Courtesy, Common Practice and Contractual . . . Know the Difference?
In the many years in which I have been practicing Exclusive Buyer Agency in the Portland Metro real estate market, there are misconceptions which abound.
What might be "common practice" in the Portland Metro real estate market is not in, oh, I don't know . . . pick a market, any market.
The local standard of practice typically dictates the common practices of the local real estate market.
The courtesies a real estate agent may extend are neither contractual or common practice.
Example: I recently crawled under the deck of a property to clean up the crawlspace access because there was dried cat feces, and although the home inspector was clothed in a HAZ MAT suit (pretty much), he wouldn't finish the inspection. So . . . as a courtesy . . . to my client, I crawled underneath and swept the dried cat poop.
Courtesies may extend to consumers . . . such as what I did this afternoon: Looking up a listing on an email inquiry which asked: "Is this property still on the market?"
Common Practice may extend to clients . . . attending home inspections, or escrow signings.
Contractual . . . read the contract! If my client is supposed to perform under the contract, or the sellers, or the escrow/title folks . . . it's contractual.
As an experienced real estate agent in my local Portland Metro market, I happen to know the difference . . . do you?
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