I was referred to a first time buyer last week. They are a young couple with a little girl and they came to me from a mortgage broker with whom I do a good amount of business. We found a house they liked in Charlotte NC, and when I called to speak to the listing agent to ask some questions, his voicemail led me to his assistant's mobile number. I called this number and she picked up right away. It turned out she was the owner of the house I was calling to ask about. Immediately, I realized the importance of treating the situation with care. I could have asked her all sorts of questions with the intent of getting more information from her than she ought to give. If I had been speaking with the actual listing agent, her boss, I would have welcomed any information he would have offered. But since I was talking to the actual owner, I wanted to be sure I was careful.
The NC real estate commission specifically states that even though she was not my client (to whom I would owe a "fiduciary obligation") she was still my customer (who deserves that I treat her ethically and fairly). The commission also holds us agents to a higher standard than the general public. In light of these things, I asked her why she was moving and she shared with me that her husband is being deployed in October and she is expecting their first child in August. So she wants to sell the house and live with her parents (she's nineteen) while her husband is away. I made sure to leave it at that. That was enough information and not something affecting their negotiating position. If I had been speaking to her agent and he had leaked more information than that which would have affected their negotiating position, I would have felt perfectly fine with sharing this information with my clients. To me there is a difference. I certainly owe to my clients any information I learn about the other party. But the manner in which I obtain that information is also important. To get it at the expense of compromising both my ethics and the license law is simply not worth it to me.
An hour after my conversation with the owner, the listing agent (her boss) called me back. He sounded concerned with what she may have told me. He immediately said "if she told you to send your offer to her directly, DON'T do that." I assured him that she had not and I also spelled out our entire conversation with him. He shared that she was "all of nineteen" (his words, whatever that implied). At the end of our conversation, I knew that I had maintained a good working relationship with a quality fellow RE/MAX agent (I've known this agent for several years now) and that he would remember and appreciate my discretion in speaking directly to his client. I would have extended the same courtesy to an agent from any company.
It worked out nicely. We negotiated the contract to a fair price. My clients are getting a good house in one of the better areas we saw. His clients can move forward with their plans. Also important is that I continue to have him as a cordial fellow agent who knows I'll handle my business properly and not at the expense of honorable behavior.
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