Professional Standards and Dispute Resolution
Not all real estate licensees and practitioners are REALTORS®. A REALTOR® accepts and strictly adheres to a Code of Ethics that governs their conduct vis a vis: clients and customers; the public; and other REALTORS®. REALTOR® Pathways to Professionalism guide REALTORS in their respect for The Public, Property and Peers. The Code is a “living document” and has been revised many times through the years to reflect the growth of the industry and to adapt to current developments in real estate practices.
Although a REALTOR® may conduct his real estate business with the best of intentions, occasional disagreements can arise between REALTORS® and/or between REALTORS® and their clients or customers. Civil litigation is not only costly, it is time consuming and courts are often times ill-suited to understand the practice of real estate and our Code of Ethics. The dispute resolution services of the Greater Boston Association of REALTORS® is the recommended (and arbitration is mandated under Article 17 of the Code) means for parties to settle their disputes and conflicting claims; whether the issue be an alleged violation of the Code of Ethics, or a contractual (monetary) dispute.
In addition to being a vehicle for hearings concerning ethics or arbitrable matters, the Greater Boston Association of REALTORS® also offers alternative dispute resolution services including mediation of arbitrable claims and the services of a trained and experienced REALTOR® Ombudsman. Through an Ombudsman, REALTORS® and the public can request assistance with real-estate related matters allowing the Ombudsman to act as an intermediary to assist with a successful resolution prior to the filing any ethics or arbitration complaint. GBAR also offers voluntary mediation prior to arbitration if both parties agree. Through both alternative dispute resolution practices offer timely and confidential resolution of matters with an extremely high success rate and the satisfaction of the parties is also quite high.
These are just a few ways GBAR helps our members maintain their relationships with other practitioners and members of the public as well as offer a quick and cost-effective way to handle disputes outside of the court system.
For questions or for more information, please contact Jeff Pappas, our full-time professional standards administrator at 617-224-9302 or via email at [email protected].
Were you looking for...
Ombudsman & Mediation
Ethics Complaints
Arbitration
Code of Ethics