RISK MANAGEMENT Best Practices: Don't Interfere . . . Don't Give Legal Advice

I keep telling people that real estate, and the representation of clients is all about LEGAL, LEGAL, LEGAL . . . the clients worry about location, location, location.  Licensees need to be concerned with their legal representation of a client.  Obligations they may have to the consumers and general knowledge of what may come back to haunt them . . . it's called: Risk Management

My training has been as follows:  15 years working in legal offices . . . 17+ years as a real estate licensee.

When I worked for lawyers, I picked up a thing or two.  Mainly, how to think in LEGAL terms.  

Currently, I'm taking a series of continuing education courses for my license renewal, which is at the end of next month.   I can't begin to tell you have refreshing it all is.  It's also reassuring to me to know that I take my licensee very seriously.

Recently, I read a post about "How To Sell Your Home" with tenants in it.

I wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot pole.

Reason:  The LEGAL relationship between the LANDLORD and TENANT is in contract, of which I am not a party!

While it's nice to give advice about the "How To" . . . it's not our duty, as a real estate licensee to interfere with a contractual relationship between Landlord/Tenant.  The tenants have a contractual relationship with the owners, i.e., the Landlord.  Terms and conditions are spelled out.  And the Landlord/Tenant relationship is spelled out in Oregon in ORS (Oregon Revised Statutes), in OAR (Oregan Administrative Rules), in the rental/lease agreement terms and conditions.  

If you're telling your client, the seller/owner HOW TO do anything, you better not be crossing the line -- which is a very thin one in real estate.  

You are NOT party to the Rental/Lease Agreement.  So, shut the front door!  Seriously.  

If the seller/owner shows you the lease agreement, and you read it and give advice on "how to" use incentives with the tenants in their cooperation of showing the property . . . . if you infringe on anything in that rental/lease contract, shame on you.  

If you really want to do your seller/owner a service, have seek advise from a lawyer who specializes in LANDLORD/TENANT law.  Let the lawyer draw up a legal form which ALTERS the current rent/lease agreement . . . and if incentives are part of that alteration of the terms and conditions for the rent/lease agreement, great!  A lawyer prepared it . . . you didn't.

And if that document, prepared by a lawyer stipulates some of the suggestions you are rendering, that's great!

But, if you tell your seller/owner to change the TERMS of the lease by offering "incentives" to the tenant -- YIKES!

There should be terms in the rent/lease agreement which tenants signed that provide for THEIR cooperation in showing the property For Sale.  There should be terms in the rent/lease agreement that stipulate nothing is CHANGED unless it's done in writing.

When a real estate agent suggests the seller/owner CHANGE the rent/lease terms . . . by offering incentives to the Tenants . . . hmmmmmm . . . might not be such a good idea.

This is from the continuing education course I'm taking on RISK MANAGEMENT:

"Any advice that you give that may affect the legal rights or duties of any party to transaction should not be given by you. You must prefer these to the proper professional, whether it will be an attorney, or a CPA, or some other professional. That is where the responsibility for giving these types of answers lies."