A buyer tells their Ontario salesperson that the seller is facing foreclosure and must sell quickly. How should the salesperson handle this information?
Correct Answer
A) Use it, on the buyer's instructions, to negotiate a better price
The information came from the salesperson's own client, and Code of Ethics s. 8 requires the salesperson to promote and protect that client's best interests. The buyer's representative owes the seller no confidentiality, so the salesperson may use the information, as the buyer directs, to negotiate for the buyer. Passing what the buyer said to the listing side could breach s. 12 if the buyer shared it in confidence.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Using the information on the buyer's instructions is correct because the buyer is the salesperson's client and Code s. 8 requires the salesperson to promote and protect the buyer's best interests. The seller has no claim to the buyer's representative's loyalty, and nothing in the Code forbids using a seller's urgency, learned lawfully, to negotiate a better price for the buyer.
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