Realtors, Is Your Blog in Violation of the Realtors Code of Ethics?
Published February 10th, 2008 in Blogging.
..Mine isn’t but it was until yesterday.
I attended Professional Standards/Code of Ethics Training this week provided by the Michigan Association of Realtors. Our trainer, Bruce Aydt, went over changes in the COE, and this is one that actually was put in January of 2007, yet is not at all well known.
Standard of Practice 12-9 REALTOR® firm websites shall disclose the firm’s name and state(s) of licensure in a reasonable and readily apparent manner.
Websites of Realtors® and non-member licensees affiliated with a Realtor® firm shall disclose the firm’s name and that Realtor®’s or non-member licensee’s state(s) of licensure in a reasonable and readily apparent manner. (Adopted 1/07)
Blogs are, of course, websites. Your blog probably does suggest a market that you work in, but, in my opinion, it does not comply with this COE unless you specifically put something on it that says the state of licensure and firm’s name.I will be adding these items to my sidebar now. miOaklandCounty.com is compliant. How about your blog?
Photo provided by Hawaii
______________________________________________________________
Written by Maureen Francis
SKBK Sotheby's International Realty, 248.430.4450
Visit Website
Search for homes in Oakland County
_____________________________________________________________
Well at least I had the State of Ohio on my blog all year
Thanks, glad you are sharing!
This is a great point. In Virginia it’s a statuatory requriement as well. A broker friend of mine asked me to audit her agent’s blogs for legislative and COE violations. I found at least three on everyone one of them. Thanks for pointing this out for others!
Yeah mine has been kosher from the get go. Switching brokerages = one full day of stripping old brokerage crap down and putting new brokerage crap up across my blogs. Total hell.
ok I panicked but I was okay. Thankfully! Still glad you brought it up you keep me on my toes!
I double checked, whew.
Wow, I never even thought about that. Thanks for the heads up!
I do have an issue on one of my blogs… not this issue but another that you’d find in another RE Continuing Ed class.
I added a link in my sidebar on my WP blog… I think it was there between the company info and what I have on the static home page but a line on the side bar won’t hurt anything.
I don’t understand the hubbub over this on ActiveRain.
As someone who does contract SEO work for realtors and tracks several different blogs and home sights in various states, this is a good heads up. Always been a pet peeve of mine to see sights that it is difficult to find street address, email address and phone numbers on a sight that is suppose to generate leads for you. Can not say I had thought of state of licensure as a separate heading.
> I don’t understand the hubbub over this on ActiveRain.
The sheep probably figure there’s some points to be had in the stupid argument over it.
Arizona advertising rules require the information as well. Not that this has mattered in many cases. At my old office, many of the agents had websites (not blogs) from Superlative and there was nothing to indicate who their broker was.
Isn’t this in violation???
http://www.yourmassrealtors.com/