As you probably know, not all licensed real estate agents are “Realtors.” To be a Realtor, one has to be a dues-paying member of a local Realtor association, which automatically makes the agent a member of the state Realtor association and the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Many low-producing real estate agents are reluctant to cough up roughly $500 per year in Realtor dues, so they join a non-Realtor brokerage like HomeSmart Realty in Greenwood Village or Trelora Colorado in downtown Denver. Agents with those firms can’t call themselves “Realtors.”
You’ve probably seen TV commercials by NAR saying “Make sure your agent is a Realtor.” Their current campaign features the theme, “That’s Who We R.” Both campaigns stress the point that only Realtors subscribe to the Realtor Code of Ethics. There is no code of ethics for non-Realtors.
In fact, however, violations of the Code, such as failure to disclose negative information about a listing or contacting another agent’s client directly, are also violations of state licensing laws. To me, the greater value of dealing with a Realtor like those of us at Golden Real Estate is our commitment to professionalism and to the industry, expressed in part by our willingness to pay those dues.
NAR’s lobbying on behalf of property rights benefits all agents as it does all property owners, and deserves the support of all licensees.
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