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Sunday, April 30, 2017
|
The Sacramento Bee
W
hat is the differ-
ence? All agents
are real estate
agents, but a Real-
tor meets additional standards of
care and the Master Club Realtor
meets those standards of care
and excels in real estate sales.
To become a real estate agent
in California, you must be 18
years or older, a legal resident of
the United States, must be hon-
est and truthful, and take a num-
ber of college-level courses. A
person’s entire history comes
under scrutiny when the criteria
for ‘honest and truthful’ is ap-
plied. Criminal conviction or
disciplinary action may result in
the denial of a license.
Further, to be designated a
Realtor you must belong to an
Association of Realtors which
includes membership in a local
Association, State Association
and the National Association of
Realtors. All Realtors must ad-
here to the Realtor Code of Eth-
ics in which there are Nine Du-
ties to the Clients and Custom-
ers, Five Duties to the Public and
Three Duties to Fellow Realtors!
DUTIES TO THE CLIENTS AND
CUSTOMERS
A
To protect and promote their
clients’ interests while treating all
parties honestly.
A
To refrain from exaggeration,
misrepresentation or conceal-
ment of pertinent facts related to
property or transactions.
A
To cooperate with other real
estate professionals to advance
their clients’ best interests.
A
When buying or selling on their
own account or for their families
or firms, to make their true posi-
tion or interest known.
A
To refrain from providing pro-
fessional services where they
have any present or contemplat-
ed interest in the property with-
out disclosing that interest to all
affected parties.
A
To disclose any fee or financial
benefit they may receive from
recommending related real es-
tate products or services.
A
To receive compensation from
only one party, except where
they make full disclosure and
receive informed consent from
their client.
A
To keep entrusted funds of
clients and customers in a sep-
arate escrow account.
A
To make sure that contract
details are spelled out in writing
and that parties receive copies.
DUTIES TO THE PUBLIC
A
To give equal professional
service to all clients and custom-
ers irrespective of race, color,
religion, sex, handicap, familial
status or national origin.
A
To be knowledgeable and com-
petent in the fields of practice in
which they engage, or they get
assistance from a knowledgeable
professional, or disclose any lack
of expertise to their client.
A
To paint a true picture in their
advertising and in other public
representations.
A
To refrain from engaging in the
practice of law.
A
To willingly participate in eth-
ics investigations and enforce-
ment actions.
DUTIES TO OTHER REALTORS
A
To make only truthful, ob-
jective comments about other
real estate professionals.
A
To respect the exclusive repre-
sentation or exclusive brokerage
relationship agreements that
other Realtors have with their
clients.
A
To arbitrate financial disagree-
ments with other Realtors and
with their clients.
To be a Masters Club Realtor,
you must meet all the require-
ments above, and excel in sales
production. The exact value of
sales production may change
annually, but in Placer County
the minimum sales production is
set to recognize the Top 10-20
percent among the Placer Coun-
ty Association of Realtors mem-
bership. For 2016, the minimum
sales production was increased
to $4.5 million in real estate sales
with a minimum of eight trans-
actions OR at least 20 closed
transactions. The minimum sales
production required for 2017
may increase, as the real estate
recovery results in healthier sales
prices and successful trans-
actions.
There are those colleagues
among us who consistently out-
perform in production. Provided
their performance is document-
ed and dues are paid, the cumu-
lative annual recognition results
in designations of Life Member
(5-9 years of Master Club Mem-
bership with no more than 3
years gap) and Outstanding Life
Member (10 plus years of Mas-
ters Club Membership with no
more than 3 years gap).
Is your real estate agent a
Master? Look for these logos to
help clearly identify a Realtor
and a Masters Club Realtor.
Placer County Association of
Realtors is a real estate member-
ship-based organization focused
on being the leading advocate of
the real estate industry, serving
the communities in which we do
business and building valuable
alliances locally and statewide to
promote private property rights.
PLACER COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
Realtor, Masters Club Realtor or real
estate agent? Defining the difference
All Realtorsmust
adhere to theRealtor
Code of Ethicsinwhich
there are NineDutiesto
theClientsand
Customers,FiveDutiesto
thePublicandThree
DutiestoFellowRealtors!
F
or a Realtor to
qualify for the
Sacramento Asso-
ciation of Realtors
(SAR) Masters Club, he or
she must:
A
be a member in good
standing with SAR, and
A
be sworn to uphold the
National Association of
Realtors (NAR) Code of
Ethics, and
A
sold and closed at least 8
real estate transaction ends
totaling a minimum of
$4,500,000 in 2016 or have
closed at least 20 ends of
an escrow as a listing
agent, selling agent, or
both.
In addition, there are
several categories of mem-
bership you will notice
listed in these pages, in-
cluding:
A
New Member: First year
member. This is a very
exciting achievement.
A
Continuing Member: An
individual who has
achieved club criteria more
than once, has not had a
gap in membership of over
3 years, and may look
forward to the goal of be-
ing a Life Member.
A
Life Member: An in-
dividual who has qualified
for Masters Club at least
five out seven consecutive
years.
A
Outstanding Life Mem-
ber: An individual who has
obtained Life Membership
and has achieved club
criteria for a total of at
least 10 of 15 consecutive
years.
A
President Member: An
individual who has
achieved club criteria for a
total of 25 years or higher.
Masters Club 2016 mem-
bers represent about 12
percent of the general SAR
membership; therefore, it
is definitely an achieve-
ment when a Realtor
reaches this goal.
SACRAMENTO ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
What does it take to be a Masters Club member?
