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Real estate brokers are well trained to cater to and manage clients’ expectations and transactions. However, conflicts regarding trust, communication, and boundaries may prompt brokers to let go of potential clients.
Some people would like the relationship between real estate brokers and their clients to dancing: it takes trust, communication, and being “in sync” to be able to work together harmoniously with a few missteps and false starts as possible. Although brokers will exercise the very limits of their skills and patience to help clients get the best deal, there are occasions when a good professional relationship will no longer be possible despite all efforts.
Here are some things that brokers must look out for, and clients must avoid so they will not be “that client” that one that real estate brokers must let go of:
Dishonesty
Naturally, clients expect their brokers to be up front and honest with them about their work. What clients sometimes forget is that brokers expect the same thing from the people who engage their services. Dishonesty from clients may be as grave as an outright misrepresentation of one’s identity, to small omissions of details about finances, schedules, or even expectations. In the worst cases, brokers may have to drop clients in order to protect their practice from liabilities and legal trouble. However, even seemingly “smaller” acts of dishonesty can seriously undermine the trust between a broker and the client and be a cause for a broker to drop the client altogether.
Rudeness and Discourtesy
This is true of all working relationships, not just of those with brokers and their clients. Brokers who feel disrespected, ignored, belittled, or even abused by their clients would do better to step out, even if it means losing a potentially good deal. Lack of courtesy is not a strong foundation for a good working relationship.
Extreme Indecisiveness
Although a very picky client may seem to be a broker’s nightmare, the same can be true for a client who is the exact opposite. A client with little to no idea as to what he or she wants in a property may wind up wasting a lot of a broker’s time and energy in an aimless series of property searches and meetups with potential sellers, to little or no avail.
Communication Issues
Much of the success of a broker’s work with his or her client depends on how well expectations are communicated, both with regard to the specifications for properties of interest, as well as other aspects of the sale. While many communication issues can be easily threshed out, irreconcilable conflicts may be a sign of a deeper problem at work.
Unrealistic Expectations
Brokers are well trained to help clients zero in on properties that meet their needs, expectations, and budgets. However, there are some clients who may demand the impossible, such as an “affordable” property in an exclusive subdivision. A serious talk about expectations can help clarify matters as to what is feasible given the client’s situation and the broker’s capacities, but if this fails, it may be time for the broker and client to move on.
No Boundaries
In this age of work-life balance, it is important for brokers to also set their boundaries as to managing their work and dealings with their clients. Clients should not feel entitled to have the broker at their beck and call just because the latter stands to benefit from a successful transaction. From the get-go, brokers should make it clear when they may or may not be contacted during the clients on weekdays, holidays and off hours, as well as to other necessary boundaries. Otherwise, one may end up with a frustrated client and a burned out broker.
In the end, the ease and success of a real estate transaction hinge on the quality of a broker and a client’s relationship. It is important to keep these no-nos in mind to help stay ‘in sync’ and ensure the best deal all around for the broker, the client, and the seller.
Read our previous journal for more real estate tips and features.
