Analyze a situation involving ethics in the real estate industry. (2) Improve written communication skills.
Instructions: Read through the following situation. Stop for a moment and make a few notes about how you think you would (honestly) respond to the situation. Then watch the videos from Ethics Unwrapped (Links to an external site.) and review your notes. Analyze what you think your response would be against the ethical concepts. Finally, prepare a well-written, proof-read paper.
Situation:
You are a commercial real estate licensee. You just signed a BIG listing agreement on a piece of land outside of Weatherford. The value of the property is estimated at $1.25 million. Your commission will be 4% of the actual selling price. During your research of the property’s history, however, you learn that the property had toxic waste dumped on it…but only only 5 acres of the total 40 acre tract and it’s been about 40 years since it occurred. The seller is one of your best clients and has asked that you not mention this to potential buyers. The seller is “pretty sure” the ground is not contaminated…
You have a potential buyer interested in the land. The buyer wants to build, among other things, a business that would see a lot of children on the property (maybe a daycare or outdoor recreational area). How will you address the issue of possible toxins? Do you obey the request of the seller? Or do you warn the buyer (and possibly lose the sale)?
Review:
Watch the videos below from Ethics Unwrapped (Links to an external site.):
Write:
After considering the situation and watching the videos, answer HONESTLY about how you would handle the situation. Use the Ethics Unwrapped concepts in your paper and analyze the situation and your response through the concepts. (For example, if you would want to keep quiet about the history of the property because you are loyal to your client, you might analyze using obedience to authority.) Then consider which one of the concepts really struck you and why?
