We Take Pride in Our Code of Conduct
As an independent (non-NAR) brokerage with unique products and services, we’ve developed our OWN code of conduct. This code serves as an improvement and modernization upon common industry practices, matched to our exacting values. Each of our real estate agents agrees to and signs this code, and we’re happy to share it with you, too!
NBBR exists to represent buyers & sellers — especially buyers purchasing new construction — with a level of loyalty and transparency the traditional builder-sales model doesn’t provide. Every associate who joins NBBR agrees to hold to standards that often exceed what Florida law requires, not because a trade association tells us to, but because our clients trade real money and real trust for our advice.
We built this Code ourselves. NBBR and its associates are not members of the National Association of REALTORS® or Florida Realtors, and no one affiliated with NBBR may use the term “REALTOR®” or claim to be bound by NAR’s Code of Ethics. But we didn’t start from nothing: this Code borrows the structure and much of the spirit of NAR’s Code of Ethics and Florida Realtors’ Pathways to Professionalism, because a century of refinement produced genuinely good standards. We adapted them, added our own, and wrote them in plain English so a client — not just an agent — can read this document and know exactly what to expect from us.
Four commitments run through everything below: undivided loyalty to the one client we represent in a transaction, radical transparency about money and relationships, fair housing as a first principle rather than a compliance checkbox, and strict protection of client financial and personal information.
NBBR is licensed and regulated by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) under Chapter 475, Florida Statutes, and Florida Administrative Code 61J2 — the same law that governs every Florida broker and sales associate, whether or not they hold REALTOR® membership. That law sets the legal floor for how we handle brokerage relationships, disclosure, escrowed funds, and licensee duties. Nothing in this Code lowers that floor; where this Code and Florida law overlap, Florida law controls, and nothing here narrows a right a client already has under it.
NBBR participates in Stellar MLS as a Thompson-participating broker — a status that traces to Thompson v. Metropolitan Multi-List, Inc., 934 F.2d 1566 (11th Cir. 1991), which held that a broker can pay for and use an MLS without being compelled to join the local Realtor board or NAR. That means NBBR and its associates list and search Stellar MLS like any other participant, but we hold no REALTOR® membership, are not signatories to NAR’s Code of Ethics or bound by its arbitration process, and do not have access to member-only conveniences such as NAR’s electronic lockbox network — which is one reason our associates arrange showings directly and communicate proactively with listing agents. This Code is how NBBR holds itself to an equivalent, and in places higher, standard without that membership.
No associate may describe themselves as a “REALTOR®,” imply NAR or Florida Realtors membership, or represent that NBBR follows NAR’s Code of Ethics. We follow our own Code, described below.
Every NBBR associate, on every transaction, owes the client they represent — or the customer they’re assisting under Florida’s transaction-broker default — the following, regardless of what the legal minimum requires:
- Honesty in every communication. We do not misrepresent facts about a property, a transaction, financing, or our own qualifications, to our own client or to the other side.
- Full, plain-language disclosure. Before a client signs anything, we explain in plain English which brokerage relationship they have with us (single agent, transaction broker, or no brokerage relationship), how and by whom we’re compensated on that transaction, and any conflict of interest — including builder incentives, referral fees, or affiliated-business relationships — before it affects their decision, not after.
- Competence or referral. We only take on work we’re qualified to handle. When a transaction needs expertise we don’t have — a complex new-construction contract addendum, a short sale, a commercial component — we say so and bring in or refer someone qualified rather than guess.
- Careful handling of money. Escrow deposits, earnest money, and any funds entrusted to us are accounted for exactly, deposited per Florida law, and never commingled with operating funds.
- Prompt, accurate presentation of offers. Every written offer and counteroffer is presented to the client without delay or embellishment, in writing, with our own recommendation clearly separated from the facts.
- A paper trail the client can see. Clients get copies of everything they sign, promptly, and a plain-English summary of what changed at each amendment.
- No surprise compensation. We disclose all compensation arrangements — including any amount, bonus, or incentive offered by a builder, lender, or vendor — in writing, before the client relies on our advice, never after closing.
NBBR does not practice dual agency. No NBBR associate represents both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction, and no associate represents both sides even as separate “designated” agents within the same brokerage. If a client we’re representing as a buyer’s agent wants to make an offer on a listing NBBR itself holds, we refer at least one side to an outside broker rather than sit on both sides of the negotiating table.
Because NBBR’s core business is representing buyers of new construction, this matters most where the pressure is highest: an on-site builder representative is almost always representing the builder, not the buyer, however personable and helpful they are. An NBBR associate’s job is to be the one advocate in the room unambiguously on the buyer’s side — reviewing the builder’s contract before it’s signed, flagging unfavorable terms, negotiating upgrades and price protections, and never letting a good relationship with a builder’s sales office soften that advocacy.
When NBBR does take a listing — which happens, though it isn’t our focus — the associate representing that seller owes the seller the same undivided loyalty, and any buyer who wants that specific listing is referred to a different NBBR associate or an outside brokerage, so representation on both sides of one deal never runs through a single person’s judgment.
Most Florida brokerages offer sellers exactly one contract: an exclusive right-to-sell at a fixed commission, take it or leave it. NBBR doesn’t. We maintain several listing agreement types and walk every seller through the trade-offs of each before recommending one, because the right structure depends on the seller’s situation, not ours.
Commissions and fees are never fixed by law or by Stellar MLS — everything below is negotiable between NBBR and the seller before a listing agreement is signed.
Option | Fee Structure | Term | Best suited for |
|---|---|---|---|
Exclusive right-to-sell | Commission at closing | 180 days | Sellers who want full-service marketing and negotiation, with a broker fully accountable for the outcome |
Open listing | Commission, only if NBBR procures the buyer; no cancellation fee | 180 days | Sellers who want the freedom to also list with other brokerages, or sell on their own, without owing a commission if they do |
Open listing with upfront fee | Upfront fee, plus commission at closing | 180 days | Sellers who want a lower closing-day commission and the flexibility to procure other listing contracts that don’t require exclusivity |
For Sale By Owner support | Flat fee, credited back at closing if the seller later upgrades to a listing agreement | As needed | Sellers who want to manage their own sale but still get MLS syndication, marketing, and paperwork support (not legal advice) |
We explain every option in writing before a seller signs anything, recommend the one that best fits their timeline, involvement, and risk tolerance, and never default a seller into the highest-commission option because it’s easiest for us. Full current terms are published at newbuildbuyer.com/sell-my-home.
New construction creates conflicts a resale transaction doesn’t, because the party across the table — the builder — often also pays part of our commission. NBBR associates hold to these standards specifically because of that:
- Registration protects the client, not just the commission. We register our buyer with the builder’s on-site team on or before the buyer’s first visit, in writing, so the buyer’s right to representation is never disputed later — and we tell the buyer why that step matters before we do it.
- Builder incentives are disclosed, not steered around. When a builder offers a bonus, contest, or higher co-op for pushing a particular community, floor plan, or the builder’s in-house lender or title company, we disclose it to the buyer in writing and never let it change our recommendation.
- We recommend an independent inspector, always. For new construction, we tell every buyer they have the right to a third-party inspection at multiple stages of the build (pre-drywall, final walk-through, and at the end of the first-year warranty period) and recommend inspectors who work for the buyer, not ones sourced or preferred by the builder.
- We review the builder’s contract like it’s an adversary’s contract, because it is. Builder purchase agreements are written by the builder’s attorneys to protect the builder. We read every addendum, flag arbitration clauses, deposit and default terms, delay provisions, and design-change fees, and explain them in plain language before the buyer signs — and we recommend the buyer have their own attorney review it when the stakes warrant it.
- The buyer’s lender choice is the buyer’s choice. We disclose any incentive tied to using a builder’s affiliated lender or title company, explain what the buyer gives up or gains either way, and never discourage a buyer from shopping their financing.
Fair housing isn’t a section of this Code — it’s the floor everything else sits on. Every NBBR associate:
- Treats every prospective buyer, seller, tenant, or landlord the same regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability — the classes protected under the federal Fair Housing Act — and any additional class protected under Florida or local law.
- Never steers a client toward or away from a neighborhood, school district, or community based on the client’s or the area’s demographics, and never answers a “what’s the neighborhood like” question with anything but objective, verifiable facts — schools, publicly reported crime data, HOA rules, flood zones.
- Writes and approves marketing — listing descriptions, ads, social posts — that describes the property, never the “kind of buyer” it suits.
- Reports discriminatory conduct witnessed from another associate, builder representative, lender, or vendor, rather than staying quiet because it isn’t our transaction.
Beyond fair housing, we owe the public — including people who are never our clients — honest marketing, truthful use of our own credentials and experience, and straightforward cooperation with other brokers and agents, including ones from NAR-member firms, regardless of whether they extend NBBR the same courtesies we’d get if we carried that membership ourselves.
Buyer-side representation means we see more of a client’s financial life than almost anyone outside their own household — pre-approval letters, bank statements, tax returns, credit details, sometimes divorce or estate paperwork tied to a purchase. NBBR treats that information as strictly confidential:
- We only collect the financial and personal information a transaction actually requires, and we tell clients why we’re asking before we ask.
- We share client financial information with a lender, title company, builder, or other party only with the client’s knowledge, and only what that party needs — never a client’s full file “to be safe.”
- Confidential information a client shares with us — including negotiating limits, motivation to buy or sell, or personal circumstances — stays confidential during the relationship and after it ends, unless the client authorizes disclosure, the law requires it, or staying silent would let a client’s or third party’s fraud proceed.
- We use secure channels for sensitive documents, never sending unencrypted financial paperwork over a channel the client didn’t choose, and we retain or dispose of client files consistent with Florida’s record-retention requirements once a file is no longer needed for an active transaction or legal purpose.
- We do not sell, rent, or share client contact or financial information with third-party marketers, and any client can ask us in writing what information we hold on them.
How we treat each other, and other agents in the market, is part of how our clients experience us too.
- Inside NBBR — associates support each other, share knowledge honestly, and never solicit a colleague’s active client or undercut a colleague’s listing or transaction for personal gain. Disagreements between associates go to the broker for resolution, not to clients or public forums.
- With other brokers and agents, NAR-member or not — we communicate honestly, cooperate on showings and offers in good faith, and never disparage another agent, brokerage, or builder sales team to a client or publicly. We can disagree with someone’s tactics without questioning their integrity in front of a client.
- On commissions — we honor the commission agreements we’ve made, don’t attempt to circumvent another broker’s representation of a client to reach that client directly, and disclose our own compensation structure to cooperating brokers when asked.
- On disputes — because NBBR isn’t part of NAR’s arbitration system, disputes with another brokerage over commission or conduct are handled through direct negotiation first, then mediation, consistent with our listing and cooperation agreements, never through self-help tactics like withholding a commission owed or blocking a showing out of spite.
This Code isn’t a poster on the wall — it’s a condition of affiliating with NBBR.
- Onboarding. Every sales associate reads and signs this Code before their first day representing an NBBR client, alongside their independent contractor agreement.
- Reporting. Any associate, client, or member of the public can report a suspected violation to the broker directly, in writing. Reports are taken seriously regardless of who raises them, and NBBR does not retaliate against someone who reports in good faith, even if the report turns out to be mistaken.
- Review. The broker reviews reported violations, gives the associate involved a chance to respond, and decides on a proportionate response: coaching and retraining for a first, minor issue; a formal warning; or, for a serious or repeated violation, ending the associate’s affiliation with NBBR. A violation that also breaks Florida license law is reported to FREC/DBPR as required, regardless of any internal outcome.
- Amendments. This Code is reviewed at least once a year and updated as our business, the law, or our own judgment changes. Associates are notified of changes in writing and asked to re-acknowledge the current version.
I have read this Code of Conduct in full, understand it, and agree to hold myself to it in every transaction I handle as an affiliate of NBBR. I understand that NBBR and its associates are not members of the National Association of REALTORS® or Florida Realtors, that I may not represent myself as a “REALTOR®,” and that this Code — not NAR’s Code of Ethics — governs my conduct here.
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This Code of Conduct is the property of New Build Buyer Realty (NBBR). It may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, or used, in whole or in part, without NBBR’s prior written consent. ©2026 New Build Buyer Realty, LLC & Affiliates.
