REALTOR A’s market share over the past three months had been 10.9 percent. The administrator’s statement noted that this was the first time that information related to REALTOR A’s listings or sales had been misstated on the system. “I relied on information from the MLS. It’s always been accurate and I had no reason to even suspect it was wrong last month,” said REALTOR Z in his defense.
The Hearing Panel agreed with REALTOR Z’s logic, noting that a REALTOR should be able to rely on generally accurate information from reliable sources. They reasoned that if, on the other hand, the MLS had shown REALTOR A having, for example, one percent of the market, then REALTOR Z’s reliance on the information would have been “reckless” because REALTOR A had generally had a 10-15 percent market share and a reasonable conclusion would have been that the information from the MLS was seriously flawed.
The Hearing Panel concluded that REALTOR Z's comparison with his competitors, while slightly inaccurate, was based on usually accurate and reliable information and had been made in good faith and while technically “misleading,” had not been “knowing” or “reckless”. REALTOR Z was found not to have violated Article 15.
CASE STUDY 2 >>INTENTIONAL MISREPRESENTAION OF A COMPETITOR'S BUSINESS PRACTICES
Following a round of golf early one morning, Homeowner A approached REALTOR X. “We’ve outgrown our home and I want to list it with you,” said Homeowner A. “I’m sorry,” said REALTOR X, “but I represent buyers exclusively.” “Then how about REALTOR Z?” asked Homeowner A, “I’ve heard good things about him.” “I don’t know if I would do that,” said REALTOR X, “while he does represent sellers, he doesn’t cooperate with buyer brokers and, as a result, sellers don’t get adequate market exposure for their properties.”
Later that day, Homeowner A repeated REALTOR X’s remarks to his wife who happened to be a close friend of REALTOR Z’s wife. Within hours, REALTOR Z had been made aware of REALTOR Z’s remarks to Homeowner A earlier in the day. REALTOR Z filed a complaint against REALTOR X charging him with making false and misleading state ments.
12 I GEORGIA REALTOR JULY I AUGUST 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39