Our Obligation is to Inform and Protect
At a listing presentation recently, there were a few statements made by the owner that had me cringing internally as the owners had not been treated very well by the agent that sold them their house.
They bought their home over 20 years ago and for sure the regulations were not the same then as they are today. I could not speak to the regulations or procedures that may have been in place then. There is no question that there was a time when real estate agents had a bad reputation and were looked at much the same way as the peddlers of the early 19th century would have been as well. While there were no cases of snake oil in the trunks of the car, it is conceivable that some of the descriptions or issues that should have been discussed were less than clear. Even the appraisal process would have had a possibility that there would have been special requests made of the appraiser that may not have been to the best advantage of the buyer. Much of this was the reasoning that lawmakers made so many changes to the real estate process with their mandates.
We now come to the realization for these sellers now have a few additional hurdles to overcome to get their home sold. As their agent, I will have the responsibility to get their home to the closing table and keep them as well protected as I can, while getting to accept that the home they have owned all these years will not return as much to them as they had hoped.
As real estate agents, our responsibility is in the proper handling of this responsibility and in the education process we need to accept in keeping our clients well informed with all aspects of the sale of their home as well as an understanding of the purchase process the buyers of their home will undergo. We cease to be sales people and more holders of knowledge which is there, provided we appreciate what we need to offer in information yet still letting the clients know it is their right to challenge us with questions and to make the answers clear.
For these sellers, I felt the need to apologize to them for the poor way they were treated when they bought the home. It was also my statement to the that they would be better treated with the rest of their process and their responsibility to speak up and ask questions while we are making this journey together.
Do you Sometimes Feel The Need to Apologize for Other Agents?
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