I was in a training class recently, actually a required course for license renewal, and there was a discussion about the duties owed to the consumer on the other side of the transaction. I like to think that there was wide understanding of what the duties are to our actual clients. But there was clearly a range of knowledge, understanding and interpretation as far as our duties to consumers.

It was an interesting discussion and a good exchange of ideas. The part of this discussion that struck me as especially interesting was when we talked about the difference between our legal duties as laid out by the Commonwealth of VA and our duties as REALTORS under the REALTOR Code of Ethics.

I don't believe the general public understands yet that REALTORS are different from real estate agents. While all of us are bound by the laws of the Commonwealth, REALTORS also agree to be bound by the National Association of REALTOR's Code of Ethics. We are, quite simply, held to a higher standard. Actually, we choose to hold ourselves to a higher standard!

I believe in this higher standard. We all know that there can be a big difference between what is legal and what is ethical and moral. That's certainly true in real estate as well. The Code of Ethics is a living document that does change. But at its heart it's trying to define ethical behavior in the real estate industry, whether we're dealing with consumers, clients or other real estate professionals. I'm comforted by the idea that we're constantly re-examining how we do business and striving to do better!

Of course, whatever the rules, whatever Code of Ethics anyone agrees to abide by, we are all fallible human beings. And so the old "trust but verify" still applies as well. For the sake of my clients I can't always assume that the REALTOR on the other side of the transaction is living up to the Code we espouse.

My very first real estate trainer told me that the REALTORS are simply "a group of nice folks". I hope we're all nice (although it seems unlikely in a group of over 1 million!) But mostly I hope we're all working every day at living up to the Code of Ethics!