by Paul Cowhig, Professional Standards Advisor
As most of you are aware, and as it appears some of you may not be, on March 1 this year, a new Rule of Cooperation came into effect.
You are now required to quote the source of the measurements you post for a listing in the Realtor Remarks. That includes the source of the total square footage as well as the individual room sizes and, as always, you positively must not copy a previous listing.
From now on you must cite the source of your measurements. For example, “All room sizes and square footage taken from strata plan” or “blueprints” or “measured by listing agent” or “ABC measurement company, as per floor plan provided.”
I also want to remind you that everything we say about our clients’ property is a “representation” and must be truthful and accurately reflect the details of that property. That means you can’t say, “I looked at it and made a good guess. Confirm if important.” That kind of flippant comment won’t go down well and does not meet the requirement of the rule.
Our clients on both sides of every transaction rely on us to be accurate.
This rule change was made as a direct result of complaints from the consumer and on the explicit recommendation of your Errors & Omissions Insurer to help keep you from being sued.
This is just one more way we can demonstrate our continual commitment to elevating professionalism and trustworthiness to the public.
Source: FVREB Professional Standards & Communications