Your phone rings, and it’s your Associate on the other end, they’ve just had a not-so-nice run-in with another REALTOR^®, and they’re looking for your guidance.

Although we hope these calls aren’t consuming too much of the Broker’s time or the time of the Brokerage Manager, we know our members are experiencing “REALTORS^® misbehaving.” The industry needs your help in keeping poor behaviour at bay.

We follow our Scooping Sellers and Supervision Shortage storylines as our fictional members navigate the first step in considering a formal complaint. Not sure where we are in the story? Click here!

Scooping sellers

Imagine your Syed’s broker, Sadie, and he’s just called you about the card his sellers received from another REALTOR^®, Trey. Syed’s upset that all his hard work with the client could be set back because Trey’s making it sound like Syed couldn’t get the property sold. Where do you begin to try and help Syed with the issue?

Here are some tips on how to manage the conversation with Syed.

Try to understand the whole situation and why it might have happened.

Clarify what the issue is about… is Syed upset because his image could be tarnished, or is he nervous that he’ll lose the clients to Trey because of that card?

Explore what Syed hopes for… an apology, compensation, or reprimand?

Develop the following steps to try to resolve the issue: does Syed want to resolve the issue with Trey, or maybe, as his broker, you should have a conversation with Trey’s broker?

Syed decides he wants Trey to apologize to his sellers, and what Trey did wasn’t professional, and he wants to file a complaint; Trey shouldn’t think he can keep doing this to other people and make it all go away with an apology.

Broker to Broker resolution

With this information in hand, you and Syed decide it’s up to you to reach out to Trey’s broker, Aron, to bring the matter to his attention. When you call Aron, you:

• Ask about Trey’s side of the story.
• Explain Syed would like an apology sent to him so he can deliver it to his clients.
• Share that Syed is considering filing a complaint.

Supervision shortage

Marren, the listing agent, has met with her Broker, Evelynn, about how her seller found the inspector alone in her home without her permission. Marren shares her client’s disappointment with Ryerson, the buyer’s agent, but wants to learn more about what happened. Following a conversation between Evelynn and Ryerson’s Broker, it seems that Ryerson wasn’t aware of the inspector being left alone but admits to asking his assistant to help with that appointment. Marren and her seller feel that Ryerson handing off access to his assistant was inappropriate and that Ryerson took a shortcut in not keeping Marren in the loop, he just made alternate arrangements.

Broker to Broker resolution

Evelynn and Marren discussed what a resolution might look like, and Marren said that an apology isn’t going to do much, and she wants him to understand the seriousness of why he did it and the impact it’s had on the seller. Evelynn reached out to Ryerson’s broker and shared the concerns, and although the brokerage offered to send flowers and an apology to the seller, Marren thinks more needs to be done. Evelynn advises Ryerson’s broker that they’re going to file a complaint.

Formal complaints

CREB^® is the only organization with jurisdiction to investigate, hear and decide whether a member has breached the CREB^® Rules (including the provincially harmonized rules) or the REALTOR^® Code. Our administrative justice program has been serving our members for over 25 years to support associates and brokers who encounter instances where they believe a rule or regulation has been broken. Before a complaint can be filed with us, Brokers need to try and resolve the issue. But what does that mean?

• Brokers should contact each other when an issue arises. This helps bring awareness to an issue so that both brokers can navigate it with their associates.
• Be open to hearing about the other side of the story. It’s important to understand different perspectives.
• Consider what ‘resolution’ looks like and communicate the expectations to the other broker.

We recognize that some issues don’t have a resolution and that the behaviour is not aligned with professional standards and should be reviewed by CREB®’s Professional Standards Assurance Team. In these cases, call the other broker to let them know about the issue and give them a chance to provide their associate’s explanation to meet the needs of attempting to resolve the issue.

Brokers need to communicate in good faith- don’t dodge calls from other Brokers trying to sort out an issue.

Brokers should also recognize that they all walk a fine line of supporting their agents even when their Associate’s conduct might have been offside- give the other broker a chance to connect with their agent to mentor best practices.

In both scenarios, the brokers have done their duty to try and resolve the issue. However, their associates still want to file a complaint. So, what’s the next step? Take a look through the CREB®Link Dispute Resolution page and see if you can anticipate what the Brokers should do next. We’ll check back in with our fictional Scooping Sellers and Supervision Shortage issues next week and learn what our members did.