Knowledebase Tag: Professional Standards
- A prospective buyer is interested in one of my listings. He told me he is a licensed attorney and will prepare his own offer without using a real estate agent. He also asked to receive a share of my fee in the transaction. He doesn’t have a broker’s license. Can I pay him?
- I recently sold a home that was listed in the MLS and a neighbor called to ask me what the sales price was. Can I tell them?
- My seller told me I cannot cooperate with a particular firm regarding her listing. Can the seller do that?
- I’m the property manager for a home in an up-and-coming neighborhood. The property owner said a REALTOR® in his neighborhood convinced him it’s a good time to put the house on the market, with her as the listing agent, after our property-management agreement ends in April. I also list homes, and I have an existing relationship with the homeowner. Is the other REALTOR® violating the Code of Ethics by contacting my client?
- After my listing expired, the owner listed his home with another REALTOR® in our area. Someone I showed the property to when I was the listing broker has now expressed an interest in having me present an offer on this home. Since I previously showed the property to this buyer while my listing was active, can I deal directly with the owner I used to represent, or must I submit any offer to the new listing broker?
- An owner who just terminated her listing with another broker asked me to sell her property. The parties terminated her listing using the Termination of Listing Agreement (TAR 1410), and the owner agreed to pay her previous broker a fee if she sells the property to a named party within the next two months. Can I still get a commission if she sells to the named party within that time frame?
- A friend called me after his recent closing to ask about a transaction fee listed on his Closing Disclosure form. He says it was charged to him by the broker representing the other party. When he asked the broker about the fee, she said she always charges this fee to both sides of the transaction. My friend didn’t know about or authorize this fee. Is the broker in violation of TREC rules or the Code of Ethics by charging this fee without his authorization?
- My sister is looking for a new home, and I’m acting as her buyer’s agent. Am I required by TREC rules or the Code of Ethics to disclose to the seller that the buyer is my sister?
