Keys to Realtor® Professionalism, Upholding the Code of Ethics and Providing Great Customer Service

After Bob Adamson’s clients sold their North Arlington home, the happy sellers unfortunately had an unhappy experience with another agent while buying their next home in Falls Church with Adamson’s assistance.

“The house was vacant while the sellers were abroad, and each time we asked their listing agent a simple question or requested a chance to visit the house again to take measurements, the agent used our relatively benign requests as leverage in negotiations,” says the client, who prefers to remain anonymous. “The [listing] agent was heavy-handed and created an adversarial relationship with [Adamson] by refusing to communicate with him.”

The situation became fraught when, five days before the closing, the agent disclosed that the house was located within a homeowner’s association. Quick work by Adamson, a Realtor® with McEnearney Associates in Arlington and 2017 NVAR Chairman of the Board of Directors, together with the buyers’ lender, enabled the closing to occur on time, but the buyers never received an apology from the listing agent.

While this incident violates contract law as well as the Realtor® Code of Ethics, most complaints about agent behavior toward other agents and consumers revolve around courtesy, etiquette and professional behavior.

“The Code of Ethics provides a minimum standard of what we expect from members, but [ the National Association of Realtors®] has also spent decades pushing to raise the bar of professionalism in our industry,” says Kate Lawton, director of professional standards and financial administration for the member policy department of NAR. “We anticipate rolling out our new ‘Commitment to Excellence’ within the next two or three years, which includes tools to enhance our members’ competency in knowledge of data privacy laws and to treat other members and clients with a greater level of respect.”

Lawton says some of the most common complaints they hear from their members are about agents not returning phone calls.
“Major complaints to the Professional Standards committee are thankfully pretty rare, but our bigger concern is just daily courtesy,” says Zinta Rodgers-Rickert, a Realtor® and co-manager of Re/Max Gateway in Fairfax and a member of NVAR’s Professional Standards Committee. “People just need to listen to each other and help each other. There’s enough business for everyone.”

Carol Temple, a Realtor® with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Arlington, says she believes people’s behavior has become far worse recently because of inexperienced agents and communicating electronically instead of verbally.
“For instance, I recently went to show a listing that said it had the SentriLock® system, only to discover a combination was required,” says Temple. “I immediately attempted to get in touch with the agent, who didn’t get back to me for 24 hours. She told me she could give me the combination and I could go back, but I let her know it was too late, my buyers had put a contract on another home.”

Temple points out that while this was inconvenient for her and her clients, she wonders if the sellers are aware that their agent obstructed a potential sale.
“The way agents treat each other and their clients is definitely worse than it used to be because technology makes it easy to never speak to anyone,” says Reggie Copeland, an associate broker with Long & Foster Real Estate in Great Falls. “I get messages all the time that say text or email only. It seems like some agents don’t want to talk to people.”

Common Behavior Complaints
Real estate agents, buyers and sellers all seem to have complaints about the lack of courtesy during what is undeniably an emotionally challenging transaction for both sides of the table.

“Everyone relies so much on texting and emailing, which is supposed to make us efficient, but a phone conversation can get to an issue more quickly,” says Chris Pritchard, a Realtor® with McEnearney Associates in McLean. “Sometimes it’s just more courteous to pick up the phone. Quick is great, but I prefer a complete response, which often requires the personal touch of a phone call.”
Pritchard prefers to call agents or have them call her rather than use text services to schedule showings, because she believes personal contact keeps people more accountable.

Sharron Jones, a Realtor® with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Vienna, says phone calls are especially important when presenting an offer. Buyer’s agents can ask questions about what’s important to the sellers, find out whether there are others looking at the property, and let the seller’s agent know to expect an offer.
Jones says she sometimes receives contracts from agents without any previous contact at all.

Many Realtors® also complain about the lack of feedback from other agents, even if it is specifically requested.
“Silence is unprofessional and doesn’t serve anyone’s clients,” says Pritchard.
Article One of the Realtor® Code of Ethics discusses protecting your client while still being fair to others.

 “A prime example of being unprofessional is when you fail to return phone calls in a timely manner, particularly if you don’t return a buyer’s agent’s calls when the buyer wants to make a counteroffer,” says Robyn Burdett, CEO and associate broker of the Robyn Burdett Real Estate Group with Re/Max Allegiance in Fairfax and a member of NVAR’s Professional Standards Committee.

Rodgers-Rickert says that even if agents are busy, a quick call while on the go (with a hands-free device, if driving!) can sometimes resolve a situation and build relationships with other agents.
Burdett recently helped a client who had fired her previous buyer’s agent for not doing her job.

“The client really wanted a house that she’d made an offer on,” says Burdett. “Her first offer was rejected but she told the agent she still wanted the house if the price was ever lowered. A few weeks later, she saw the house go under contract. When she called her agent about it, the agent said, ‘the sellers lowered the price and called me but I told them you weren’t interested.’ Communication is a huge problem and some agents just never follow up directly with people.”

A frequent complaint among agents and home sellers is that agents don’t bother to show up for scheduled tours or to cancel the appointment.
“It’s a huge issue and just common courtesy to let the sellers know that you won’t be coming by,” says Copeland. “On the flip side, it’s just as bad when agents stop by with buyers without an appointment. Some agents will use the key and just shout ‘hello’ to see if anyone is home.”

Jones says not following listing instructions shows a complete lack of courtesy.
“This is someone’s personal property, so you should consider treating it as you would your own property,” says Jones. “Sometimes elderly homeowners can’t leave the house easily, so it’s just extremely important to pay attention to the notes written by their agent.”

Some discourteous behavior comes directly from buyers, who leave trash in a house they have visited or move items or leave the door unlocked. Sellers can be discourteous when they make it difficult to see their home or don’t bother to keep it clean.

“During an open house, I move around to keep an eye on visitors,” says Pritchard. “It’s amazing how often people don’t control their kids and let them jump on the bed and leave it rumpled.”

Temple says she’s been frustrated by opening a lockbox for a scheduled showing and discovering that the keys are missing and no one is in the house, which means another agent has simply walked off with the keys.

“We had 90 code of Ethics complaints filed in 2016, the highest number of any local Virginia association, but that's because we have agents that care about maintaining high standards of professionalism."

Common Complaints to Grievance and Professional Standards Committees
Many of the most common complaints to NVAR’s Professional Standards Committee involve lockbox violations and agents not following the rules in Article 12 of the Code of Ethics, which requires your company name to be listed in all advertising, says Burdett.

As of January 1, 2017, fines for SentriLock® violations increased to a maximum of $2,500 for a first offense in a three-year period. In addition, privileges may be suspended for up to 90 days.

“SentriLock® violations are things like team members sharing codes or sending clients over on their own with a code to get into a property, which enables people to avoid following the lead of the sellers,” says Adamson.

Complaints about advertising violations that can be shown through photos or screenshots of websites can now be filed anonymously.
“Not a single complaint required arbitration in 2016, which is a testament to our preferred use of mediation,” says Burdett.  

Even if Realtors® are able to work out problems between themselves, the issues and behavior often leave buyers and sellers with an unfortunate impression that agents sometimes act unprofessionally.
“Recently when I was the listing agent, a buyer’s agent texted me during the home inspection and said it was all going well and they found only minor issues,” says Temple. “I never heard from her again until 24 hours after the home inspection contingency expired, when I received a multipage addendum at 8:30 p.m. with numerous issues to address. The buyer’s agent insisted I had the date wrong and then when she checked she tried to say there was a holiday that impacted the date. I suggested she speak to her broker and legal counsel. We finally closed after dealing with numerous demands at the walk-thru, and what should have been a happy transaction was filled with distrust and anger. The agent never apologized and the buyers blame me and the sellers for not getting things they felt they were entitled to.”

While Adamson says most Realtors® act professionally, he suggests that brokers should do a better job of educating agents and reminding them of standard procedures.

“Basics like communicating the right way, showing up on time and returning phone calls should be drilled into agents so they know what’s appropriate,” says Adamson. “We had 87 Code of Ethics hearings in 2016, the highest number of any local association, but that’s because we have agents that care about maintaining high standards of professionalism.”