REBNY requires brokers to disclose family ties

Garfinkel

Ethical real estate brokers who are members of the Real Estate board of New York (REBNY) have a requirement that is not in New York State law, notes Neil B. Garfinkel, the organization’s residential counsel.

If representing a member of her/his immediate family, according to REBNY’s Code of Ethics and Professional Practices, a broker must disclose that relationship in writing to other parties to a transaction.

Although the state doesn’t require that disclosure,

Agents reveal the qualities to seek in your broker

The National Association of Realtors (NAR), a membership organization of brokers and agents that has little presence here, wants you to know how to select the right person to sell your home or represent you as a buyer.

On its Web site, the NAR headlines its advice with the hardly surprising admonition to “Hire a Real Estate Agent with the Power to Succeed.”  Undermining its credibility, the organization then predictably continues:

It’s the best time to buy a home in years, but the worst time to move without a professional on the payroll.

Despite its unsurprising beginning, which I suspect rarely changes, the site does, in fact, go on to provide some useful counsel from agents themselves, to wit: