It hasn't been an easy habit for me to break. I was gratified, and a little bit honored, that I had information about a client which no one else had. I initially knew where they were looking to buy. After the transaction was completed, I knew many details about the transaction that were not in the public records. I was a "source".
As I have begun to realize after more than forty years of practicing real estate law in Massachusetts, the sooner I became a "useless source" in terms of client information, the better it was going to be for me and my client. I have written a post in my Topkins & Bevans Blog (http://blog.topbev.com/?p=63) about law office confidentiality and the need to monitor information that may flow from closings or other transactions in my office.
The concept I am speaking about today is slightly different, and all of you have probably have had similar experiences. A realtor with whom I work asked me to get involved helping a young couple purchase a home in a Boston suburb. It is a beautiful home, and the purchase price is nor small. Through my son's high school contacts, I know a sibling of one of the buyers and his parents. They are not close friends, but I know them. The first thing I told my client was that whatever he chose to do, I would not even tell my son that I was helping him and his wife make the purchase. That information could come only from him, and upon his terms. This may sound like something obvious, but I am sure all of us have breached this type of "firewall" in the past. My advice is :NEVER DO IT AGAIN.
I am at a point now where I do not even tell my wife anything I am working on. It is not that I do not trust her, or her discretion. I am just concerned with that slight hint of "body language" or "facial movement" when someone tells her about a deal that I was working with for a friend of hers. I am proud when she tells them "I really don't know what Elliott is working on for anyone, but I am glad it all worked out for you".
The key here is professionalism and good manners. People will inform others of what they gave done, or what they are doing, at their own pace. There is not need for you to be part of that process. It robs your customer of a certain type of "ownership" and in the end may inhibit future business with that customer.
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