Is It Ethical to Pay a Higher Commission?

Question Man... "Our listing agent suggests we offer 'special incentives' such as a monetary bonus and/or a vacation to the buyer's agent who sells our house. Is this ethical? It seems like blackmail to me, as we already signed a listing contract."

That reader's question got me smiling as I read Bob Buss' column in Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle (Oct 1, 2006). Oh yeah, it's ethical! It happens all the time in commercial real estate.

But what if you thought that your agent really was doing something unethical or illegal? What would you do? Would you worry about retaliation? Whom would you contact?

Many companies publish a Code of Ethics or Statement of Values on their web site. And almost everybody has a "Contact Us" link that leads to an e-mail address or form. In theory, this provides a minimum level of accountability.

But only one company, CB Richard Ellis, makes it clear and easy to report an ethics violation. From CB's home page, click Investor Relations (top middle) / Corporate Governance (left-hand nav bar) / CBRE Ethics HelpLine (bottom right). Or click here.

EthicsPoint, an independent company, operates CB's service 24/7. You can file a report either by phone or e-mail. You can choose to be anonymous. You will be assigned a unique "report key" and password to enable further follow-up or questions, and your report is then forwarded to CBRE’s Chief Compliance Officer. Cool.

Have I missed another firm? Do you make it easy to report an ethics violation? How?

-- Peter Pike