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Code of Ethics and Realtors®

Carla Muss-Jacobs
March 20, 2008
When I think about my profession, a licensed Realtor® in the State of Oregon, I´m amazed when I compare a few of the other licensed professionals, and how their "Code of Ethics" stacks up.

CPA´s are licensed, and if I wanted to find out about Codes of Ethics, I wonder where I can find that.

Doctors are licensed too, and where can I find a doctor´s Code of Ethics? And I´m NOT talking about that ancient Hippocratic Oath . . . which needs modification – HELLO 21st Century calling!!

When you deal with another "licensed" professional, where can you go to find out what they are supposed to do? How are their ethics held up? What are their duties to the general public . . . to a patient . . . to a client?

The National Association of Realtor´s has been doing quite a bit to make the consumer familiar with what a Realtor® is, and their current Code of Ethics is found on their website. Very easy to find, and if you want to know about what standards a Realtor® is held up to, you can. The current 8-pages (two columns of small text print) has had recent modifications that incorporate the changing times. Web advertising is now covered, for example.

Compare this to the AMA´s "Position Statement" – not even a Code of Ethics! It´s their "position" on doctors. Kinda wishy washy if you ask me, compared to the clear wording, edicts and mandates of a Realtor®. The AMA´s "Position Statement" seems like a re-hash of the antiquated Hippocratic dribble, and not much more.


All that to say this . . .

Next time you think "Realtor®" know that you´re not working with someone who's taken an oath off some 4th Century relic (which was suitable for its time.)

Realtor(s) are members of the National Association of Realtor(s). As such, we are aligning our beliefs and professional practices with this Code of Ethics. Anyone Realtor® who doesn´t know their own COE´s should be a Realtor® . . . in my opinion!

Realtors Code of Ethics (National Association of Realtors)

AMA´s "Position Statement"

Visit me on the web: EBA Portland

By the way, it´s always a good time to find an EXCLUSIVE BUYERS AGENT and start the buying process right!! Don´t forget to visit me online for BUYER TIPS:
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Carla Muss-Jacobs

Carla Muss-Jacobs, ABR, CEBA, e-Pro, Broker/Owner of EBA Portland, LLC. an EXCLUSIVE BUYER AGENCY located in Portland, Oregon. She practices the "true" form of buyer agency: 100% buyer representation, 100% of the time.

WHY? Buyers have been underrepresented in the market. Listing agents represent the Sellers ... not the Buyers. Whatever a buyer says to the listing agent (at an open house, calling on a For Sale sign) may actually hinder the buyer in further negotiations.

Buyers have "emotions" with a home purchase. "You find the house you love ... I'll do the rest," focusing on the true bottom line in real estate: the legal aspects of contracts, the material and substantive issues involved in a home purchase.

Carla has a B.S. in Social Science, over 15 years in the legal industry as a legal assistant/paralegal. She is a Certified Legal Secretary (1987) through the Beverly Hills Bar Association.

Carla is an Accredited Buyers Agent and e-Pro (through the National Association of Realtors®), and a Certified Exclusive Buyers' Agent (through NAEBA, the National Assoc. of Exclusive Buyer Agents, a non-profit established to assist BUYERS!)

An EBA by choice, she knows both sides of the transaction, and is happy to answer general real estate questions with knowledge of the ever-changing markets. (Licensed in Oregon).

EBA Portland