Obedience ▪ Loyalty ▪ Disclosure
Confidentiality ▪ Accounting ▪ Reasonable Care
Being a Realtor is a big responsibility that I don't take lightly. Often times home purchases are the largest purchases people will make in their lifetimes which deserves a lot of attention. As a profession, Realtors are expected to maintain the highest levels of integrity, honesty, ethics, and respect. With such high levels of expectations and how important these transactions are for folks, it is imperative that Realtors act in the best interest of our clients and not ourselves. Fiduciary duties are legal obligations that ensure Realtors act in the best interest of their clients, and I believe are the keys to being successful in real estate.
Obedience: You must obey your client’s lawful instructions.
Obviously you can't expect your Realtor to commit a crime if instructed to do so, but lawful instructions must be followed. Sometimes this is demonstrated by a client indicating the price they want to offer or sell a property for. A good Realtor will consult with clients on the market and what pricing they would recommend, but ultimately the final decision is up to the client.
Loyalty: You must always act in your client’s best interests, even if it means forgoing your own interests.
Clients best interests, in my opinion, is the most important part of fiduciary duties. I believe not acting in a clients best interest will always be discovered in the end, and usually causes more harm than intended to avoid. A good example of this is regarding hand picking properties to show a client based on agent commissions. Not showing a home to a client because the commission is lower than other properties is unethical and not in the clients best interest.
Disclosure: You must disclose any material facts about the transaction, including your relationship to the other party.
Nothing should be hidden or not shared that will impact a client. Everything Realtors come to know about a property should be shared. These items are often potentially negotiable items that for a client to make the best decisions they need to know all the details and how those details intertwine. It's our job as Realtors to paint that entire picture for our clients.
Confidentiality: You must keep your client’s information confidential unless you have their permission to do otherwise.
Realtors must be careful to not disclose details about their clients that shouldn't be shared. Some clients are ok with sharing if the property has received offers, some are not, some are ok with sharing why they are moving, some are not. It is imperative to have very specific conversations with clients about what information they are comfortable having shared and what information they are not comfortable having shared.
Accounting: You must keep accurate records of all money and property involved in the transaction.
Show me the money! Real estate transactions are inherently transactions with thousands to millions of dollars involved. Every penny must be accounted for and protected. Realtors must have proper records and at a moments notice be able to show all the cost details related to a transaction.
Reasonable Care: You must use reasonable care and skill when handling your client’s business.
Put those skills to work and do our best as Realtors. Act in clients best interest by using those negotiation skills to help get the best deal for clients. Realtors representing a clients business as if it's their own business giving it the care and attention it needs.
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