Pathways to Professionalism – Professional Courtesies

Dear Shannon:  I’m a new-ish Realtor® and I’m doing really well, except I forgot to let the listing broker know that my buyer decided not to view the property. I didn’t cancel the showing until it was too late, and I feel awful. The owners wanted to be present for the showing and they were going out of town on the day my buyer wanted to see the property. The listing broker worked with me and the owners to schedule an unusually early morning showing and the owners even pushed back their travel time to accommodate my buyer. I confirmed with the listing broker the day before, but sometime afterwards the buyer told me they didn’t want to see the property anymore. I was juggling so much at that time – I should have immediately let the listing broker know to cancel the showing, but I didn’t.  Then the next day, I was occupied and unreachable all morning. It wasn’t until after noon when I realized that I hadn’t told the listing broker about canceling the showing. I was apologetic, explained my situation, and my unfortunate mistake. Reputation is everything in this business. I have since been utilizing calendaring tools and hired my own assistant to make sure these missteps don’t happen again.

Still, the owners were terribly unhappy (which is understandable), and they filed an ethics complaint against me, which they have every right to do. I took ownership of my mistake, testified fully and truthfully at the hearing, and I was ready to pay whatever price was doled out by the professional standards hearing panel. However, the hearing panel determined that while my behavior was unprofessional, my actions did not rise to the level of a violation of an Article of the Code of Ethics.  They said I had violated voluntary courtesies of the Pathways to Professionalism. The panel decided that there would be no discipline required for me. I feel awful for failing to call the listing broker to cancel the showing and for inconveniencing the owners, but I also feel a little surprised for not being disciplined for my actions that demonstrated a lack of professionalism. I thought my unprofessional actions would have been an automatic violation of the Code. Little Surprised

Dear Little Surprised: Thank you for sharing your story. As a relatively new Realtor, I can imagine you felt badly for forgetting to call the listing broker to cancel a showing, especially because it sounds like it caused a good deal of hardship for the owners. It does not feel great to make these types of mistakes, but it sounds like you’ve learned from this experience and made positive efforts to ensure this won’t happen again. Kudos to you for being open with your mistake and being ready to accept the discipline required by the professional standards hearing panel. You were willing to take full responsibility for your lack of professionalism but were a little surprised that there was no discipline for your unprofessional actions. Let’s talk a bit about Pathways to Professionalism and how these voluntary courtesies fit into the Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual and provide additional professional guidance for Realtors.

The Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual (Manual), under Pathways to Professionalism, states: The Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the National Association of Realtors® establishes objective, enforceable ethical standards governing the professional conduct of Realtors®. This list of suggested professional courtesies is meant to complement the Code of Ethics, may not be all-inclusive, and may be supplemented by local custom and practice. (emphasis added)

There are three categories of Pathways to Professionalism: Respect for the Public, Respect for Property, and Respect for Peers. One of the professional courtesies under Respect for the Public states: Communicate promptly if you are delayed or must cancel an appointment or showing. If a prospective buyer decides not to view an occupied home, promptly communicate the situation to the listing broker or the occupant. (emphasis added)

In your situation, the day before an early morning showing, your buyer told you they no longer wanted to view the property. Unfortunately, you were juggling so much that you failed to communicate to the listing broker until well after the scheduled showing. You clearly did not follow this professional courtesy and when the owners filed an ethics complaint you were willing to endure recommended discipline accordingly.

You felt awful for failing to call the listing broker to cancel the showing and for inconveniencing the owners, but you were also a little surprised for not being disciplined for your unprofessional actions. You thought for certain that your unprofessional actions would have been a violation of the Code of Ethics.

However, the Manual, under Pathways to Professionalism, also states: These professional courtesies are intended to be used by Realtors® on a voluntary basis and cannot form the basis for a professional standards complaint. (emphasis added)

You violated a professional courtesy and the Manual says these professional courtesies are for Realtors to use voluntarily. Because these professional courtesies are voluntary, Realtors cannot be disciplined for violating Pathways to Professionalism. The hearing panel correctly declined to issue discipline in your case, because, while your activities may have been unprofessional, they did not rise to the level of a violation of an Article of the Code of Ethics.

Kudos to you for owning your misstep, learning from your experience and for making efforts to ensure such mistakes don’t happen again. Yes, reputation is very important in this profession and it sounds like you are on your way to building a good one. May the Pathways to Professionalism help you to continue to strive to provide the highest level of professionalism. Good luck!

Other laws and rules apply.

Shannon Allen is an attorney and Florida Realtors Director of Local Association Services

Note: Advice deemed accurate on date of publication

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