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Preamble In case you haven't heard, there are some areas of the country where lawyers have been given the legal right to act as real estate agents. The following discussion will point out the fallacy of such a move. LAWYERS When it comes to real estate, a lawyer becomes an invaluable necessity in order to protect the contractual and title interests of their client and for the mutual benefit of society as a whole. Without lawyers acting in their legal capacity as your advisor, counsel and Agent (yes, Agent) a regular citizen may well find themselves in very deep dodo. Anyone acting on behalf of someone else is an Agent for that person and has a fundamental and fiduciary duty to declare to their principal that any one area of expertise is beyond the scope of that professional. YOU BE THE JUDGE So where does the line between lawyer and Realtor begin and end. Aside from the fact that even the word Realtor is capitalized and also trademarked and the word lawyer isn't, has got to account for something dontchathink? The legal profession has been around for a millennium or two in one form or another and it is easy to take pot shots to what some refer to as the worlds oldest profession next to... that other one. This dissertation is not going down that road. We refer to organized real estate as being less than 100 years old but that fact only points to the North American influence. European real estate has been traded for the same couple of millennia and in almost every case, an Agent was at the center of it all. Sometimes it was simply the merchant who just happen to know things that everybody else didn't and was in the right place at the right time to facilitate a transaction for which he was paid. He was, by implication and actions, an "Agent", whether he knew it or not. This Standard of Business Practice still holds true even today. Many times transactions of title and estates were conveyed by a handshake but that was when a mutual respect for others was more honoured than it is now. With laws and governmental departments in place, the science of the legal profession has become more a matter of learning the rules and obtaining the experience in order to successfully function within the boundaries. As with any chosen vocation be it law, medicine, architecture or even plumbing, there are limits that a participant would be wise to remain within. Let’s face it, even people who work in the various trades consider themselves to be performing a “professional” job and occasionally project an attitude of “I know and you don’t”. Let's face it, some of us do tend to get caught up in our own self importance and may at times step over the line of our actual calling. "Dammit Jim, I'm a lawyer not a Realtor." Today, real estate and legal associations around the world are constantly challenging their members with upgrading educational programs and in some areas real estate has become as self-regulating as is the most other professions. Seasoned and experienced Realtors who work in the real estate business, have year after year always provided a "Free Service" to enquiring minds. Unlike lawyers who charge by the hour for their time and advise, a Realtor will freely give away valuable "Special Knowledge" to the next person who walks through the door. It has been predicted, that with intervention by others who may act as discount Agents, soon a Realtor may indeed soon have to resort to a user fee for all services rendered, which may be the final irony in being recognized as true professionals. “PEOPLE BUSINESS” Real estate is a people business and not a sales business. How and why some properties will sell and others do not is really not the business of the Realtor. It certainly isn't the job of a lawyer. The ready and willing buying public are always the litmus test as to whether or not a property is saleable... or not. In fact, in all sales, there is an old adage that states, "A sale will only transpire if there is a willing buyer and a willing seller." Look at any house that has been on the market for longer than 60 days and remains unsold. If it isn't the house's fault (poor condition or location) and the local market is strong, then you can almost be sure it is priced beyond the value perceived by the buying public. Who's problem is this really? Who's the Boss? The lawyer can't honestly answer that question with any sense of statistical authority because it isn't their bailiwick. If that isn't enough, consider the fact that lawyers do not have the access to the resources of virtually unlimited current sales data at their fingertips as Realtors do. Nor do they spend their days on the front line of an industry that provides specifically a unique product. That Product is "Service". Human nature dictates that the buyers want to buy for the least and the sellers want to sell for the most. The process that not only fills both needs and is enhanced by a certain "Special Knowledge" can only be provided by a Realtor who is experienced and competent after years of servicing a community. Most Realtors who are worth their salt will admit to having an over-listed property or two in their career. It is the very nature of any sales business for the product to be exposed to the market to see who will be attracted to it or even remotely interested. The necessary "Adjustment" or "Correction" in pricing will be evident by the passage of time of no activity at all or activity without offers or activity with lower offers. From all of the consistent interaction with the public, who in most instances just want to sell their property, the Realtor acquires vital information and experience that soon becomes an invaluable asset and benefits all present and future clients. The varied circumstances of day to day real estate, creates in any competent Realtor, a retainable memory bank of occurrences of unrelated events. Each one then being a very different and unique experience but somehow also basically similar in the overall scheme of things. This “knowing”, combined with the basic fundamental and continual updating of on-going educational information, should result in an clear understanding of how the real estate business actually works. Now it must be said that this intellectual awareness doesn't always appear so clearly to all Realtors. The regulatory body that oversees the registrants thinks that by attending mandatory courses is sufficient to be considered "Upgrading". The fact is there is no testing after each course to determine who absorbed what. It is incumbent upon the public to interview Realtors and lawyers alike to determine those preferred desirable characteristics with a compatibility zone of comfort before they plunge into either association. WHAT TO LOOK FOR One must ask the question therefore, with regard to the purchase or sale of real estate - "Which should I hire? A Realtor or a lawyer to buy / sell my property"? The answer is simple of course. Realtors don't practice law and lawyers don't sell real estate. SELL : def: v. to persuade others to accept DID YOU KNOW? Most Realtors do not really sell in the true sense of the word either although many still perceive that they do. You may find that some do try to sell but by and large, most have become show(ers) of property and facilitators of transactions. The public are very aware of this already and will shun away from a pushy or over bearing salesperson. It is common knowledge by the most competent within the industry that people will buy when they have found what they are looking for and want to own it. The Real Skills of a Realtor The real skills of a competent Realtor are in the experience derived from countless transactions, the observation of human nature, a dedication to providing a service, unquestioned integrity and honesty while demonstrating a professional demeanour in the face of adversity. And then applying all of the forgoing in each association with one client after another consistantly. All of these traits become invaluable in the construction of a well prepared offer to purchase. Not only has the Realtor been present with the Buyer while viewing the property or conversely with the Seller at the listing of and monitoring of same, but also knows the market conditions as well as the detriments that must be disclosed. LEGAL HISTORY Traditionally, history tells us that in just about all cases of any estate transactions there was an "Agent" involved in the mediation of the deal. It seems it was always someone who prominent and well respected. Although that person may have been the blacksmith, banker or even one of the local farmers. For some reason, it was thought that this person knew something about the transferring of title to land that most didn't and was considered as having a certain knowledge of inside information. In private sales between a Buyer and a Seller a lawyer can be the Agent with ease when there is no Realtor involved at all. The onus of responsibility is multiplied however and the lawyer must rely on the sole effort of the client to determine if the price is reasonable, the property is what it is, and there are no detriments to the adjacent or the surrounding lands to name a few. Sometimes lawyers are unwilling participants when asked to review an offer to purchase prior to their client consummating a transaction with a Realtor. In reality, they have no choice but to prepare these offers to lean heavily in favour of their client in order to protect both their interests. These loaded offers occasionally never get accepted because the other side also has a lawyer protecting their interests as well, and does the same thing. Getting back to history repeating itself, like today, there really wasn't any selling going on but more of a service being provided because back then, people seemed to know what they wanted. After putting a few deals like that together and obviously getting paid for the service, the "Agent" became known for their unique ability and guess what? Soon it became well known that if you wanted to buy or sell a property you would have to speak to someone who knew what the value was. This simple transition of information was soon referred to in part as “Special Knowledge”. Consider this fact. A person has been educated to a certain awareness and is allowed by the very nature of their business to inspect virtually any home or property at their discretion. This person is privy to historical, and current sales statistics while also participating in day to day real estate transactions with people in all walks of life. The accumulation of this information automatically provides even the average Realtor with a valuable resource just for doing their job alone. But it is the "mindset" which is the integral part within the individual that will accent the value of the "Special Knowledge". A person who seeks to enhance their knowledge by demonstrating a superior caliber of integrity, competence and ethics will have grasped the spirit and essence of the functionality of Realtor. Suffice to say that it's a good bet, like every business, each has it's own element of a certain "Special Knowledge" and the degree of significance is directly proportional to the quality of the service being provided. In other words not every person conveys the same caliber of service although the parent company would like you to believe that. “SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE” What exactly is this "Special Knowledge" that makes people at any gathering eagerly seek out and corner a Realtor to covertly learn some of that inside information that will effect the future of their own personal status. This happens all the time. When it comes to their real estate, everyone wants to believe the value of their own property is appreciating with the times and seem to need this confirmation at every opportunity. They all have heard about the latest sale and want to know if it was a true representation of local values. Chances are, the seller exaggerated the sale price in the first place and the local residents are all in a flap in anticipation of cashing in. "Why is the Peabody's house worth so much more than the Jones’s? or Why are they are asking such a high price...? They'll never get it... it's way over priced...!" "Mine is a much better house you know...". "What do you think my house is worth?" "Oh... come on, you know... tell me...." Like the stock market, the value of a commodity like real estate can rise or fall on the whim of the public perception. In reality, it is the buyers who ultimately set the market value of any property. Provided of course, that the seller accepts. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion of course but a Realtor is really supposed to KNOW because they have "Special Knowledge." The "Special Knowledge" emerges unconsciously as a personal resource of reflective information that is available at the speed of thought becoming second nature to the informed experienced and competent Realtor. The result is... a Realtor must be cautious to not blurt out inaccurate or erroneous information even if they are confident of the reality of it. A lawyer on the other hand has been busy doing what they do best. Saving the last dozen or so clients from losing their life's accumulation of assets or by providing the best possible legal advise to people who for one reason or another have a need for it. For a lawyer to suggest that they can do the job of a Realtor is to say that the reverse is also possible and that is a breach of fiduciary duty from the get go. With regard to real estate transactions, it is the lawyers job to peruse any contractual obligations and undertakings for the mutual client of the Realtor. If it is necessary to make required changes and improvements or advise on the legalities of a proposed transaction is the only function of a lawyer. For a lawyer to specifically advise negatively on the essence of the current real estate market or similarly influence the negotiating strategies of the Realtor may be detrimental to the client's desires originally professed to the Realtor. In a perfect world, we would all just do our jobs and have no real conflicts. Professional courtesy in all businesses would be assured and expected without any hesitation. FINAL WORD… Lawyers exist for the purpose of giving legal advise on a particular set of circumstances in which their clients are involved. They do not always want you to gravitate to the negative aspects which is usually 50% of any legal advise but they have to explain to you the whole story... good and bad. Realtors are in exactly the same position albeit, dealing with many more variables and unknowns. As individuals, we are given the capacity to think and make our own choices based on the information gleaned through acquiring the necessary information from all sources to do so. Too many times, people will yield to the advise of a lawyer as a suggestion to act in a certain fashion or conversely, by an opinion expressed to proceed in a like direction. By not thinking for themselves and sometimes against their own better judgment, these people have caused residual havoc in their lives. In some cases, the lawyer may have preferred that they had not made such a decision at all but was obliged to disclose opposing scenarios for professional preservation. “SUPPORT GROUP” Just as you have a personal support in the family of siblings and loved ones it is also imperative in this day and age to have a "Support Group' of known accomplished professionals at your disposal. Add to your current list of doctor, dentist, Chiropractor, financial planner, Orthodontist, mechanic etc. the permanent position of a lawyer and lest we forget... a Realtor. RETURN TO www.realestate1o1.com |
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