Selling or buying a home just might be the single largest financial transaction that most people make in their entire lifetime! So by default perhaps real estate agents and their clients might get a bit charged up emotionally. All that money and responsibility. Sure, I understand that the bank is taking most of the risk away by lending the majority of the money, but it’s still the borrower’s obligation to pay it all back over time or at least keep up with the monthly payments until the home is sold.
That could stress anybody out and make them throw a tantrum. Discussions about the mortgage dominate many a kitchen table at night. So what’s the point. If you have a real estate license, then you have an obligation to understand the ins and outs of a residential real estate transaction, especially if you’ve become a Realtor® and subscribed to the Code of Ethics.
Representing buyers and sellers as a real estate agent, you’re entering into a very serious fiduciary relationship. You owe it to the profession to be the best you can be for not only the consumer, but the overall good of the industry. It’s not okay to be guessing at pricing for sellers. It’s not right to push a buyer into a transaction that might put them at the limit of their financial capabilities…what if things go wrong and somebody loses a chunk of income? You have blood on your hands!
Start asking the consumer “what’s most important to you” and then do a good job listening. Be honest about what you’re really capable of doing for them. Over-promising and then not being able to deliver is only going to sink your ship as you lose credibility. Keep up with your education. Keep pace with how to assist with distress sales, foreclosures and other challenging transactions and when you don’t know how to do something…just admit it and ask for help. As real estate agents, let’s be the solution and help our industry get back on the right track!
