Policies, Terms & Conditions
To view South Shore Realtors® Social Media and Forum Terms of Use and Conduct please click on the above link. When members sign in to our Membership Portal for the first time they are met with an attestation that they have read and agree to the terms in this document prior to engaging in the forums.
Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions
Protecting your privacy is important to us. To assure you of the South Shore REALTORS® commitment to protecting your privacy, the following statement discloses the information gathering and dissemination practices for the Association website. All information acquired through orders is kept confidential and will not be disclosed to third parties except as may be required by law. Personal information that can identify you, such as name and address, is collected only when voluntarily offered and solely for purposes that are clearly identified. Personal information is used to contact you when necessary and you may opt-out of receiving future mailings. If you supply your telephone number online, you may receive telephone calls with information regarding orders you have placed online, new products and services or upcoming events. If you supply your cell phone online you may receive texts identifying events you have signed up for, etc. South Shore REALTORS® has technological and operational security functions in place to protect personally identifiable information from loss, misuses, alteration or destruction. Only authorized employees have access to the data you provide and that access is limited by need. The Association website contains links to other sites. The South Shore REALTORS® is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites. Please contact us if you have any changes to the information you have supplied the South Shore REALTORS® or if you would like to be removed from the email database. This Privacy Policy may be updated or modified at any time without notice.
Refund Policies
- Refund Policy for CEU classes: A full refund will be given if the student cancels one week prior to the class start date. No-shows and late arrivals forfeit tuition.
- Refund Policy for Dues: Member dues are non-refundable and there is no provision for partial payment. No exceptions will be made.
- Refund Policy for Association Events: A full refund will be given if the member cancels no later than one week prior to the event date. Event fees are non-refundable one week before the event.
- Refund Policy for Sales and Broker Licensing Courses: A full refund will be given if the student cancels one week before the course begins. If the student cancels less than one week before the course begins, a course credit will be issued to the student. The student can use their course credit toward a future Pre-License Sales or Brokers course.
- All 40 hours must be completed before taking the exam at the testing center. Our instructors are willing to work with one missed class and will offer a single class make-up session. If additional classes are missed the student must wait for the next class offering to complete the missed hours.
Shipping Policy
Shipping Policy: USPS charges will be added to all shipped orders and are non-refundable. If you wish to make other arrangements, please contact the Association office with instructions at 781-826-5139 or info@southshorerealtors.com. Orders can be paid for and picked up, upon request, at the Association office at 48 Schoosett Street, Pembroke, MA 02359.
Assignment of Intellectual Property Rights
The Association desires to retain all intellectual property rights in all projects in which Volunteers/Staff are involved or participate in. Upon agreeing to serve, all Volunteers irrevocably assign and transfer all copyright rights, other intellectual property rights and all actions and causes of actions related to the foregoing, and all damages, profits, and other recoveries related thereto, which may be created, had been created, developed, acquired or contributed during the course of the Volunteer Appointment. Volunteers and Staff agree and acknowledge that the Association will own all intellectual property rights associated with all works created during the course of the Appointment/Employment, and Volunteers/Staff shall not challenge or take any action inconsistent with such rights.
Commitment to Free Trade and Competition
The Association does not and will not establish or maintain fixed or recommended commission rates, listing terms or services provided to principals. Commissions listing terms and services are a matter of negotiation between the principal and the principal’s agent. The Association will not interfere in such negotiations or inhibit or restrict in any way the freedom of members to negotiate their own business agreements. In order to avoid even the appearance of anticompetitive behavior or purpose, participants in all meetings called or sponsored by the Association will discuss only the legitimate business purposes of the Association as prescribed in the meeting agenda and recorded in the minutes of the meeting. The chairperson of any meeting called or sponsored by the Association shall not allow discussion of commission rates, listing terms, services other subjects that might be viewed as potentially anti-competitive and will remind those in attendance of the Association’s commitment to free trade and competition. If any one in attendance at a meeting called or sponsored by the Association persists with discussions that could give the appearance of anti-competitive behavior or purpose, the meeting shall be adjourned. The minutes of the meeting shall reflect the reason for adjournment and the incident shall be reported immediately to the Association Legal Counsel.
Antitrust Policy
Company Policies:
Members shall not discuss with any competitor individual company policies relating to competitive policies, pricing or related types of sensitive information, including (a) commission levels, fees, business expenses or other business information or policies that would allow or encourage price fixing or maintenance; (b) bidding strategies either in general or for specific properties or any other information that would allow or encourage bid rigging; (c) a firm’s competitive business decisions, including its policies regarding dealing with those firms offering different business models; (d) policies regarding the duration or types of listing agreements the firm will enter into or the form of compensation the firm will accept or negotiate; (e) the compensation offered or paid to a firm’s agents or employees; (f) plans concerning any proposed or existing customers, clients or territories; (g) any other actions that might be construed as concerted attempts to restrain competition, including joint attempts to control or affect prices, market conditions, marketing practices, customer choice, or the like.
REALTOR® Association Membership:
Membership in South Shore REALTORS® is open to any individual or entity meeting the membership qualifications set forth in the bylaws of the association, without regard to the type of business models employed by its company. No member shall urge on the leadership or membership of South Shore REALTORS® membership or of any local association or on any competitor that membership in any REALTOR® association be limited to companies practicing particular business models, or that membership be denied to companies or members practicing business models with which the member is in competition or with which the member is unfamiliar or uncomfortable. Members shall take no action to influence the business conduct of customers or other members towards such competitors.
Conduct of Meetings:
All Association meetings will be conducted in full compliance with antitrust laws. Discussion of any topic suggestive of an intent or agreement to restrict competition or fix prices shall be improper. Among such topics and discussions are:
- Discussions of individual company policies and practices;
- Criticism of another company’s practices or of any particular business model; and
- Suggestions that a local association or multiple listing service exclude from membership or participation those who practice any particular business model or engage in any unfamiliar or innovative activity or practice. Despite the fact that staff are well versed in antitrust matters, the presence of staff at a meeting should not invite discussion of matters that violate the letter or spirit of this policy or the antitrust laws. It is the responsibility of each member in the first instance to avoid raising improper subjects for discussion. However, if discussion of any inappropriate topics occurs at any meeting, all members present should openly disassociate themselves from such discussions, and if the discussions do not end immediately, the meeting should be brought to a prompt adjournment by the person in charge of the conduct of the meeting. Committee chairs and others conducting meetings will find that adherence to prepared agendas for all meetings will reduce the likelihood of inappropriate discussions.
Informal Settings:
Members should also be aware that informal or social settings are inappropriate for discussion of the topics described in this policy, and that casual comments – even those made in jest – might have serious antitrust implications.
Enforcement Policy:
This policy statement has been prepared to assure that Association members, and especially volunteers and participants in South Shore REALTORS® and other REALTOR® association meetings, are aware of their obligations under antitrust law. Consequently, members conducting or participating in meetings of any REALTOR® association shall see to the strict enforcement of this policy. Volunteers and participants may be required, as a condition of participation on Association committees, work groups, task forces, leadership groups, governing bodies or other groups affiliated with South Shore REALTORS®, to execute a copy of this policy to affirm their acceptance of its principles and agreement to comply with its terms. Members with questions about antitrust issues should contact MAR counsel (via MAR’s Legal Hotline) or seek other competent advice in all cases involving specific situations as they arise, when in need of guidance.
Equal Opportunity
The Association supports equal opportunity in housing and is dedicated to fulfilling the requirements of the fair housing laws.