Negotiable or Non-Negotiable?

I stood in a basement once with a very intelligent young lady explaining the dire consequences of a water saturated, failing concrete wall on a house she liked. I thought for sure once I told her about the ordeal of jacking up the house and re-pouring a new concrete footer that she’d pick up her marbles and leave. That was not the case. She simply turned to me and said, “I want to put in an offer”. I tried again, telling her she didn’t have the capital and that she would likely end up spending a bunch of non-refundable inspection money to find out that the house was a lemon. She insisted I write the offer. 

One of the fiduciary duties is obedience, but what if you’re facing a moral line? There are going to be times in your career as a real estate agent, where you are going to have to make difficult principled decisions. It’s important, I think, to draw those lines in the sand for yourself early. How far will you push the line? What’s negotiable and what’s non-negotiable for you to be sleeping sound at night?

For me, putting an intelligent lady in a home I knew was going to bleed her dry financial was a non-negotiable moral decision. I didn’t write the offer. We parted ways. I didn’t sell her home after showing her properties for 4 months. I wasted a lot of time and energy. However, it was the right thing and I’ve been sleeping like a wee babe.  

My mentor told me once “do right by your clients, even if they don’t know they’re wrong”. It’s sage advice.

I’d love to hear from you. Has there ever been a time where you faced a moral dilemma? What did you choose to do? Don’t worry. You won’t be judged. I think it’s a great discussion to have. 

Until then, keep your feet moving, chin up … and burn the white flag.

sz

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