Know What We Do Not Know!

As a practicing Realtor in the most litigious state in the nation; I along with my fellow practitioners of the Real Estate trade are besieged by the legal practical realities associated with buying and selling property.

As any agent will (or should) tell you. Real Estate agents are NOT Lawyers, CPAs, Architects, Appraisers, Geologists, Home Inspectors, Contractors, Plumbers or Seismologists. Yet on any given day and in any given transaction, we are expected to Know What We Do Not Know.

There are so many realty do's and don'ts that it is a wonder that every deal doesn't end up in arbitration or court. We are required to know every disclosure, mandated by law, and yet we must walk the fine line between what we know and can not say, and what we can or must say but really should not. It is folly to believe that, all this can be accomplished without blurring or crossing the line between reporter/observer and expert/professional. Either way, the risk is always there, lurking in the back of our mind.

If you've ever bought and sold a home in California, you know the sheer volume and weight of endless and redundant disclosure. News flash, we're not expecting any document reductions any time soon.

We carry a heavy burden. The home buying experience is as painful as childbirth (so I'm told) and as stressful as divorce (so I'm told). Actually many transactions are conducted during and immediately after both of those scenarios. I guess I should throw in that we are not Psychologists as well but then, I know better than to make that claim.

We are just well intentioned people; we are Realtors, first and last. We are referrers of the highest order. All we know is what we do not know. And I have a disclosure for that too!