Client Communications
Why You Shouldn’t Exceed Your Scope of Work — A Guide for Real Estate Professionals
When you’re running your own real estate business, you provide great customer service as part of your business-building strategy. But doing so makes it easy for “scope creep” to occur. Naturally, when clients ask for advice, you’ll want to give them all the help they need and more. However, it’s crucial to keep any adviceRead More
Providing Information And Data To Your Clients: 6 Top Tips To Avoid A Lawsuit
In our litigious society today, real estate agents like you need to protect yourself against potential risks and lawsuits. One scenario where you face a high degree of risk is when you provide information and data to your clients. There are plenty of good reasons why, as a real estate agent, you would provide informationRead More
Technology Traps: Lessons Learned from Real Estate Litigation
Unfortunately, there are many painful lessons learned about “technology traps” from the litigation home front. Real estate agents rely on technology to do business. But that reliance can sometimes cause problems. Real Estate Litigation and the Cut and Paste Trap Do you rely on eContracts or digital real estate contracts? Something driving a lot ofRead More
Why Real Estate Agents Shouldn’t Answer Tax Questions from Clients
It’s important for real estate professionals to go the extra mile for clients. But where do you draw the line? While you (of course) want to be a trusted resource during your clients’ home sale/purchase, you can’t be everything for them. In fact, agents and brokers often end up facing a real estate lawsuit whenRead More
How to “Fire” a Difficult Real Estate Client
Over the last several years I have seen more and more of my real estate agent clients become frustrated in their representation of sellers or buyers. Sometimes it’s to the point that I advise agents to quickly and professionally terminate the real estate relationship in writing. How to Deal with a Difficult Client in aRead More
Real Estate Electronic Client Communication: Best Practices to Avoid E&O Claim Situations
Did you know that even a text message between you and a client can be used as defense a should a real estate E&O claim be filed against you? Proactive and documented communication is essential in the real estate industry to help reduce your risk of a claim. But what exactly qualifies to be inRead More
What To Do When Your Words Cause a Real Estate Lawsuit Risk
Misunderstandings happen. Like the time Lisa, a mortgage broker, told a buyer they were “good to go.” Lisa meant that the buyer had submitted everything she needed to review their loan. The buyer thought “good to go” meant that they were approved for the loan, and they put a $10,000 down-payment on a home. WhenRead More
Emails versus Texts in a Real Estate Transaction
The best way to prevent a claim or lawsuit against yourself as a licensed professional is to memorialize what was discussed in writing with your client starting with the log notes in your transaction file and then followed up with an e mail, facsimile transmission or a hard copy letter (preferably certified mail return receiptRead More
The Realtor’s Need to Confirm in Writing the Material Aspects of a Transaction
How well does a typical real estate agent know his or her client? Good question. In the vast majority of the situations when a real estate agent transacts as a listing, selling or dual agent, the answer is “not very well”. Most clients are complete strangers or acquaintances, rather than good friends who have knownRead More