In an era when standards of practice are being talked about but little is being done to strengthen them at either the legislative, association or brokerage level, brokers are increasingly moving toward non-agency to the point of noninvolvement with the real estate transaction. There has to come a time when consumers will wonder -- what is the role of the broker and how does the broker benefit the transaction?
NRT, the nation's largest brokerage, says it's committed to higher standards of practice and is putting its money where its corporate mouth is - in mandatory education for its associates.
The springboard is Fair Housing and diversity, and with a little help from the National Association of Realtors, NRT plans a system-wide educational launch of four training sessions for its associates, followed up by self-tests to monitor the success of the training program.
Judy Reeves, COO of NRT, Inc., explains, "This is one component of our diversity initiative. Our country is becoming more diverse. Every Realtor goes through Fair Housing education as a requirement of membership, but it shouldn't be the boring thing you check off your list. Our ability to treat everyone fairly is the cornerstone of real estate."
Reeves says that NRT has developed a Fair Housing Pledge that summarizes "commitment on the part of our salespeople. "They are taking four workshops and each will sign the Fair Housing Pledge when they are finished," she says.
NRT is partnering with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) to "design and roll out fair housing training across NRT's national family of companies" including its 64,000 associates in over 1000 offices. A thorough review of NRT's fair housing policies and practices will be conducted to assist in implementing additional policies as appropriate. Compliance monitoring will be handled through self-tests and internal oversight.
Also participating is the National Association of Realtors, which worked on the workshop component with NRT by helping to supply Fair Housing educational materials.
The company is looking for 100 percent participation.
"We can't depend on the state boards of Realtors," she adds. "We have to develop the message as well. Brokers tend to shy away from this kind of responsibility, but it's become more clear as we expand our operations into Arizona and Hawaii that we have many diverse cultures. This is America."
NRT will follow up with panel discussions, meetings, and other ways to explore and supplement associates' knowledge of Fair Housing issues.
"We are always looking at all of our standards of practice," says Reeves, "but the changing demographics and the challenges of diversity means that if we are going to be diverse and address the way we deal with the public, we must make it consistent."
It's essentially a pilot program, she says. "Any broker can go to NAR and purchase the materials they need to do the same. We have tweaked our materials for our local areas to provide workshops that are meaningful and appeal to the experienced broker and associate. We want to tell them -- this isn't the same course you took two years ago. We are applying our own standards."
