Reputation is the main asset

Reputation is the main asset

A real estate agency has no factory and no warehouse. All we have is the trust of clients, owners, developers and other agencies in the market. The agency's reputation is the sum of each broker's reputation: a client doesn't separate “the company” from the person who calls them.

One complaint travels faster than ten good deals. A happy client tells a couple of friends. An upset one writes a review on the portal, on social media and in their building's group chat. Rebuilding trust takes months.

What we mean by ethics

Ethics here isn't abstract morality — it's a set of simple working rules. They answer the questions a broker faces every day:

• what you can and can't promise a client;
• whose leads they are and how commission is shared;
• whether you can accept a gift from a developer;
• where a client's passport is kept;
• what you can post on your personal Instagram;
• what to do if a colleague is breaking the rules.

How to use this module

Each lesson covers one topic and real situations from the agency's work. The rules are the same in every market we work in and for every role, from a new broker to a team lead.

If a rule feels inconvenient, use a simple test: could you calmly explain your decision to the client, your team lead and your colleagues? If you would have to hide something to do that, the decision is probably wrong.

In short

• The agency's reputation is the sum of its brokers' reputations.
• One complaint weighs more than ten good deals.
• Ethics means working rules, not wishes.
• In doubt? Ask your team lead before you act.

Below is the agency's code of ethics template. It puts every rule from this module on one page.