“Ethics is about not doing to others what you wouldn't want done to you. With that simple question you ask yourself, you can regulate your actions towards others.”.
SANTO DOMINGO - The lack of knowledge generated by the improvised incursion of "agents" into the real estate sector is part of the reason for the unhealthy practices that sometimes threaten the purchase and sale of properties and damage one of the main businesses in a human being's life, as represented by the acquisition of a property.
Ethics is the discipline through which people reflect on a certain course of action; more specifically, it is defined as the subject that studies human behavior and its relationship with the notions of good and evil, moral precepts, duty, happiness, and the common good.
It is a subject that Teresa Pérez de Peralta (Dona Tere) handles with great expertise, who has directed the Ethics Committee of the AEI, Association of Real Estate Agents and Companies, on several occasions and with her extensive experience analyzes the aspects related to the management of ethics in the real estate sector.
“The term ethics is valued much more in the real estate business than in any other business because the relationships are not private; they are generally between two or more equals. It is intrinsic to human beings to know how not to do in front of others, and this comes a lot from their nature, upbringing, and values in general,” explains the professor.
He understands that the correct way to start a real estate business is by getting to know it, hence his recommendation that the entry point to it be through the AEI and the courses that the entity conducts for new agents, where they are properly instructed.
"That's why I insist that those who don't know it, which is the majority, if they follow the AEI Code of Ethics, can end up recognizing where the pros and cons are of why the business is damaged along the way or at the end of it.".
Ethics, she says, is about not doing to others what you wouldn't want done to you. "With that simple question you ask yourself, you can regulate your actions. Most people enter the real estate business without much guidance, because they have nothing else to do; they have connections, they know who's buying and selling, and they start operating in a system they don't understand," the expert insists.
Doña Tere invites the agents to familiarize themselves with the AEI Code of Ethics because the document will illustrate how the real estate business begins and develops. In sections C and D, chapter one, article, the regulations state:
“The CBR (Real Estate Broker) must ensure the identity and legal capacity of his clients, as well as the correct identification, condition, characteristics, encumbrances and registration and legal status of the assets or rights, subject to his management, and is responsible for informing his clients of any apparent defects thereof and any information of which he has knowledge and which is of sufficient importance to affect the negotiation.”.
“However,” he continues, “it is not responsible for the solvency of sellers and buyers, nor for any personal defenses that may be raised by either party, nor for any hidden defects in the goods or rights in question. Nor can it offer a warranty against eviction. The CBR must properly advise its clients, for which it must have a basic understanding of the real estate brokerage profession, the laws that affect it, and the legal and physical conditions of the property it is offering, which it must have visited at least once before offering it.”.
"Where the lack of ethics is most evident," says Doña Tere, "is in the respect for agreements between the actors in the real estate business, such as recognition of the commission to be paid, use of the information given by the colleague to apply it for one's own benefit and which in most cases are not in writing, but are established in the code and should therefore be known by everyone.".
It highlights the contribution made by the AEI to the sector, which more than 20 years ago provided it with an "ethical and legal framework that governs the activities and negotiations between them", in addition to teaching the topic of the Code of Ethics in its CBR 01 so that those starting out in the real estate business know about this instrument.
“We urge the new generation of real estate agents to adopt the Code of Ethics as their guide for all actions in the business, in relation to their colleagues who will always be their partners, to their clients to preserve them forever, and in relation to other actors in this activity, which will earn them prestige in the short term and forever,” noted the secretary of the AEI Board of Directors.
