Why Ethics Are Important
A solid sense of ethics and morals is a valuable foundation in life. Professionally, ethics and honesty are highly valued across the board, but even more so in certain specialty areas like the legal field, the practice of medicine, and in real estate. In today’s blog post, we’ll discuss precisely why ethics are important in real estate, and how to pursue the practical application of ethics in your role as a Parks Real Estate agent. Because our agents uphold the highest ethical standards, Parks remains a leading real estate organization while also cultivating a healthy work environment in our offices.
Why Ethics Matter
Real estate agents are charged with overseeing the handling of a client’s single largest asset: their home. Therefore, it is vital to understand why ethics are important in real estate. You must bring your most scrupulous behavior into your interactions with each client, each transaction, even throughout each open house.
A robust real estate industry depends on every realtor behaving with absolute integrity despite being given frequent opportunities to bend circumstances in their favor. We are all involved in our sector’s effort to cultivate the goodwill and trust of our clients and our community here in Middle Tennessee.
Your Reputation is Your Livelihood
As a real estate agent, your only means of securing and sustaining your business is your reputation. Referrals via word of mouth, your good standing in the community, and a positive perception of your motivations are the lifeblood of your career.
Consequently, a single breach of ethics, particularly one that is attributed to some level of greed or corruption, could destroy your career.
The Link Between Empathy and Integrity
It is virtually impossible to act purposefully unethically when you are guided by empathy for your clients and the parties with whom you are negotiating. When you seek to create positive outcomes for all involved, you will garner greater personal wealth as an organic result. Instead of having to scramble for income, your interactions with your clients will motivate them to recommend you to everyone they know who is looking for an agent.
You can show empathy by:
● Respecting your client’s interests
● Being mindful of keeping your promises
● Adhering to agreed-upon guidelines
● Maintaining open lines of communication
● Protecting your client’s privacy in perpetuity
Stay Updated on the Code of Ethics
Each year, whether or not you are seeking continuing education hours, invest time into reading and thoroughly understanding the Code of Ethics and Standards of the National Association of Realtors.
The following single paragraph from the Code of Ethics is an excellent distillation of the themes contained therein:
“The term REALTOR® has come to connote competency, fairness, and high integrity resulting from adherence to a lofty ideal of moral conduct in business relations. No inducement of profit and no instruction from clients [can ever] justify departure from this ideal.”
Pursue and Retain Knowledge of Applicable Laws
In order to adhere to the ethics of our vocation, we must have a deep understanding of laws governing our sphere of responsibility. The following laws are among those you must master:
The Fair Housing Act
Tennessee’s Homestead Protection Laws
Tennessee’s Adverse Possession Law
Tennessee Rental Agreement and Lease Laws
Property Line and Fence Laws in Tennessee
Tennessee Civil Statute of Limitations Laws
Tennessee Security Deposit Laws
Tennessee Tenant Rights Laws
True Fairness Through Honesty
Empathy and compassion do not entail misleading your client in order to be comforting or uplifting. Instead, a real estate agent must take the path that is most ethical: honesty. As we quoted above, fairness is a realtor’s duty. Fairness can only spring from speaking the truth, though we do encourage you to speak the truth with kindness at all times.
More broadly, it is your responsibility to be honest in all of your interactions, whether with the community, your coworkers, your clients, or with all parties involved in a transaction.
Real estate agents must be viewed as trustworthy, reliable, helpful entities. Otherwise, the value we may bring to a real estate venture will be far outweighed by liabilities. We want the public to automatically opt to hire a realtor or real estate agent to assist them anytime they are pursuing any type of real estate transaction, and we can only maintain this lofty position through stringent ethical behavior.
The Takeaway
We have established that our reliability, honesty, integrity, and overall ethical behavior are more than abstract ideals; they are the foundation on which stands our entire industry. Beyond the financial and potentially legal repercussions real estate professionals can and do face for both intentional and accidental ethical breaches, we must understand that we are individually and collectively responsible for the continued success of our sector.
We are grateful to each of you for your continued passion for your profession, and for the ethical behavior you continue to demonstrate. Your depth and breadth of knowledge, genuine investment in your clients, and dedication to honesty are the reasons Parks Real Estate is the leading local realty firm.
If you are a newcomer to this vocation, welcome! We encourage you to work with an experienced agent who can mentor you as you work throughout your first year and beyond. Your mentor will want you to succeed personally, of course, but they will also want you to fully understand the ethical responsibilities you now carry.