Oh, I see. When you say "Code of Ethics" though, do you mean National Assocation of Realtors COE or like a State law COE?

Contract interference (eg. inducing someone to intentionally breach their contract) is a civil matter for agents and non-agents alike.

However, if you're an agent you also have to live up with the standards of your board/association/commission, etc. Which is where the loss of licensing comes in.

A friend of mine nearly lost his license because of a direct mail campaign which stated that the seller would not have to pay any commission if they sold their house directly to him. It's things like that which have stopped me from getting my license.

Was your friend soliciting listed properties with this direct mail campaign???

If so he was interferring with the listing contract between the sellers and their brokerage firm as well as violating several sections of the Realtor Code of Ethics.

If the property was not listed for sale with anyone I don't see any problem with this type of solicitiation.

Jim, sorry I confused the issue with that comment, let me clarify. He was not soliciting listed properties and the accusation wasn't for contract interference.

It was for harming the reputation of other agents (I'm not sure about the exact terminology). The claim was that by saying that you could sell to him without paying a commission, somehow that implied that other agents are harming sellers by charging a commission. It was several years ago so I apologize if my explanation is a little vague.

In the end he had to agree not to advertise to buy direct from sellers for his own portfolio altogether. I think he eventually got around it by buying in his non-licensed corporation's name.