10.43 Conflicts of Interest

Company policy is to avoid any situation where conflicts of interest could arise.

Examples of conflicts of interest:

• A licensee shows only those properties to buyer-clients that have a cooperating fee split that is acceptable to the licensee.

• A licensee fails to disclose to a buyer (in a transaction in which the licensee is an agent for that buyer) the nature and extent of the licensee’s direct or indirect ownership interest in the property. Indirect interests in a property may include relationships to the seller by blood or marriage or any other relationship with another person with whom the licensee has a special relationship (such as interest in a corporation, partnership, trust, etc.).

NOTE: State licensing laws require the licensee to disclose his/her license status when selling his/her own property, unless he/she has listed the property with another licensee. However, the REALTOR® Code of Ethics, Article 4, does consider this situation a conflict of interest that must be disclosed in writing.