From Listing Presentation to Post-Closing: Let the Code Be Your Guide

For listing agents, the transaction begins long before the sign goes in the yard.

There is the first conversation with the seller, the listing presentation, the agreement, marketing decisions, negotiations, inspections, closing—and the responsibilities that continue after the transaction is complete.

NAR’s “The Code of Ethics is Good Business” resource organizes the relevant Standards of Practice around each of these stages, making the Code easier to apply to the work listing agents are actually doing every day.

Start Before You Have a Listing

The listing-agent checklist begins with Pre-Listing.

That’s an important reminder: ethical practice doesn’t begin when you have a signed listing agreement. The professional relationship and the decisions surrounding it can raise ethical considerations from the very beginning.

The checklist then moves into Listing Presentation/Agreement, where the agent continues building the relationship and taking the listing.

Then Comes the Public-Facing Work

Marketing your listing brings another set of ethical considerations into focus.

This is where accuracy, professionalism, representation and other responsibilities intersect with the day-to-day work of promoting a property.

From there, the checklist follows the transaction into Contract Negotiation, Financing/Inspections, Pre-Closing/Closing/Possession, and Post-Closing.

It’s a much more intuitive way to use the Code.

Instead of thinking: “Which Article is this?”

you can begin with: “Where am I in the transaction?”

Then find the relevant section.

Make it Part of Your Process

Here’s a simple challenge:

Pick one upcoming transaction and use the NAR checklist as a companion to your transaction file.

At each major milestone, pause and review the applicable section.

You’re not trying to turn every transaction into a compliance exercise. You’re building the habit of connecting ethical principles with everyday professional decisions.

And that’s really the value of this resource.

The Code of Ethics isn’t just a document to study every few years. It’s a professional standard that can help guide how we communicate, represent clients, market properties, negotiate, cooperate and complete transactions.

NAR’s chronological approach makes that connection easier to see—and easier to use.

Keep the resource handy. Your next transaction may give you a reason to use it.

Explore NAR’s “The Code of Ethics is Good Business” resource here .