Developing Ethical Realtors in a Hot Market

The Real Estate Association of Sarasota and Manatee

By William Bradford Nichols

June 2021—The Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, or RASM, is among the largest realtor trade organizations. It ranks 7th largest in Florida and 46th largest in the country. RASM boasts over 7,500 realtor members and more than 500 affiliated members and business partners. 

The organization was formed in 2015 when the Sarasota Realtor Association and the Manatee Realtor Association merged. Each of these associations had existed for over 100 years prior to the merger, according to Jeff Arakelian, RASM CEO. 

Arakelian says the organization provides continuing education and professional development for real estate professionals, networking, industry advocacy, and basic tools of the trade. For example, RASM is affiliated with the Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, the core tool realtors use to market and search for properties for their clients. RASM even provides the lock boxes found on the doors of homes available for client viewing. 

“I do not think that I would even be in this business . . . if it had not been for the education that I’ve gotten through RASM.”

Alex Krumm

“Think about how often you buy or sell a home,” Arakelian says. Both parties in these transactions benefit from working with a trained professional.  “We want all our realtors to be experts. Experts that you would trust like you trust your doctor.”

According to Alex Krumm, 2021 volunteer president of RASM, it is the Code of Ethics that sets RASM’s real estate professionals apart from traditional salespeople. “For us,” Krumm said, “this is something bigger than just closing a transaction or making a sale. We want to make sure that we’re doing the right thing for our clients.” 

The first code of ethics was established and adopted by the National Association of Realtors back in 1913 and all of the affiliated state and local organizations were required to adopt it. Not only that, but they were also required to enforce that code of ethics just as RASM enforces it today. 

RASM enforces the Realtor Code of Ethics in multiple ways. First, they promote ethical practices by providing training on a regular basis. Furthermore, if there is a problem with a transaction, they have processes to address them. Whether the dispute is between two members, multiple members, or even between a member and a client, RASM uses the Code of Ethics to resolve them. 

The Realtor Trademark symbol shows that the real estate professional you are working with adheres to this code of ethics. Krumm and Arakelian both agree that the code of ethics helps create a level playing field among realtors. 

According to Krumm, RASM allows the brand-new realtor to have the same general opportunities as somebody who has been in the business and has been working for the biggest company. It allows the consumer to pick and choose who they want to work with based on the real estate professional’s reputation and not just because they are the only choice available. 

What’s more, RASM also advocates, not just for real estate professionals and brokers, but for consumers too—sellers and buyers. A local government affairs director on staff monitors developments in Sarasota and Manatee County. “We’re very active with local politics and making sure that we’re protecting private property rights,” says Krumm. “And we’ve been able to accomplish a lot over the years.” 

Krumm recalls a couple of years ago when the Anna Maria Island city council was getting ready to pass regulations would have prevented vacation use on the island. Airbnb and short-term rentals would have been banned completely, because some of the residents did not like the way that some vacationers treated their neighbors’ properties. They felt that it was detrimental to the island. “But the problem is,” Krumm stated, “that there are a lot of owners on the island who had purchased the properties and were within their rights to use them as vacation rentals, if that’s what they wanted to do.” 

RASM members contacted all the members of the city council to let them know that they, many of their clients, and others in the community opposed such a motion. “We brought it to light and, very quickly, the council changed their minds about what they wanted to do.” According to Krumm, this is just one of the many ways in which RASM serves both the profession and the community.

Beyond the professional benefits, Arakelian and Krumm both say that one of the best benefits of RASM is the camaraderie that it fosters. Even though RASM’s members are essentially competitors, many become friends through the association and sometimes become partners in the business.

Krumm says, “I have been able to develop significant relationships, including many of the realtors who work for me currently at my company.” A significant portion of the realtors who work for him at his brokerage, NextHome Excellence in Sarasota, came to him because of work they did together at the association. RASM has also been his primary source of continuing education for him and many of his employees throughout their careers. “I do not think that I would even be in this business, much less successful in this business, if it had not been for the education that I’ve gotten through RASM.”

Arakelian feels that RASM’s true benefit is to the client. “Right now, we are in a super, super hot real estate market,” he says. “And whether you are on the selling side, or the buying side, working with a trained, educated, and ethical realtor is your best opportunity to maximize whatever it is that you are trying to accomplish.”

For more information visit myrasm.com.