REALTORS® Obligation to Disclose Present or Contemplated Interests
Article 11
The Complaint:
Client A, an owner, needed to sell a property. She approached REALTOR® B to list the property. They agreed to the terms of the listing and the property was listed.
An offer was made and was accepted by Client A. After the prospective purchaser completed the loan application, REALTOR® B was contacted to appraise the property. When the lender was preparing the closing statement, the lender became aware that the listing broker was also the appraiser and filed a complaint with the Board of REALTORS® alleging that REALTOR® B had failed to disclose in the appraisal that he had an interest in the property, specifically seeing that the sale closed. The complaint was referred by the Grievance Committee for hearing before a panel of the Board’s Professional Standards Committee.
The Hearing:
At the hearing, REALTOR® B protested that the lender was misreading Article 11, as interpreted by Standard of Practice 11-1, claiming that “any present or contemplated interest” referred only to an ownership interest. REALTOR® B concluded that the listing commission had been earned when a ready, willing, and able purchaser contracted to purchase the property and that the appraisal process was separate and distinct from the brokerage process.
The Conclusion:
The Hearing Panel concluded that REALTOR® B’s defense was specious and because he was the listing agent REALTOR® B was biased in favor of Client A since a successful transaction would benefit REALTOR® B in the form of a commission.
REALTOR® B was found in violation of Article 11.