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April 18, 2008
The 2008 ROTY recipient will be announced during our annual event scheduled for June 3 at the RBYCC. SCAOR's ROTY will be forwarded to DAR for the State ROTY... and of course, DAR's recipient will be submitted to NAR. Last year Rick Allamong, Sussex and Delaware's ROTY, walked the stage at Las Vegas. Who will Sussex and Delaware send this year to Orlando? Maybe it will be you or your nominee. Due Thursday - Click here and send in your nomination!
Sussex County Council and the Sussex County Association of REALTORS® declared April Fair Housing Month in Sussex County.
 On hand for the proclamation were Bill Lecates - Community Housing Sussex County, Ruth Briggs King - EVP SCAOR, Bill Lucks - 2008 SCAOR President, Trina Joyner - 2008 SCAOR Director, Sandy Duncan - SCAOR Diversity chair, and Juana Fuentes-Bowles - Chair of Human
Relations Commission, State of Delaware.
Act Quickly! Get your nomination in this month so they may be recognized for all their hard work. Nominations are due Thursday, May 8th.
Go to www.thescaorstore.com to register.
Click Here for the Nomination Form >>
Forget the parking fees. Forget the unnecessary "excitement" of driving in DC. Experience the NAR Convention and Tradeshow, lunch, and meeting your elected representatives on Capitol Hill while being chauffeured.
Register online here, and please indicate at which location you will meet the bus.
This event is now FREE to members. Thank you to those who have already signed up! (You will be issued a refund.) You must still RSVP. Please Sign Up Here!
ETHICALLY SPEAKING...
Here is an Ethics Case Study, also dealing with Fair Housing and potential discrimination issues. Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity is the foundation of our REALTOR® Code of Ethics Article 10. Please read the complaint and make a judgment on how the Professional Standards Panel should rule. The Hearing Panel's decision will be published in next week's newsletter. Case #10-4: Use of "Choose Your Neighbor" Marketing Letters REALTOR® A listed a property in a new subdivision. At the instruction of his client, Seller X, REALTOR® A did not file information on the listing with his Board's MLS, did not place a "For Sale" sign on the property and did not advertise the property in the local newspaper. Seller X had told REALTOR® A that he wanted the sale handled quietly, with the new purchasers being people who would "fit into the neighborhood - people with the same socioeconomic background" as the other residents of the subdivision. Based on his conversation with Seller X, REALTOR® A's only marketing effort was mailing a letter to the other residents of the subdivision, inviting them ". . . to play a part in the decision of who your next neighbor will be. If you know of someone who you would like to live in the neighborhood, please let them know of the availability of this home, or call me and I will be happy to contact them and arrange a private showing." REALTOR® A's marketing strategy came to the attention of REALTOR® B, whose mother lived in the subdivision. REALTOR® B filed a complaint charging REALTOR® A with a violation of Article 10 of the Code of Ethics. At the hearing, REALTOR® B told the Hearing Panel of receiving a copy of the marketing letter from his mother, who had recently moved to the subdivision. REALTOR® B advised the panel that he had checked the Board's MLS for information on the property, had driven past the house to look for a "For Sale" sign and had scanned the Sunday real estate section of the local newspaper for information on the property. Finding no mention of the property in either the MLS or the newspaper and noting the absence of a sign on the property, REALTOR® B concluded that REALTOR® A's marketing strategy was to limit access to the property to individuals preselected by the current residents. "In my mind," said REALTOR® B, "this could only mean one thing. REALTOR® A was deliberately discriminating against home seekers from other areas, or those with different backgrounds, who would never have the opportunity to learn about the house's availability. Obviously, REALTOR® A was directing all of his marketing energies into finding purchasers who would not disrupt the ethnic and economic character of the neighborhood." REALTOR® A defended his actions by advising the panel that he was acting on Seller X's instructions. Seller X appeared as a witness for REALTOR® A and confirmed this fact, adding that he and the other residents of his block had an informal agreement that they would try to find "suitable" purchasers for their homes if they ever decided to sell. Seller X felt that by broadening the marketing campaign to include all residents of the subdivision he had increased the chances of finding such potential purchasers.
How do you think the Professional Standards Panel ruled?
Read the latest issue of REALTOR® News You Can Use from Delaware Association of REALTORS®.
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© Copyright 2008 Sussex County Association of REALTORS®
23407 Park Ave., Georgetown, DE 19947, USA Phone (302) 855-2300 ~ Fax (302) 855-2319 ~ info@scaor.com ~ www.scaor.com |
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It's a triple play... NAR, DAR, and SCAOR each select a REALTOR® of the YEAR to recognize for their service, dedication, and promotion of our profession. You may nominate yourself or someone else that you believe deserves recognition.
