Good representation!

Just the other day I was sitting in on an ethics class at the Pikes Peak Association of REALTORS. The purpose of the course is to go over how important it is to treat clients with great care as well as treating other fellow real estate professionals in a competent and professional manner. During the class there was a case analysis portion where the class was told to form groups and discuss whether certain situations where deemed a violation of the code of ethics or not. After reading each case, it became clear to me that one of them could be deemed okay, however, the other was extremely unethical.
The case in question involved an open house, a represented buyer and of course a greedy agent.....
The point of this post isn't to go in detail on what transpired in the case study but rather some reactions that other people had in the room after finding out which one was obviously unethical. I heard "I would do that" and "there's nothing wrong with that." Hmmmmmm. Even though they knew that the situation was "unethical" they still insisted that they would STILL DO IT! When you are deciding on which professional you want to use to aide you in listing or buying a property or if you should leave the one you have already chosen stick with the following criteria:
1. Do they seem like they want to make a quick sale? If they do, you better run like hell.
2. How do they talk to other real estate professionals? If they seem like a jerk to their peers it will be highly unlikely that they will be able to negotiate a fair deal with their counterpart and therefore could jeopardize your offer.
3. Do they explain how the process works? It can be very scary to buy a property and a good REALTOR will walk you through the process while explaining what you can expect. Unexpected surprises are rarely a good thing in real estate!
4. Do they answer your questions? Again, similar to #3 it is important to understand the process. A professional will get you an answer to your question even if they have to ask someone else and get back to you later.
5. Are they quick to cut their fee? Be careful here. It looks good on paper but sometimes agents will try to cut their fees to make a quick sale. Also, this should send some signs to you that they are probably not that successful at what they do or in some cases desperate for a deal to close. Good agents earn every penny of the fee that they charge!
6. Are they ethical? Will they truly treat you as a principal and therefore carry out their fiduciary responsibilities.

There are many individuals, myself included, that are proud to subscribe to the code of ethics established by the Pikes Peak association of REALTORS. Just make sure that your working with one of the good guys. :)