Agents tend to get a bad rap. According to a poll last year that Gallup, a research-based, global performance-management consulting company, conducted last year, only 20 percent of consumers believe that agents have high ethical standards. In addition, a recent survey conducted last month by Choice Home Warranty, using Google Consumer Surveys among 1,147 adults, found that 67.5 percent of Americans don’t trust real estate agents.

Even within the real estate industry, agents themselves can get a bad rap amongst other agents if they can’t multitask and manage their businesses effectively – unprofessionalism amongst agents is still the No. 1 complaint by agents when it comes to day-to-day business, including agents who miscommunicate, bend the rules or just plain ignore rules, ethics and basic manners.

When agents become Realtors, they promise to uphold the code of ethics and help the industry maintain a higher standard of professionalism. There are so many rules that Realtors have to follow – here’s what happens when they don’t follow them.