This is a reminder that, regardless of whether you’re a listing or a buyer’s agent, every property REALTORS® deal with is not just a commodity, but rather, is someone’s home and personal space, and must be respected as such.
Section 6.02 of the Rules of Cooperation provides that buyers agents must ensure that prospective buyers are always supervised and accompanied by a REALTOR® throughout a viewing appointment. From a property owner’s perspective, would they want random members of the public roaming throughout their home without the supervision of a real estate professional?
The FVREB recently disciplined a buyer’s agent for providing his prospective buyers with the combination to the listed property’s door lock (not a lockbox). That agent was unable to attend the viewing appointment with his clients, so the clients viewed the property on their own. The owners were away at the time, but via their doorbell camera, saw that someone had accessed their home. The homeowners (who happened to be police officers), were very upset. The buyer’s agent should have arranged for another agent to accompany his clients for the viewing.
The FVREB also receives concerns about lockbox etiquette. Agents should never access a lockbox without first notifying the listing agent that they are going to do so, confirming the date and time of the viewing. What if it isn’t a good time for the homeowner? Imagine accessing a home and the owner/resident is sleeping or comes home as strangers are in their home without them having advance knowledge of the viewing.
As demonstrated by the above-noted discipline case, homeowners are savvy, and cameras are everywhere these days, both inside and outside homes. Some cameras even record voices. Agents can therefore assume that their actions are being recorded. The agent in this case was fined $7,500 and ordered to take two education courses.
As set out in the preamble to the REALTOR® Code, “ To meet their obligations, REALTORS® pledge to observe the spirit of the Code in all of their activities and conduct their business whether personally or through their employees, associates or others in accordance with the Standards of Business Practice and the Golden Rule – ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ “
Don’t do to someone’s property what you wouldn’t want done to your own home.
Source: Professional Standards