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Do You Have Permission to Show a Listing? By Holly Rawson
Scenario A buyer’s agent, Realtor® A, saw a listing that he/she believed to be vacant. Realtor® A did not contact the listing agent, Realtor® B, for permission to look at the property, even though contact was requested on the showing instructions. Realtor® B found out through a Supra report that Realtor® A accessed the property without permission. Realtor® B confronted Realtor® A about the situation and filed a complaint with the Salt Lake Board of Realtors®. Findings A hearing panel determined that in this situation, Realtor® A was in violation of Articles 1 and 3 of the Realtor® Code of Ethics. By accessing the property without permission, Realtor® A failed to protect the Seller’s trust and also failed to cooperate with the listing agent’s request that contact be made to obtain permission before entering the property. Conclusion Entering a home without permission is trespassing and a violation of the Code of Ethics. There are too many ethics violation hearings
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related to this issue. This is not only an issue of safety, but could also be grounds for filing a police report. This type of situation ultimately affects the relationship between the client and agent and lowers the professionalism of all involved. Scott Robbins, past president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors®, said, “If you are scheduling the showing directly with the listing agent, be sure to confirm it before showing up with your client. If you are using ShowingTime on the MLS, you can request the showing appointment, but that doesn’t mean the listing agent has confirmed it with their client. So until that happens, don’t show up at the property.” If desired, listing agents can add an extra measure of security to a seller’s home by enabling a CBS (Call Before Showing) Code on the Supra keybox. When this feature is enabled, agents who are seeking access to the key will be asked to provide the CBS Code after entering their PIN. Any agent who wants to show the property will need to contact the listing agent to obtain the code. Holly Rawson is the professional standards administrator at the Salt Lake Board of Realtors®.
