Chapter 3.2: Code Of Ethics (new) Flashcards
_______________: the overall competence of a professional, considering their skills, judgement, and behaviour
Professionalism
Professionals do a number of things, such as:
1) put the interests of the public ahead of their own
2) have a high level of expertise
3) have initial entry / ongoing training and education
4) maintain objectivity when making decisions
5) follow specific rules of conduct
6) are held accountable for their actions
7) collaborate and work together
8) share knowledge and best practices
9) move the profession forward through continuous improvements
What is golden rule
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Ethics definition
The science of morals!
The department of study concerned with the principle of human duty, and the moral principles by which a person is guided
How spiritual lol
Ethics is a crucial element of the ________________________
Larger concept of professionalism
Licensees have a ___________ to hold other licensees to the highest professional and ethics standards
Professional duty
Professional ethics standards are often __________ standards compared to legislative standards
Higher!
You are held more accountable
Ethics apply when dealing with _______, ____________, and ______________
Clients
Non clients
Other real estate professionals
__________________ and _________ are both core concepts to the real estate services act (RESA(
Professionalism
And ethics
If you breach the Code of Ethics, what can happen?
Cock ball torture, jk
The board can cancel and suspend membership in a real estate board
But they cannot cancel your license (only BCFSA can)
Professionals are subject to the ______________
Common law
Professionals must not commit __________ and must fulfil ____________ owed to the client
Torts (example: negligence)
Fiduciary duties
______________: A public sector organization under the supervision of the government but administered independently
Crown agency
“Council”
Fiduciary duty items include
Loyalty
Confidentiality
Full disclosure
Avoiding conflicts of interest
What are the two key types of misconduct
Professional Misconduct
Conduct unbecoming a licensee
Professional misconduct
Competency in practice and technical breaches of legislation, regulations, and rules
Conduct unbecoming a licensee
Is contrary to the best interest of the public
Undermines public confidence in the real estate industry
Brings the real estate industry into disrepute
2 aspects to gain : build trust
Honesty
Integrity
Honesty definition
Acting in a manner that is sincere and truthful, and free of deceit
Integrity
Acting ethically and doing the “right thing”, whether or not anyone is watching and whether or not it benefits you
Licensees role in building and Maintaining trust is?
Acting in accordance with broader ethical principles
One way to evaluate whether a decision aligns with honesty and integrity is to use the
Headline test!
Headline test
A test that one can use to evaluate whether a decision or action aligns with ones overall professionalism that considers how the decision maker would feel if the decision or action were to appear as a headline of a newspaper or new site
Duties to clients are derived from two key sources, what are they
Common law
Legislation
Duties to client: common law acronym
CAT!
3 duties to clients as per common law
Contractual duties
Tort law duties
Agent / fiduciary duties
Duties to clients, Common law: contractual duties (the C in CAT)
Fulfil an obligation within contracts with clients
Duties to clients, Common law: tort law duties (T in Cat)
To not be negligent
Duties to clients, Common law: Agency / fiduciary duties (The A in CAT)
Loyalty, solely act for the benefit of client
Duties to client, legislation (no acronym)
The rules
RESA
Duties to client, legislation: The Rules
Act in the clients best interest
Duty owed to both client and non client
Duties to client, legislation: RESA
Professional misconduct and conduct unbecoming an agent
10 duties to clients under The Rules (legislation remember)
1) act in clients best interest
2) act in accordance with the clients lawful instructions
3) act only within the scope of authority given by the client
4) advise the client to seek independent professional advice on matters outside of the licensees expertise
5) maintain the confidentiality of the clients information
6) disclose all known material information
7) communicate all offers to the client in a timely, objective, and unbiassed manner
8) use reasonable efforts to discover relevant facts
9) act honestly and with reasonable care and skill
10) avoid and disclose conflicts of interest
Duties to Clients Under The Rules: Act in clients best interests
- understand what is important to them
- explain information to them in a way that they understand
- no the risks that are specific to the transaction and keep the client informed of those risks
- put enough time and effort towards ensuring that the clients needs are met
- effectively and efficiently carry out the clients instructions
- Follow through on what you have said that you will do
- be honest about the limitations of your experience and expertise and advise the clients to seek a specialized advice
Duties to Clients Under The Rules: does not include
Unlawful actions!
Duties to Clients Under The Rules: act in accordance with the clients lawful instructions
-licensees must follow all instructions from their clients, provided that those instructions do not violate the law
Duties to Clients Under The Rules: act in accordance with the clients lawful instructions - this duty applies while in the ____________________
Client / agency relationship
Duties to Clients Under The Rules: act only within the scope of the authority given by the client
-seek to establish their scope of authority in writing, starting with the service agreement with the client
Aka don’t guess info
Duties to Clients Under The Rules: maintain the confidentiality of the client information
-keep confidential any nonpublic information that’s been told to you by your client
The duty of confidentiality to a client lasts __________
FOREVER, and ever, hallelujah
Exceptions to maintaining the confidentiality of your clients information
- you’ve been authorized by the client to disclose it
- you are required by law to disclose the information
Duties to Clients Under The Rules: disclose all known material information
-any information that might affect the value of the property or the clients decision must be disclosed by the licensee
It is not appropriate for the licensee to make decisions on what information should be disclosed to the client and what information should not
Duties to Clients Under The Rules: communicate all offers to the client in a timely, objective, and unbiassed manner
The only exception to this is when a client specifically instructs their licensee not to communicate their offers to them promptly, or at all
Duties to Clients Under The Rules: use reasonable efforts to discover relevant facts
-include physical features of the property, characteristics of the development and or neighborhood, and general market conditions
The duty to use reasonable efforts to discover relevant facts applies to both___________________
Clients and non clients
Duties to Clients Under The Rules: act honestly and with a reasonable care and skill
- if you are not an expert refer your clients to seek an expert
- if a licensee takes on too many clients at once, they are at risk of not being able to provide real estate services with reasonable care and skill
Duties to Clients Under The Rules: avoid and disclose conflicts of interest
A conflict of interest arises when there is a substantial risk
Such as duel agency, or a heavy referral fee for recommending certain companies
If a real estate professional discovers the misconduct of a licensee at their brokerage, what should they do
They should talk to their managing broker
If a real estate professional discovers the misconduct of a licensee at a different brokerage
- there is no explicit duty in the rules for licenses to report
- they should talk to their managing broker anyways
The duty to report reflects the fact that ____________________________________________________ is the shared responsibility of the office of the superintendent of real estate, the real estate Council of British Columbia, and members of the profession
Maintaining the integrity of the real estate profession
The shared duty to report helps to hold every member of the profession to the _______________
Highest standards
There are ______ steps in the framework for ethical decision making
5 steps
The five steps in the framework for ethical decision making
1) consider the situation and identify the potential ethical issues
2) identify the stakeholders
3) specify feasible alternatives for evaluation
4) Evaluate each alternative in terms of ethical consequences
5) make and justify your choice
Step 2: identify the stakeholders
Who is my client and what duties do I order them? What do they need/expect from me?
Step 3: specify feasible alternatives for evaluation
What courses of action are possible in the situation?
Step 4: evaluate each alternative in terms of ethical consequences
Would I be acting in compliance with the rules?
Which of the following is one of an individual licensees role in building and maintaining trust in the real estate profession
Act in accordance with broader ethical principles
Which of the following is a common law source of duties to clients?
Agency/fiduciary law
Licenses who accept clients involved in transactions outside of their areas of expertise primarily risk breaching
The duty to act with reasonable care and skill
The final step of the framework for ethical decision making is to
Make and justify your choice
