Event Coverage
Tips to Keep Agents Out of Trouble
E. David Marks, an attorney with Miller Starr Regalia, shared tips to keep agents out of trouble with SILVAR members at Monday's Menlo Park/Atherton District quarterly meeting. He cautioned Realtors to be very careful and very thorough, with regard to all documents, noting not knowing much, can easily get one into trouble.
According to Marks, most common problems center on disclosures, advertisements and new construction, and he proceeded to go into detail about each topic. Marks then provided SILVAR members with handy "Top Ten Things to Do" and "Top Ten Things Not to Do" lists involving these and other important topics:
Things to DO:
10. Recommend appropriate inspection in connection with noted problems.
"Disclose, disclose, disclose anything that will materially affect the desirability of the property….. And make sure you perform a diligent visual inspection of the property," Marks advised.
9. Advertise realistically and just based on current facts that you actually know, not future possibilities.
"Your advertising should only rely on things you can actually see, touch and say, but examine every single word you use. Never exaggerate; use just the facts. Be careful of using adjectives. …. Do not state that which you do not know," said Marks.
8. Make your client read the warning on the Supplemental Checklist.
7. Any language added to a contract must make sense.
6. Use your managers and counsel.
5. Properly reference any sources that you use for your ads, such as Metro Scan.
"Once you place a statement without attribution to someone else, it's yours, so be careful what it says," cautioned Marks.
4. Use appropriate disclaimers.
3. Understand the documents you use.
"I strongly urge you to know your documents very well," Marks said.
2. Listen to what your client wants and pay attention to the "red flags."
1. Document, document, document
Things NOT to DO:
10. Never represent the buyer and the seller at the same time.
"How can you have a fiduciary duty to two parties with two separate and competing goals?" he spelled out the problem that arises in such a situation.
9. Never state you know or can estimate the acreage or size of the lot.
8. Do not fill out the TDS and Supplemental Checklist for your client.
7. Do not say how easy it would be to expand the home.
6. Do not guarantee that anything was done with permits.
5. Do not say "no" when your client says, "Should I disclose?"
"If it's enough to bring it up, it's enough to disclose," added Marks.
4. Do not advertise the quality of construction and design unless you have the expertise to do so.
Marks cautioned that a statement like "great attention to construction details" can get agents into trouble.
3. Do not say that the cracks are only cosmetic.
2. Do not say that Metro Scan is a government database.
1. Do not believe that if things go south, your client will understand you did your best and leave you alone.
Marks emphasized to Realtors, "Be careful, be as thorough as you can. There are many lawyers who will take a case, and mistakes can lead to a lot of trouble and money spent."
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
For further information, please email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.