Friday, June 22, 2007

30 Year Broker weight in CONTINUE:Tenant reps tout lack of conflicts

Re: Tenant reps tout lack of conflicts

For background, I am a co-author of the Code of Ethical Principles and
Standards of Professional Practice of the Society of Industrial and Office
REALTORS. As well, I am a co-author of the Society's four hour ethics
program entitled "What Makes A Professional". My term of service as an
industrial and office broker is now thirty three years. My study of
brokerage in a legal and ethical framework is now approaching thirty years.
I have chaired ethics and professional standards committees at the local and
national levels as well.
I can say without reservation that the best way to serve a real estate
client is as a single agent, providing advocacy only for that client. In
that, all other situations that may arise will present conflicts of interest
or perceptions of conflicts of interest to the client base. All one needs
to do is follow the money!
It has always been interesting to me how full service people believe that
disclosures and disclaimers provide the necessary shield against the
opportunity to play both sides of a transaction. This issue gets worse when
you throw in dual agency or dual representation concepts into the
discussion. Full service brokers use various inducements to a client to win
an assignment to be their representative, only to have to ask the client to
waive the brokers' responsibility when a dual agent situation arises. The
client is suddenly left with no representation at all. Bullhonkey! It
doesn't pass the smell test.
As the brokerage model of the past fifty or so years continues to devolve,
however, most of these kinds of discussions will fade into that past. In
spite of the industry's cling to the status quo, technological advances,
standardization of data and documentation, opening up of data into the
public domain and other efficiencies not presently being employed (but
available) will replace the tried and true, list and sell, be all and do all
broker of the present.
Clients will still need advocates with a solid knowledge base. Those who
make the transition to single client advocacy and can provide the necessary
support will be labeled ethical technicians. It is this kind of creature
who will still be standing in wake of the coming fallout of traditional,
head in the sand brokers.
Vic Bruno, CRA
President . Qualifying Broker
Vic Bruno Co.
P.O. Drawer 20460
Albuquerque, NM USA 87154