Organized Real Estate was originally established to create an environment of cooperation between brokerages so that the listings of one brokerage are shared with all others that participate, creating more opportunity for sellers to engage buyers. Though the listings are no longer shared by way of a printed catalogue, the spirit of cooperation endures today.
There are extensions of this cooperative environment such as the Pledge of Cooperation. This is an agreement signed by all real estate Boards and Associations in BC, which outlines that REALTORS® (i.e. members of a real estate board or association) can list properties in any jurisdiction and have access to MLS® data in all jurisdictions.
One thing to remember is that the underlying intent of the spirit of cooperation is that no one brokerage or Realtor® may receive benefit from the cooperation without reciprocating contribution. An example of this would be the cancelation of a listing rather than processing the sale in order to withhold the sales data. A member cannot leverage the benefits of the MLS® System to sell the property and then not reciprocate that information for the benefit of the whole. The spirit of cooperation prevails.
Trevor Koot
Executive Officer
Kootenay Association of REALTORS®
and Kamloops and District Real Estate Association
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