What Does It All Mean? Part 1

Transparency has been a buzzword in Washington real estate for the past few years as word of the recent legal events has been being played out. Washington, and Oregon, have long been at the forefront of a quicksilver-changing real estate industry. As real estate changes, so do our state forms to keep up with the changes in a way that reinforces the core beliefs, and standards that a REALTOR® abides by, and to assist us in not only being as transparent as possible but to ensure the public is protected and understands the process. Remember that while, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is a national association, and many of the companies where a REALTOR® may hang their license are also national companies, each state has different standards and laws that a local REALTOR® abides by, and not all states have the same process, or parties involved in a real estate transaction.

Transparency has been a buzzword in Washington real estate for the past few years as word of the recent legal events has been being played out. Washington, and Oregon, have long been at the forefront of a quicksilver-changing real estate industry. As real estate changes, so do our state forms to keep up with the changes in a way that reinforces the core beliefs, and standards that a REALTOR® abides by, and to assist us in not only being as transparent as possible but to ensure the public is protected and understands the process. Remember that while, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is a national association, and many of the companies where a REALTOR® may hang their license are also national companies, each state has different standards and laws that a local REALTOR® abides by, and not all states have the same process, or parties involved in a real estate transaction.

As we all know, while some states may be similar to each other, every state can make its own laws for their residents to abide by. Real estate laws are no different. Not only does every state have different real estate laws and standards, but even the participants involved in a real estate transaction can change from state to state or area to area. While each state has different laws; the individual Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Associations for an area can also have different paperwork that reflects these differences individually.

In many areas, you can be a licensed real estate agent, but not a member of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Being a member of the NAR, and being duty-bound to the Code of Ethics is what makes me a REALTOR®, and not just a real estate agent. There is a difference between being ‘just’ a real estate agent, and being a REALTOR®. In our local area, we can be a licensed agent and not be a member of the NAR, but currently, our local RMLS requires a NAR membership to belong to it. Concurrently, some of our local real estate brokerages do require a NAR membership. NWMLS, our other ‘local’ MLS that operates mainly north of Clark County does not require a NAR membership.

So, let’s break this down…The NAR is a national Association that lobbies primarily on behalf of homeowners and homeownership rights as well as on behalf of REALTOR® members and gives the general guidelines for our industry. To be a REALTOR®, I agree to uphold the Code of Ethics, Standards of Practice, and the Professional Standards that the NAR stands by. The Code of Ethics was founded upon the Golden Rule, but one other thing that the Code also ensures is that the ‘consumers are served by requiring REALTORS® to cooperate with each other in furthering clients’ best interests’. This will be important later.

(See Part 2 next week for more on this topic)