Episode 024 - Is Fiduciary Just Another 9-Letter Word?
“Fiduciary” is not just a term you learned in pre-licensing class. The word has significant meaning to your client, your business, and your license retention. Outside of the legal issues that can come about if you don’t follow through with your agency duties, the longevity of your business depends on taking care of clients from A to Z.
Agents, do what all the cool kids are doing! Take care of your clients, act as their fiduciary, and I promise your business will thank you!
SHOW NOTES
- 02:30 – After the enthralling discussion about Star Wars LEGOs, toy stores and commercial jingles, we finally get started.
- 03:20 – Song of the episode: “Spoonful of Sugar”; Swallow our “medicine” as agents to do what we must. The sugar is when we receive loyalty from our clients.
- 04:45 – “Fidelity Fiduciary Bank” and Dick Van Dyke played the roll of the bank’s president
- 05:49 – Pre-licensing included a huge discussion about agency. Clients hire us for a reason.
- 06:40 – Think about your relationship with your doctor or attorney and how you like to be treated. Treat your clients the same way.
- 07:23 – Cate: Expectations of confidentiality. Clients “pour their hearts” out to you.
- 08:08 – Reminder of what Fiduciary means: you are an agent that has been hired by your client to perform a service and the agent is the client’s fiduciary. Fiduciary defined: faithful servant; involving trust. Ethically acting in another’s best interest. This is the law.
- 09:10 – Cate agrees with B…as expected.
- 09:18 – Technical piece: COLD-AC; Care, Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Accounting, and Confidentiality.
- 10:20 – Care: how do you take care of your client? Can you take care of your client? Example: residential agent wants to get involved in a commercial transaction. You like cannot take care of your client in that transaction. Do not think about your commission. Think about your client, their needs and can you help your client.
- 11:45 – Disclose to your clients some options: 1) refer to another agent; or 2) align with another experienced agent to work together (share commission) to take care of your client.
- 12:35 – Cate: it becomes a “win-win”. You learn something new; you get some of the commission; and you take care of your client.
- 13:02 – Many other examples: mortgage, inspection, etc. What do you need to learn? What are your limits? Ask questions and take care of your client.
- 13:45 – Cate: B knows everything. Do you know the meaning of obedience? Doing what your client asks. Does not apply to spousal issues.
- 14:30 – Loyalty – putting my client ahead of everyone else. Putting my client’s best interest ahead of my client. My commission is not more important to what my client needs.
- 15:00 – You can other clients, but you are working only for one in each transaction. Where do your loyalties lie when you represent both the buyer and seller in the same transaction? You cannot have loyalty for both.
- 15:43 – Legal example: divorce; one attorney cannot represent both divorcing parties.
- 16:00 – Cate: “I’m looking out for your needs above and beyond anyone else’s, including my own.”
- 16:18 – Disclosure: if I become aware of any information, good or bad, that would affect my client, I am required to tell them about it. Examples: defect, zoning issue, etc.
- 16:45 – Accounting: monitor the financial aspect of the transaction, such as closing statements, lender charges, and also handling earnest money receipts and deposits. Commingling and conversion.
- 17:10 – Confidentiality: privileged information stays confidential. You don’t tell anyone…EVER! Same as “attorney-client privilege” and “doctor-patient privilege.”
- 17:36 – Cate: FOREVER…even if they gave you information 5 years ago. You take it to your grave.
- 17:50 – Movie that B cannot remember…The Firm. “You are ship out to sea and never find a port.”
- 18:35 – Christian: remember that you cannot keep illegal information confidential. You must disclose defects and other legal issues.
- 19:05 – Cate’s Side Note Tangent: B and Christian grew up in the same subdivision. B grew up in the slums of Carefree South. Small world!
- 22:17 – Dual/Limited Agency: B HATES this! Agents rarely handle it correctly, legally, and ethically. We are a professional industry and limited agency restricts that.
- 23:05 – What limited agency requires: disclosure to all clients that my agency duties are now limited and sometimes gone…such as loyalty. By definition, loyalty is GONE for each client. Disclosure and Care are both affected. In some ways, they are now both a customer, not a client.
- 24:18 – Cate: hard for both clients to walk away feeling like they were represented well. Example: blunt client: “just got the tri-fecta”. He didn’t feel he was represented well and only in it for the commission. If you want referrals down the road, limited agency is NOT the way to make that happen.
- 25:20 – Quote of the Episode: “Just having satisfied clients is not good enough anymore. If you really want a successful real estate career, you have to create raving fans.” -B
- 26:42 – Closing: remember COLD-AC. Make sure your clients understand them. Act like a professional. Building a long-lasting business filled with referrals counts on us taking care of our clients. Be their fiduciary and they will love you!
SHOW LINKS
BETWEEN THE LINES LINKS
Email
brian@brianclee.com
cate@craftsmanrg.com
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catelee.com
realestatebetweenthelines.com
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