Behind the Bylaws #2: Articles 7–10 + Member Questions

July 14, 2026

Welcome to the second installment of our six-part series, Behind the Bylaws.

This week’s update covers Articles VII through X of the proposed bylaws. While these articles contain relatively few substantive changes, they help ensure our governing documents remain current, accurate, and consistent with National Association of REALTORS® requirements.

Please remember to visit the Behind the Bylaws Resource Page, which can be found at www.longleafpinerealtors.com/bylawsupdates. There you will find a library of all updates; a documents page with links to the red-lined version of the bylaws and a clean version of the draft; an archive of all questions received from members; and more.

Thank you again for following our Behind the Bylaws series. Your engagement is helping to ensure that this process is transparent, informative, and member-focused.

Article 7: Professional Standards & Arbitration

No substantive changes are proposed to this article.

Longleaf Pine REALTORS® will continue to administer ethics complaints and arbitration matters in accordance with the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual.

This ensures:

Consistent professional standards
Fair and impartial procedures
Due process for all members

Article 8: REALTOR® Trademark

This article contains one minor revision. The proposed language removes the
word “Association” from a reference to the Code of Ethics Manual. The Code of Ethics Manual is published by the National Association of REALTORS®, not by Longleaf Pine REALTORS®. This revision simply improves accuracy.

It does not change:

Your use of the REALTOR® trademark
Trademark protections
Member responsibilities

Article 9: State and National Membership

Several housekeeping updates appear in this article. These include:

Updating the name of our state association to NC REALTORS®.
Incorporating wording recommended by legal counsel.
Removing an outdated note that is no longer needed.

These revisions improve consistency without changing the relationship among Longleaf Pine REALTORS®, NC REALTORS®, or the National Association of REALTORS®.

Article 10: Dues

A couple of minor housekeeping updates, including the removal of an unnecessary and outdated note at the end of the article.

What’s Covered This Week?

This week’s article review focuses on Articles 7–9.

This update covers:

Article VII – Professional Standards & Arbitration
Article VIII – REALTOR® Trademark
Article IX – State and National Membership
Article X – Dues

Submit a Question

Members are encouraged to submit questions throughout the review process. Questions received may be addressed in future weekly updates, FAQs, or other member communications. Submit a question here: Question Form