It doesn’t seem to vary much with experience levels, but there are just too many agents out there trying to be something they are not. Being a chronic service volunteer for more than 35 years, I know about wanting to help others and, I have also learned when not to help.

At least monthly, you can pick any number of real estate industry journals, flip to the legal section and, see that some, usually - but not always, well-intentioned agent being successfully sued by a financially injured buyer or seller for warranting something they had absolutely no definitive knowledge about. In a past life, I worked for the I.R.S. for 10 years and had a fair amount of knowledge about tax laws, audits and collection processes. More than a few of you work with investors or someone who has had to sell before they have been in a property for more than two years. I cringe every time I hear a newer agent mis-state 1031 Exchange timeframes or be clueless about what qualifies as an exemption under the two-year rule for excluding capital gains on the sale of a personal residence. 

If you don’t know or don’t understand, learn how to say, “That’s a really important question. Before I give you my reaction, let me check with my broker, my attorney, my accountant, etc”.  You also need to be clear about which questions you should or should not be answering. Discussing 1031 Exchange timeframes is straightforward and okay to answer. Doing the calculations on what portion may be taxed or declared as gain at which tax rate is not something you should be tackling unless you are a tax attorney or CPA with experience in this area.

By law and executed buyer or listing agreements, buyers and sellers expect to be able to rely on the information you provide them. Some listing agents are sloppy with details, room sizes, school districts, bedroom percs, zoning and so on. I have seen contracts erroneously written fall out when a family needs to be in a certain school district and, the buyer agent fails to confirm school boundary lines. The buyer shows up at school with kids and a ratified lease or sales contract to register their children only to find that their proposed home is on the wrong side of the street.

The “devil” really is in the details and, if you fail to check and re-check those crucial items, shame on you and, egg on all of us. There are so many things that agents make unwarrantable and unsubstantiated assertions on, it’s impossible to list them all. Know this: when your buyer or listing client asks you a question that has legal, contractual, habitability or personal enjoyment implications, if you answer “off the cuff” when you should research, you are leaving yourself and your brokerage open to being successfully sued, sometimes for major financial damages. When in doubt, engage brain before mouth and, do the right thing for all concerned - including yourself.

What might be an example of an incorrect statement or omitted information that you or one of your clients experienced in a sale or leasing transaction? How was it resolved?