This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Real Estate: Who Can You Trust?

Should you listen to your Great Aunt Tilly or other acquaintances who may have real estate advice for you?

Over the past few months, we’ve brought you a myriad of topics relating to the real estate industry. And while we strive to keep our focus on unbiased education, this week we want to discuss the advice you will inevitably receive from others during your process.

Our focus is always on client education throughout the process of selling or buying. When a client hires us to represent them, we accept that responsibility with a great deal of pride. We make certain that our clients understand that there are no stupid questions and we expect to be asked about the simplest details of the process. Such as, “What are closing costs?” or “How do I connect utilities?” A lot of times our clients also receive advice and have stories related to them from their friends and family. Sometimes those stories are true experiences and other times they are the very best examples of “rumor.” I’m sure you all know the game “Rumor” we used to play in grade school—one person tells a secret and passes it down a line of people and before it reaches the end of the line the secret is never the same as it started. That happens a lot more than we would like.

There are Monday morning quarterbacks ready to tell you what you should be doing or what you should have done in just about every activity in which you engage. Or someone’s Great Aunt Tilly knows a family whose real estate agent deceived them and now they can never sell their house because it’s haunted by the ghost of Jack Benny and they are constantly tortured by loud fiddle playing at all hours. If you’re under 50, you probably won’t get that joke but go ahead and laugh, it is a rather amusing story, and not as absurd as some of the alleged, secondhand horrors that clients have related to me.

Find out what's happening in Dallas-Hiramwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But how do you respond when it’s another industry professional telling you, the client, the many possible calamities that may befall you during the transaction process? What if a home inspector you’ve hired begins to question you about your real estate professional and whether that person is responsible and capable of protecting your interests? To whose expertise do you defer? That’s a tough situation to be in.

I bring this up because this exact thing happened to one of our clients this week. The home inspector the client hired questioned him about the contract terms, asked if the agent knew what he was doing, and was the contract actually signed by the seller and did the client understand that the selling bank could still accept offers even though the client had an agreement. This inquisition was of no use to the inspector and was outside the professional scope of work for which he’d been retained by the buyer to perform. Needless to say, the client responded appropriately and assured the inspector that all was well and could he simply schedule the home inspection as requested. The client relayed the events to me and I was suddenly boiling mad. Another industry professional that is not a licensed real estate agent was attempting to explain contract law to my client without ever having seen the client’s agreement with the seller or without consulting me, the agent. This was a clear violation of ethical standards and the home inspector could have been accused of practicing real estate and law without a license.

Find out what's happening in Dallas-Hiramwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This is an extreme case and that inspector is no longer performing the home inspection for the client. Thankfully the client knew enough to trust the process and his real estate professional. While you may encounter friends, relatives and apparently other professionals in the industry who want to relate their experiences to yours, I would recommend smiling and nodding and thanking them for caring enough to share with you. Then call your real estate professional to find out the truth if you have questions.

One final thought—there are, in fact, unscrupulous real estate agents. As much as I hate to admit, our industry isn’t perfect. If you ever suspect you are being misled or deceived, contact the managing broker represented by your agent or the Georgia Real Estate Commission to express your concerns. And always trust your instincts. 

Speaking of questions, it's time for our "Ask the Broker" feature. Please send your real estate related questions to info@idealrealestateprofessionals.com and we'll be sure to give you our opinion.

iDeal Real Estate Professionals, LLC is owned and operated by Brandon Bramlett and C. Mark Willix and is affiliated with Maximum One Realty Greater Atlanta. For personalized service, visit us at www.idealrealestateprofessionals.com. You can also email us at info@idealrealestateprofessionals.com.

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Dallas-Hiram