choosing a REALTOR to protect your interests is the best decision you can make when buying or selling a home.

 

"Today's home buyers and sellers want and deserve to know that their real estate professional is someone they can trust and who has their best interests at heart," said [last name of local/state association President.] "You don't have to go it alone."

 

The prime time ads run through the end of September on television and into November on radio. Learn more about the REALTOR Code of Ethics by visiting www.realtor.org/codeofethics or by asking [name of local/state association] for a copy of the code.