The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-11-25
REA[TY BOARD TS FREELY DISCUSSED
s. c. Starke Outlines Pur- poses Under Which Organ
 ization Operates

7 there are still some of us who go at lt blindly when it comes to buying or selling real estate and believe that we can save a commission by not dealing through realtor.
 This, too, although it is evident mat 1t is d realtors business to know values of real estate, to be conversant with khe legal documents involved in the transfer of real property, to be reasonably posted on uefects in titles, to undersell the pro ~ 1at1ng of taxes. insurance and rents -,s ~hetWeen buyer and seller. and to be funilar with the details of record ing and property affixing revenue stamps. Moreover, it is a realtors business, on the less technical side, to have on hand, as it were, a stock -., of goods to sell consisting of an as- sortment to meet all ordinary de- manGs for business property, resi- dcnce property, and vacant lots, and further to have list of prospective buyers of real estate, with more or less detailed information as to the character of property that pleases them and the sorts of terms they can meet.
 Does all of this appear to describe "@an ideal specialist for the public to deal with wheE they are interested ir buying or selling property? Tar from it-the most important item has yet to be mentioned. A realtor s.g Is a member of a real estate board, r-r, which in turn is a member of the Ma 'Ssr tional Association of Real Estate Boards comprising 475 local boards .a.. in the United States and Canada, ,~vs W fth a total enrolllment last April of 'A~'1 504 active members This means that these men are not only morally bound by the high code of ethics of their local organization, but by the code of the National Association Of Real Estate Boards.
 Few Citations.
 A few citations of mere headings of paragraphs in the national code are interesting. such as: Follow the ~- Golden Rule;" "Fraudulent Misrepre- sentations Should Be Reported;' Agent (realtor) Should 1ntelligentlN Advise Owner" Acceptance Of Agency a Guarantee of Good Serv ice" Do Not Give Advice to Clients Unless Qualified:" Duty to owner Can Never Justify Misleading the Customer" and many others. In short a realtor is thus described in the as sociations constitution: "A real estate man who is an active member of member board of the National Asso- citation of Real Estate Boards, and s such an affiliated member of the ma tional association, who is subject to it's rules and regulations, who ob-
 
 entitled to it's benefits" Quoting further from the national associa- ton: "'The name (resltor) is a pledge and it's authorized use by real estate dealers is a guarantee of integrity and efficient service" But this Is not all
 The national association is not content ith a program for the pres- ent only. While it is doing ali it can to create in the public mind the idea that a realtor is specialist in real estate. operating under a high code of ethics, it is also doing much toward stahlishng cla ssess in real estate for the trainingof young men who wish to enter this field. thus laying the predicate for real estate college courses, and ultimately real estate degrees. Following the lead of the national association in this e1uca tional program. the Birmng- ham Real Estate board has co-ope rated with the local Y. M. C. A. au- thorities and we now have here q night school devoted to real estate. Thus We see that the business of real estate buying and selling has been modernized and organized and now calls for greater efficiency on ing in this calling. The tendency is 10 make of it well-ercognzed pro- fession.
 
 Any well-posted real estate man is liable to be shocked at times to discover how unfamiliar many intel | ligent people really are with the de- tails of buying or selling property | Yet this lack of familiarity with real | etsate transactions is quite as nat ural for the public it's lack of | knowledge of technical law or med | icine. The same man who would not | venture to he his own lawyer or | doctor will sometimes show the hardi- | hood of venturing upon a real estate | deal either of buying or selling with. | out consulting a real estate specialist | in the hope of saving a commission | He maybe would not build his home | without both an archietect and a | contractor but possibly he has bought the lot on which the home is to | stand directly from the seller with | out consulting a realtor-bought di- rect. he says, and saved the commits | sion.
 Waiving the question to whether or not any commission has been really | saved, let us see what he has done. | He has bought a permanent location. | if he can stand it long, without | knowing from the standpoint of a realtor the possible future develop | ment or depreciation of the surround | ing property; he has bought without full knowledge of the market; he has | bought without even looking over the | bargain counter; and finally he has | bOuSHl IOI ht6pS lildl WHICH III [ year or so he may wish he had 1 never seen, and withal he has taken he chance of not having his own interest well protected in the numer- ous details unavoidable in properly winding up deal in real estate. But maybe he saved s100 by not consult ing realtor who might have advised him intelligently, might have saved him keen disappointment, and might |. have located him in different neigh borhOOd at better price.
 Fortunately the percentage of these | vsnturosome buyers is diminishing. | ~ And q larger and larger number of | 2 bedfale are coming to know that the | real estate business requires a spe- /, cialist. This is just what the Nation s al Association of Real Estate boards | . halls with peaure, and what the | Birmingham Neal estate board would have more and more impressed upon our home people, When man is in the market to buy | or sell real estate, let him consult a realtor