Real Estate Ethics & Courtesy

[Jason S.]

I do not know what rules Realtor's live by so I am posting this for a little insight from the forum.

We recently listed a property for sale in Riverside, Ca. The listing is currently "active" with a local broker. I drove up to my property this afternoon and found a real estate sign on my property that said:

"Bank Owned Home! 24 hour recorded message 1-800-xxx-xxxx listing #104"

Thinking my broker was "out of touch" for my non-bank owned home I called the 1-800 number and heard my listing being read directly to me - I pushed the button to connect with an agent and ...... I was connected to an agent for a different broker. Apparently this broker simply placed his sign on my property - hence attempting to not only degrade my fully re-hab'd property by calling it "bank owned" but also to steal my brokers business.

This could not have been a mistake as the message on the recording was word for word duplicate of my listing, therefore the broker knew he was placing a sign on another brokers listing.

This must be against some Realtor "Rule" or "Code" - What, if anything, should be done?

[Jon Holdman]

Most of the people you deal with are not actually brokers, but rather agents. Every office does have to have a licensed broker in charge. Call the office of the agent who added that sign, and speak with the broker in charge. Explain what happened and ask for an explanation. I honestly can't imagine one agent hijaking another agent's listing, but I can imagine an address being incorrectly passed along and someone putting up the sign and making the recording for the wrong house.