Byron Lazine and Nicole White are two agents in Connecticut who give us their thoughts on the week’s news every Friday in “The Real Word,” a weekly video column on Inman. This week
This week, our hosts discuss the rise of lawsuits against real estate professionals, how great agents build relationships that last through good and bad markets and the rollout of NAR’s 5th “That’s Who We Are” ad campaign after the latest fee hike.
Topic 1: Lawsuits against real estate professionals
The number of lawsuits aimed at real estate agents are increasing. White says this isn’t very surprising since many buyers are likely to have “buyer’s remorse” now.
With so many competing offers on homes becoming the trend in the past year and many buyers waiving things like inspections to land a sale, there’s a lot of room for second-guessing after the fact, she said.
That coupled with the fact there has been an influx of new agents who might have no been trained properly leads to situations where a lawsuit could be filed.
How can agents protect themselves from being sued?
- Get everything in writing, both White and Lazine said. Document everything, especially when you double-check that a client wants to waive something like an inspection.
- Be upfront and honest about market conditions so clients don’t feel misled.
- Never use the word “assume” for anything, ever. Use very specific language for everything.
Topic 2: Build relationships that last through good/bad markets
Great agents are focused on relationships and building strong ones that weather the storms of a bad market and the sunny days of a good market. Some of the best relationship-building happens by giving great, trustworthy advice that is transparent.
The best way to be able to give good advice that is in the best interest of a client is to have a large enough pipeline that there’s no pressure on what that client does or doesn’t decide to do, Lazine said.
I’m reminded of that saying “build a career, not a year,” White added.
Topic 3: NAR’s 5th ad campaign
The new NAR ad campaign felt a little lacking to both Lazine and White as they reacted to the latest set of ads.
Lazine expressed how he feels the best use of NAR’s spending is on lobbying on behalf of Realtors and the real estate industry rather than on ads.
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