CODE OF ETHICS AND STANDARDS OF PRACTICE

The Code of Ethics consists of seventeen Articles and related Standards of Practice. The Code's basic principles can be summarized as follows:

Duties to Clients and Customers

ARTICLE 1
REALTORS protect and promote their clients' interests while treating all parties honestly.

ARTICLE 2
REALTORS refrain from exaggeration, misrepresentation or concealment of pertinent facts related to property or transactions.

ARTICLE 3
REALTORS cooperate with other real estate professionals to advance their client's best interest.

ARTICLE 4
When buying or selling on their own account or for their families or firms, REALTORS make their true position or interest known.

ARTICLE 5
REALTORS do not provide professional services where they have any present or contemplated interest in property without disclosing that interest to all affected parties.

ARTICLE 6
REALTORS disclose any fee or financial benefit they may receive from recommending related real estate product or services.

ARTICLE 7
REALTORS receive compensation from only one party, except where they make full disclosure and receive informed consent from their client.

ARTICLE 8
REALTORS keep entrusted funds of clients and customers in a separate escrow account.

ARTICLE 9
REALTORS make sure that contract details are spelled out in writing and that parties receive copies.

Duties to the Public

ARTICLE 10
REALTORS give equal professional service to all clients and customers irrespective of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. REALTORS also do not discriminate in their Real Estate employment practices concerning any of the areas listed above.

ARTICLE 11
REALTORS are knowledgeable and competent in the fields of practice in which they engage or they get assistance from a knowledgeable professional or disclose any lack of expertise to their client.

ARTICLE 12
REALTORS shall be careful at all times to present a true picture in their advertising and representations to the public. REALTORS shall also ensure that their professional status or status as REALTORS is clearly identifiable in any such advertising.

ARTICLE 13
REALTORS shall not engage in activities that constitute the unauthorized practice of law and shall recommend that legal counsel be obtained when the interest of any party to the transaction requires it.

ARTICLE 14
If charged with unethical practice or asked to present evidence or to cooperate in any other way, in any disciplinary proceeding or investigation, REALTORS shall place all pertinent facts before the proper tribunals of the member Board or affiliated institute. society, or council in which membership is held and shall take no action to disrupt or obstruct such processes.

Duties to Realtors

ARTICLE 15
REALTORS shall not knowingly or recklessly make false or misleading statements about competitors, their businesses, or their business practices.

ARTICLE 16
REALTORS shall not engage in any practice or take any action inconsistent with the agency of other REALTORS.

ARTICLE 17
In the event of contractual disputes or specific non-contractual disputes between REALTORS associated with different firms, arising out of their relationship as REALTORS, the REALTORS shall submit the dispute to arbitration in accordance with the regulations of their Board or Boards rather than litigate the matter.

While the Code of Ethics establishes obligations that may be higher than those mandated by law, in any instance where the Code of Ethics and the law conflict, the obligations of the law must take precedence.