AboutTodd C. Menard Expertise National Association of Realtors Code of Ethics and Professional Standards
* Contract Questions: 05/05 Arizona Real Estate Purchase Contract, Exclusive Buyer Broker Contracts, Listing Contracts and associated contract documentation as it relates to boilerplate, covenants, contingencies, procedures and procedures.
* ARMLS Arizona Regional Multiple Listing questions
* Real Estate Professional Standards and Practices, Ethics, Obligations, Duties
* Agency relationships in Arizona, Procurring Cause
* Questions typicaly arising during the listing period
* Questions typically arising during the escrow period
* Questions about working with a real estate agent v. REALTOR
* Questions Related to New Home Builders
Experience Arizona Real Estate Salesperson License (1991-1995),
Arizona Real Estate Brokers License (1995-Present),
Arizona Association of REALTORS Board of Directors (2008-Present),
Arizona Association of REALTORS Professional Standards Committee (2008-Present),
AAR Certified NAR Code of Ethics and Professional Standards Instructor,
Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS Board of Directors (2008, 2009),
Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS Grievance Committee Chairperson (1998-2007),
Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS Bylaws Committee (2008-Present),
Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS Education Committee (2008),
Arizona Association of REALTORS Forms Committee - Residential Purchase Contract (2005),
Arizona Association of REALTORS Forms Committee - Residential Rental Agreement (2008),
Arizona Association of REALTORS Forms Committee - Buyer Broker Agreement (2009),
Arizona Association of REALTORS Presidents Advisory Group, Road to Professionalism (2009),
Arizona Association of REALTORS GRI Curriculum Review Committee (2009),
Organizations National Association of REALTORS,
Arizona Association of REALTORS,
Arizona Regional Multiple Listing System (ARMLS),
American Notary Association,
Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS (SEVRAR),
Phoenix Association of REALTORS (1994-2000, 2005-2009),
Scottsdale Association of REALTORS (1994-2000, 2005-2009),
Maricopa/Glendale Association of REALTORS (1994-2000, 2005-2009),
Publications "Real Estate in 2008"- Lifebushido Publishing (Contributory Author), SEVRAR Magazine,
Internet Crusade, RealTown ListServe, Blogger.com, Active Rain
Education/Credentials - AAR Certified Ethics and Professional Standards Instructor, Graduate REALTOR Institute (1993), Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE), Over 100 Hours of annual real estate continuing education, Annual Ethics and Professional Standards Development Workshops as required by the National Association of REALTORS, Approx. 72 hours of NAR Code of Ethics training annually, Numerous IDW, Seminars and Train the Trainer programs, Business Management Degree - 1981
Awards and Honors 2009 REALTOR of the Year Award, Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS (10,000+ Members),
Double Platinum Production Award ($45,000,000 Sales Volume)- Keller Williams Realty Int'l (2001),
Top 15 Sales Production Keller Williams Realty International (2001),
Top 5 Sales Producation Keller Williams Realty Southwest Region (2001),
Top Recruiter Award - Keller Williams Realty Int'l, SW Region (2002),
Who's Who in U.S. Executive (1983),
Who's Who in U.S. Real Estate Professionals (2007)
Question My fiance and I are in the process of buying a home. 8 days ago the seller accepted our offer and we put earnest money down. 3 days after we put our money down the seller informs us 40 mins before they are going to hold an estate sale on the property. When we put an offer on the house the listing agent told our agent that the estate sale would be an auction held off site, that did not end up being the case. The seller opened the house to the public, and over the course of 5 days several hundered people tracked through the home. Neither our agent (buyer agent w/signed agreement), or the listing agent seem to understand why this upset us. The house is no longer in the condition it was when we bid on it, it is dirty, and the carpet (which was on its last legs) will now have to be replaced immediately due to soil trails. We are incredibly upset at the fact that the sellers felt they could do this during our inspection phase without our permission. We lost 50% of our inspection phase due to this sale, as we were not given access to the premsis because of said sale. I am wondering what sort of recourse we may have against the sellers and both agents for not stopping something like this when we were told the sale would be off site.
Answer Hello Ally - First, what is it you are trying to accomplish? Condition of the premises, more inspection time, to cancel, or to educate the agents? I am going to initially imagine you are concerned about condition of the premises. If you are in AZ then the contract indicates a "seller warranty" which basically states that the seller is required to maintain the premises such that at the earlier of the date of possession or close of escrow the property must be in the same condition as of the date the contract was entered into. If you are not in AZ then check your contract to see if similar terms exist. In the latter case I would imagine it would be 'reasonable and prudent' to imagine the seller will return the premises to the condition it was at at the time of contract... my reasoning is what happened if the A/C compressor failed during the escrow period... who repairs that? the seller! Now, if you want more inspection time, I would recommend you "instruct" your buyer's agent to request an extension of the 'inspection period' if in fact the estate sale interfered with your ability to conduct your desired inspections (if your in AZ hopefully you have not signed the buyers inspections seller response form yet - if you have submitted it to the sellers there is little negotiation available to you beyond this point with regard to the inspection period) Your agent should have known better if you communicated to them that you are unhappy with the availability of the premises for inspection. Now lets look at educating the agents, or gaining knowledge about how your agent should represent you so you can hold them accountable to performing in your best interest at all times... The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) Code of Ethics (Article 1) states that the REALTOR must always keep their clients best interests in all their efforts. If you believe the REALTOR did not do this then go to realtor.com and read the code of ethics, specifically under the section "Duties to Clients and Customers" Articles 1-9. This will allow you to better understand whether your agent performed according to the duties set forth as a member of the NAR. This will provide you with ammunition when you talk to your agent, and let your agent know that you know about the code and their obligations to you. Finally, like all negotiations you have to first decide what you want to accomplish, and then how you plan to achieve that objective. The best way is to make certain you maintain an open communication line. You may not always get exactly what you want but you should feel the transaction was fair and be satisfied in the end. Please remember this is not to be considered legal advice as I am not an attorney. Rather this is to be considered real estate advice that any professional REALTOR should be capable of providing. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to reply. I hope this helps. - Todd
