Is Your Broker a Professional?
By Jim Palmer Jr.

Some consumers wonder what they are really paying for when they hire a broker to represent them. There are many misconceptions in this regard and some bitter feelings because many do not understand that they are paying for much more than a chauffeur/ door opener or an advertiser. When the yard sign is leaning and there have been no calls or even when the property sells in just a few days, the seller may wonder what the heck they paid for! Did they get their monies worth? If that is your perception then please lend an ear!

A real estate professional should be skilled in many areas of expertise, including but not limited to; human relations, marketing, appraisal, knowledge of construction and property development, a well and septic expert, tax designation expert, real estate law and boundary law expert, contract forms and contract law expert and some even think they need skills as a marriage counselor.

Recently I reviewed a sales contract that had several addenda. Some terms in the contract conflicted with others. One addendum directed the seller to pay for a well quality test and the other said the buyer shall pay. As I reviewed these proposed terms, I wondered if that broker had actually read the contract they had so sloppily written.

In another case, the buyer stated that they would allow the seller to provide a “Notice of Right to Terminate” after a 30 day period. This verbiage basically allows the seller to ask the buyer to remove their financing contingency at a certain point in the transaction, which is fair to the seller, especially when the buyer (with the help of an agent) is the one who chose the rules they would play by. But in this case, when the seller actually invoked this agreed upon notice, the buyer broker came unglued and ranted about how cruel the seller was. That buyer broker had obviously never read the contract or certainly did not understand the meaning of the contract when they wrote it. I consider the ranting and the lack of understanding as malpractice and NOT professional.

There are situations in every real estate transaction that require a great deal of expertise and when a broker falls short they violate state law requirements “to exercise reasonable skill and care” and they violate the Realtor® Code of Ethics which invokes an expectation of reasonable competence in the real estate disciplines in which brokers engage.