IN A COMPETITIVE MARKET, effective advertising can make all the difference.

Q. I am the listing agent for a residential rental property. My clients recently accepted a rental application and ratified a lease.

Q. Form updates are usually released in January and July. Why did NVAR release updates in December?

Q. What do we need to know about providing access to properties in a way that is safe for Realtors®, their clients, and members of the general public?

I’ve been seeing a lot of properties advertised online or on signs as “Coming Soon,” but the property is not in the MLS, and the listing agent is permitting showings. Is this legal, ethical, or a violation of the MLS rules?

As a Realtor®, if you operate a blog, you must delete false or misleading comments or publish clarifications about them as soon as you have determined they are false or misleading.

Examples of what might qualify for the Citation System

"REALTORS® shall not advertise nor permit any person employed by or affiliated with them to advertise listed property without disclosing the name of the firm."

Realtors® are required under Article 12 of the Code of Ethics to ensure that their professional status is clearly identifiable in any advertisement.

Standard of Practice 1-9 specifically provides that latent material defects are not considered "confidential information" under the Code of Ethics.

As a Realtor®, if you operate a blog, you must delete false or misleading comments or publish clarifications about them as soon as you have determined they are false or misleading.

Examples of what might qualify for the Citation System

Article 1 of the Code of Ethics requires the REALTOR® to "protect and promote the interests of the client."

"REALTORS® shall not advertise nor permit any person employed by or affiliated with them to advertise listed property without disclosing the name of the firm."

To comply with federal and state antitrust laws, REALTORS® must have a general understanding of how these laws apply to both their practice and to their operations within their local REALTOR® Association.

Standard of Practice 3-6 requires disclosure of accepted offers, including those with unresolved contingencies

The terms REALTOR® and REALTORS® are trademarks of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. The trademarks, along with the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, set members apart from other real estate licensees.

REALTORS® pledge themselves to protect and promote the interests of their client. This obligation of absolute fidelity to the client's interests is primary, but it does not relieve REALTORS® of their obligation to treat all parties honestly.

The state licensing regulations say that anyone who receives compensation or other valuable consideration for working with a buyer to assist them in buying or offering to buy a property must have a real estate salespersons or brokers license unless they fall under one of the exemptions to the licensing regulations.