Onlin

e Resou

rcesThe follow

ing list of online resources can assist you in

the home buying and selling process:

•w

ww

.RE

ALTO

R.com

– The world’s largest

database of homes for sale. S

earch online for

homes in your area and select the R

eal Estate

101 sectionunder H

omebuying Tools to learn

more about the hom

e buying and selling process.

•w

ww

.RE

ALTO

R.org

– Select the H

ome B

uyers

and Sellers section for com

plete information on

the home buying and selling process.A

lso

locate additional information on the N

ATION

AL

AS

SO

CIATIO

N O

F RE

ALTO

RS

®, the RE

ALTO

R®

Code of E

thics and designation programs.

RE

ALTO

RS

®provide you w

ith invaluableservices w

hen buying or selling a home.

Make the right choice

—w

ork with a R

EA

LTOR

®.

Sellers

RE

ALTO

RS

®provide sellers invaluable services, and there

are many reasons to w

ork with one.

A R

EA

LTOR

®:

•C

an give you up-to-date information about the m

arket,

prices, financing, terms and conditions of com

peting

properties.

•W

ill market your property to other real estate agents

and to the public.

•W

ill know w

hen, where and how

to best market

your property.

•C

an help you objectively evaluate every buyer’s proposal

without com

promising your m

arketing position.

•C

an help close the sale of your home.

Buyers

RE

ALTO

RS

®provide critical assistance w

ith the home

buying process.A

RE

ALTO

R®:

•H

as many resources to assist you in your hom

e search.

•C

an provide objective information about each property.

•C

an help you negotiate.

•C

an help you determine your buying pow

er.

•P

rovides guidance during the evaluation of the property.

•C

an guide you through the closing process and make

sure everything flows together sm

oothly.

For more inform

ation on NA

R’s suite of products

designed to educate real estate professionals and their

clients about relevant legal, ethical, environmental,

research and marketing topics, contact us:

Online: w

ww

.RE

ALTO

R.org/store

1-800-874-6500, select option “1”

©2010 N

ATION

AL ASSOC

IATION

OF R

EALTOR

S®. A

ll rights reserved. Item #135-30

A R

EA

LTOR

BE

NE

FITS®

Publication

(01/10 BFC

)

Buying or selling a home?

It pays to work w

ith a REALTO

R®.

Only real estate professionals w

ho are mem

bers of the

NATIO

NA

L AS

SO

CIATIO

N O

F RE

ALTO

RS

®(N

AR

) can call

themselves R

EA

LTOR

S®. A

ll RE

ALTO

RS

®adhere to N

AR

’s

strict Code of Ethics, w

hich is based on professionalism and

protection of the public. That’s why all real estate licensees

are NO

T the same.

Dedicated to serving A

merica’s property ow

ners at both

local and national levels, the NATIO

NAL ASSO

CIATIO

N O

F

REA

LTOR

S®, The Voice for R

eal Estate

®,is the largest

professional association at over one million

mem

bers strong.

So, w

hether you’re buying or selling a home

—it pays

to work w

ith a RE

ALTO

R®.

Look for the RE

ALTO

R®

logo

when choosing your real estate agent.

What is a

RE

ALT

OR

®and w

hy

shou

ld I u

se one?

What D

o Recent H

ome B

uyers andS

ellers Say A

bout RE

ALT

OR

S®?

The2009 N

AR

Profile of H

ome B

uyers and Sellers

provides

research results on the experiences home buyers and sellers

had when purchasing or selling their hom

e. The majority

of the respondents used a RE

ALTO

R®

(a mem

ber of the

NATIO

NA

L AS

SO

CIATIO

N O

F RE

ALTO

RS

®). Here’s w

hat

they had to say:

Hom

e Sellers

•S

ellers reported that an agent’s reputation was the

most im

portant factor in their selection process.

•N

early three-fifths of sellers report that they would

“definitely” use the same real estate agent again.

•The top four hom

e seller expectations of real estate

agents are: 1) price my hom

e competitively (22%

);

2) find a buyer for my hom

e (21%);

3) sell my hom

e within

a specific timefram

e (19%);

4) help market m

y home to a potential buyer (19%

).

Hom

e Buyers

•88%

of buyers would probably or definitely use

their real estate agent again.

•The benefit m

ost buyers say they receive from their

agent is help understanding the process.

•88%

of buyers were very satisfied w

ith

their agent’s knowledge of the purchase process.

•77%

of home buyers used a

real estateagent and/or broker to com

plete

their transaction.

The C

ode of E

thics:

A C

omm

itment to the P

ublicThe C

ode of Ethics of the N

ATION

AL A

SS

OC

IATION

OF

REA

LTOR

S®

is the promise to the public that w

hen dealing

with a real estate agent that is a R

EA

LTOR

®,they can

expect honest and ethical treatment in all transaction-

related matters. O

nly RE

ALTO

RS

®pledge to abide by the

Association’s C

ode ofE

thics and onlyR

EA

LTOR

S®are

held accountable for their ethical behavior.

Som

e of the basic principles of the Code of Ethics include:

•P

rotect and promote your client’s interests,

but be honest with all parties.

•A

void exaggeration, misrepresentation, and

concealment of pertinent facts. D

o not reveal

facts that are confidential under the scope of

your agency relationship.

•D

isclose present or contemplated interest in any

property to all parties.

•A

void side deals without your client’s inform

ed

consent.

•A

ccept compensation from

only one party, except

with full disclosure and inform

ed consent.

•K

eep the funds of clients and customers in escrow

.

•A

ssure, whenever possible, that transactional details

are in writing

.

•P

rovide equal service to all clients and customers.

•B

e knowledgeable and com

petent in the fields of

practice in which you ordinarily engage. O

btain

assistance or disclose lack of experience if

necessary.

•D

o not engage in the unauthorized practice of law.

RE

ALT

OR

®D

esignations—

The M

ark of Expertise and S

erviceThe N

ATION

AL A

SS

OC

IATION

OF R

EA

LTOR

S®

has a variety of affiliates that provide designations acknow

ledgingexperience and expertise in various real estate sectors.

NA

Ralso offers designations and certification program

s to its m

embers, including:

AB

R®

– REB

AC

(Real Estate B

UY

ER’S

A

GE

NT C

ouncil)awards the A

BR

®(A

ccredited Buyer

Representative) designation to R

EA

LTOR

S®

who m

eeteducation and experience

requirements to better prepare

them to represent buyers.C

IPS

– Focused specifically in aspects “international,”these R

EA

LTOR

S®

have a familiarity w

ith assisting foreigninvestors, helping local buyers invests abroad, or servingan im

migrant buyer locally; designees are the best

resource in international real estate.G

RI– A

RE

ALTO

R®

with the G

raduate RE

ALTO

R®

Institute (GR

I) designation is trained in many areas, including

legal and regulatory issues, professional standards, the salesprocess and technology.

A m

inimum

of 90 hours of training is required to achieve the G

RI designation.

e-PR

O®

– e-PR

O®

certification indicates that a

RE

ALTO

R®

has been trained on Internet business principlesand the technologies required throughout the real estatetransaction.

SR

ES

®– S

eniors Real E

state Sp

ecialists. When

looking for a real estate professional that w

ill respond

to your sp

ecific, 50+ real estate need

s, look for a Seniors

Real E

state Designee.

GR

EE

N– N

AR

’s Green D

esignation. You have m

ade the com

mitm

ent to environmental consciousness;

choose a RE

ALTO

R®

who und

erstands and

shares your green real estate goals. C

hoose an NA

R G

reenD

esignee.

To access information on the fam

ily of REALTO

R®

designationsand certifications, visit: w

ww

.REALTO

R.org/edm

atrix