Honesty in real estate is a must!

Dear Buyers,

If you hire me to be your buyer agent, I promise to treat you with utmost respect and truth. In fact, one of the first documents I will share with you is the New York State Disclosure form which defines my role in your purchase. The role most buyers choose for me, and I'm sure you will as well, is that of a Buyer's Agent. This means you are hiring me to represent your interests. As such, I owe you undivided loyalty, confidentiality and full disclosure, to name just a few of my obligations. And I will deal with you honestly, fairly and in good faith.

So what does this mean for me?

Well, on my side, this means I will tell you the truth about homes you are looking at. If you find a home that is dramatically different than your stated needs, I will point out why this doesn't meet your original requirements. When you ask me a question, I will tell you truthfully whether I know the answer or not. If I don't know, I will get an answer for you asap! And if I know anything material about a specific home, I will disclose it to you. I will tell you anything that happens during the buying process that will impact your closing, whether it is good or bad. You can trust that I have your back, and that we will operate as a team.

What does this mean for you?

Having a relationship built on trust requires things from you as well. If I ask you a question that relates to your ability to purchase a home, your required timeframes, or your previous relationships with other real estate professionals, you must provide honest answers. When being asked by mortgage professionals about your financial status, you must be forthright. Anything you say that isn't true will be found out at some point, so it's necessary that you are as clear and truthful as possible.

Most buyers are great!

Most buyers are indeed above reproach. They are easy to work with, and open with all the facts that are needed to continue to move forward to get them their dream home.

But then there are the others..

This is an example of how things can come back to bite you if you're not honest. I recently met a couple I know. I met the man and woman on separate occasions. They both told me, separately, that friends of theirs were looking for a home. I had shown these friends a few homes several years ago but they had then disappeared. When I talked to the couple I knew, they both indicated that their friends had sold their house and were looking for homes in the area but were not working with a realtor yet. I reached out to the friends. My message indicated that I was able to help if they were not yet working with anyone.

And then they called..

They called me a few days later, and I again checked to see whether they'd already been actually looking at homes. The couple told me they had driven the area looking at the outside of houses, but hadn't been inside anything yet. They now knew which specific locations they were interested in and they were ready to get serious! So off we went to look at homes for them.

And the house shopping began...

To keep the story short, the summary is that we spent three subsequent days looking at homes. I would make all the appointments, do my pre-showing analysis, pick them up, look at the homes, and then do all the follow-ups on the houses that were of interest. After the third day they said there was a house they wanted to take a second look at. This is a good thing! They were getting close. But it was not one of the houses we had seen together.....

And the truth comes out...

By the time I got all the information and spoke to the other realtor, the facts were that they had looked at many houses with another agent. They had put in an offer on a house which was not accepted, and they currently had a backup offer in place. This meant I could no longer work with them, because they were already working with an agent. Not only did this mean I worked hours and drove miles that would never be compensated, but these buyers now had two unhappy agents in play. The truth always comes out in the end, even if it might not be known for a long time afterwards.

The moral of the story

The moral of this story follows. In order for any relationship to be successful, there has to be trust and honesty. The same is true of spouses and boyfriends/girlfriends as it is in real estate. If you work with me, I promise to treat you honestly, sincerely and with integrity. I only ask that you afford me the same respect.

 

Originally published in thehousekat.com.

 

Kat Palmiotti, The House Kat

Licensed Associate Broker, CBR®

Better Homes & Gardens Rand Realty

Monroe, NY Real Estate

914-419-0270 (cell)

email: kat@thehousekat.com

www.thehousekat.com