I was just reading a comment(#43) to a post on deceptive radio advertising for mortgage lending on Seattle’s Rain City Guide regarding selecting an agent when I received a call from the selling agent on one of my recently closed transactions.

He said he was missing a copy of an Agency Disclosure Form signed by his buyers. I thought he had misplaced his copy of the form. I had one and offered to send him a copy. That wasn’t it. He simply didn’t understand the form. There’s more, but no reason to repeat it herein.

I thought to myself… “Wow. Here someone has placed responsibility for a purchase involving hundreds of thousands of dollars into the hands of someone with limited knowledge of the forms being used. What else doesn’t he know and what if something had gone south with this transaction (it didn’t)? Did the buyer have a clue when they chose their agent?”

It got me thinking (again) about the risks to which buyers and sellers are exposed… and the fact that they have no idea of the extent of their exposure. They simply don’t know what they don’t know.

The vast majority of the time nothing significantly untoward happens and the extent of their risk exposure is never uncovered. Oh, maybe they spent or received several thousand off of what they could have otherwise realized (enough to cover the cost of more knowledgeable professional?). But unless particularly egregious, there’s generally never any way it will come to light.

But then again why would anyone expect anything different? Isn’t this the same problem you confront when selecting a doctor, attorney, or auto mechanic?

The first axiom of selecting a real estate agent (or any other professional for that matter) ought to be an understanding that they (and the service they provide) are not fungible (interchangeable). In other words, not all are alike.

She was looking for feedback… searching for a reason why her home hadn’t sold in the four months it had been on the market.  She had listed her home with a limited service agency, so she was doing the showing/previewing follow up herself.  I had to admire her diligence as her home had been on the market for some time.

I felt a little sorry for her.  She noted they had already reduced their price $20K.  I briefly thought about providing some insight and advice over and above feedback on the showing condition of her home but thought better of it.

Even though she was using a limited service real estate agent, there was still an agency relationship that needed to be respected.  It would have been improper of me to interfere.