Posts tagged: marketing in real estate

If you are looking for a great way of building your net worth, investing in real estate is a great idea. You can make a lot of money if you do it the right way. However, if you don’t follow the right techniques, this venture can cost you a lot of money. Therefore, we have shared a few tips with you that can help you achieve success as a real estate investor.

Opt for a Good Location

Location is the first thing that people consider when they need to buy a residential, vocational or commercial properly. Ideally, the property you are going to buy should be near a workplace and school. Similarly, if it’s close to the marketplace, people can go there without burning a lot of gas or killing a lot of time. Therefore, it’s much better to choose a better location.

Upgrade or Renovate Your Property

It’s better that you upgrade your property features to make it more appealing. For instance, you may add home automation, such as automated lighting. The same is true about commercial real estate as well.

If you offer wheelchair lifts, for instance, it can make your property more useful for people with disabilities. This will attract many more buyers. Actually, it all depends upon how convenient your property is. If your property offers features that can help people make their lives easier, more people will show their interest in what you offer.

Improve Property Conditions

More buyers will contact you if your house or apartment is well maintained. However, make sure you don’t go beyond the limits. In other words, you may not want to spend an arm and a leg just to make your property more beautiful. It won’t increase the value of your property exponentially. Although it may be worth it in certain situations, spending too much is not a good idea.

Let’s take a look at a few tips that can help you make your property well-maintained.

Kitchen: if you do it right, your kitchen can increase the value of your property by up to 80%. Therefore, if you renovate your kitchen by spending $15,000, you can sell your house at 80% higher price.

Plumbing: we all need clean running water. Keep in mind that rusty pipes pose a health hazard in addition to reducing the beauty of your house.

Landscaping: If you maintain your landscape properly, it can add ambience to your house or apartment. In addition, landscaping helps reduce your energy bills.

Do Your Research

Make sure you consider the type of people that you think will be suitable if you want to sell or rent your house. If you want to get the highest return on your investment, make sure you contact the right people. Otherwise, you won’t be able to earn a lot of profit or find good buyers. Opting for the right clients can help you find a great deal.

Conclusion

So, these are a few tips that you can follow if you want to get the most out of your investment. Hopefully, you will find these tips pretty helpful.

Even if your real estate contract has been written on toilet paper, it’s valid.

Content of your real estate investing contract is what’s important.

Your financial destiny in real estate investing is sealed BEFORE you walk into a real estate closing as a buyer. You have set in

concrete your profit (or loss) before you turn the door knob to enter the office of your attorney or title company at closing. The payoff of the transaction under anticipation is predetermined when the contract is signed between you as the buyer and the other party who is the seller.

The interpretation of these cold, hard words is that you must recognize the importance of the real estate contract that ties together the property transaction. Your contract contains implications for determining profits in advance.

When we strike a deal in real estate investing, we usually just reach for some pre-printed contract form that came from a real estate office or stationary store. We usually forfeit many of our closing rights to some stranger who put together traditional jargon and processes without recognizing that we ourselves have the right to charter this course. Subjecting ourselves to legalese of an attorney who may not even be a real estate investor nor own more than his own home is the pattern followed by most who purchase and sell real estate.

The first order of business in writing contracts is understanding that any sale or purchase of property is negotiable. While the payment of certain closing costs may be customary or traditional for the buyer and the seller, we are not bound by this protocol. Without differing specification in your contract to dictate your personal direction, the closing agent simply resorts to customary convention.

But by understanding your rights as buyer or seller of real estate property, you can actually INCREASE your profits on a transaction by the wording of your contract. However, these settlement terms must be in writing on your contract in advance of the closing. Otherwise, potential profits fly out the window.

One of the most euphoric feelings I have ever experienced in this business of real estate investing was walking out of a closing with a check payable to me for $75,000 on a package of a few cheap real estate properties! As with anyone, I had a use for that cash! But those profits were dictated on my special personal contract in advance of closing.

Much more cash at closing is available to real estate investors who take control of the options available by independently choosing wording in the content of their own purchase contract and sales contract. This choice is readily available to the real estate investing professional who understands these rights and applies them in the construction of a personal contract.

The suggestion in this article is not legal advice but encouragement to take advantage of an opportunity available in real estate investing. This suggestion is not encouragement to become greedy with legal rights but to give notification that negotiation is available over the dictates of closing costs. Sometimes transactions are profitable only when these considerations are understood.

A foreclosed home is one in which the home owner was unable to pay his home loan so that the lender took over home ownership through the foreclosure process. These bank owned properties are also known as REOs (real estate owned).

The process in Arizona is similar to that in other states and will be the basis for this article. When you work with a real estate agent he will write up your purchase offer with you on a standardized contract which was developed by the Arizona Association of Realtors. The contract allows the agent to customize the contract for your particular purchase and has many built in protections for both the buyer and the seller.

When you make an offer for a foreclosed property, you can expect to receive back from the seller (the bank currently owning the property) an addendum to the contract. These addendums are in essence a counter offer that the buyer must accept if he wants to purchase the property. In some cases the seller will negotiate with the buyer over these terms but most sellers expect the buyer to agree to their terms. We have seen a wide variety of addendums in the past year as we have worked with buyers. In all of them, many of the protections for the buyer in the standard contract are eliminated or modified. Here are some of the things we are seeing.

Inspection Period

In the standard contract, the inspection period lasts ten days from the date the contract has been signed by both parties. We have seen addendums that change that to be ten days from verbal acceptance of the contract and have even seen a five day inspection period that must be completed before the buyer signs and accepts the addendums.

Title/Escrow Company

The seller will typically require the buyer to utilize the escrow company of the seller’s choice. Usually using this company helps facilitate the timeliness of the transaction because the escrow company is familiar with the seller’s requirements.

AS/IS & Disclosures

When you purchase an owner occupied property, you will usually get a Seller’s Disclosure Statement. This will provide information about the property and a history of repairs done. When you buy a foreclosure property, the seller has not occupied the property and typically will not provide any disclosure statements. Additionally, the buyer is generally required to purchase the property in its current condition “as is” and the seller will not make any repairs. If something is missing such as a kitchen appliance or garage door openers the seller will not provide it. What you see is what you get. Read the addendum carefully to understand what the seller will be responsible for if the property is damaged during the escrow period. The escrow period spans the time from when the contract is agreed upon by both parties until the sale records (close of escrow).

Cost for Extension of Close of Escrow

Most of these addenda have a per diem charge if you need to extend the close of escrow beyond the date in the original contract. The most common reason buyers need to ask for an extension of the closing date is that the lender has not completed loan processing and delivered loan documents to title several days prior to closing to allow time for both the seller and the buyer to sign. We have seen costs ranging from $40 to $100 per day.

Loan Approval

The Arizona contract allows for a return of earnest money deposited by the buyer if after a good faith attempt to obtain a loan at prevailing market rates to purchase the property the buyer is unable to do so. Some addendums are limiting the buyer’s time to obtain loan approval to a set number of days from contract acceptance, for example 25 days. If the buyer does not notify the seller of his inability to obtain a loan within that time frame, he will forfeit his earnest money to the seller. This holds true even if the inability to obtain the loan had nothing to do with the buyer’s financial qualifications. We have seen loans turned down in the past few months for condo purchases because the community had too low a percentage of owner occupied units or the HOA was not financially solid or some cases for both of these reasons.

Tenants or Other Occupants

Most of these properties will be vacant; however, if you see evidence that someone is living in the property when you are viewing it and prior to writing an offer, you need to ask questions. Who is living in the property? If the property has been rented, what are the terms of the lease? We’ve seen addenda that indicate that the seller will not evict any occupants of the property and that it will be the responsibility or the buyer once he has purchased the property. You should also be aware that tenants have rights too. Be very cautious about writing an offer for a foreclosure property that is occupied.

What Does the Buyer Need to Do?

It is very important for the buyer to read the entire addendum provided by the seller prior to signing. If he has questions about the addendum he should ask his real estate agent for clarification. He should also verify that his real estate agent has read the entire addendum and made note of key dates.

These laws legally force the seller of a home to disclose to the potential buyer any serious defects of the property. The laws were created to help protect the buyer from any defects that were not noticed until they closed on the house and become the owners. Many times it is hard to enforce real estate disclose laws because what is considered serious defects may be open to interpretation. Because of this, the laws are constantly changing resulting in many states not having effective disclosure laws. If the state does not have mandatory real estate disclosure laws, they will usually have a voluntary disclosure.

These laws can cover many different subjects so you should consult with a qualified lawyer or real estate agent to find out the specifics of what they cover. In regards to real estate disclosure there are both state and federal laws regarding these laws. Some brokerages have additional regulations for listings they accept. In the United States, Federal law requires disclosure in regards to using lead paint in homes constructed before 1978. The disclosure laws generally cover toxic or hazardous materials and the presence of asbestos and radon gas.

These laws are designed to help protect a potential buyer from buying a home that has known defects or issues. For example, if the home you are considering buying has suffered from earthquake or flood damage these laws will typically require the seller to provide you with this information. In addition to real estate disclosure law protection the buyer should also have a home inspection done by a professional. This inspection can possibly find other potential issues. Sometimes, the lender will require that a home inspection be done before they approve the loan.

In some states, there are long questionnaires that the property owner has to fill out before they can sell the property. This questionnaire does ask about any potential issues or defects with the property. These questionnaires typically cover everything from issues with the land to the wiring and plumbing inside the home. Some of the things that the seller has to disclose include, but not limited to, are:

• Water damage caused by a leaking roof
• Presence of wetlands on a part of the property
• Recent deaths on the premises

Generally, these laws only require that the sell reveal issues that they are aware of. This means that they cannot be held responsible for any problems they were unaware of before putting their home on the market but not every state provides this protection. There have been some cases that the seller can be sued by the buyer after they buyer becomes the homeowner. This is why you need to have expert advice about real estate disclosure laws in your state.

Real Estate is anything related to the construction and development of land and buildings either commercial or residential. This seems to be a very simple concept, but there are many legal disciplines included. Real Estate Law governs who may use an own the land or buildings.

Some terms to note in the Real Estate Law:

• The title is the official legal term which describes the owner of the property

• The mortgage is lending money at interest in exchange of title on the debtor’s property. After the successful completion of the debt payment, the conveyance of the title becomes void.

• Foreclosure is the term used if the lender takes control of the house or any property used for mortgage if the debtor fails to pay back the amount

• The official meeting for transferring the ownership of the land or property is termed as closing

• Escrow is the term used for money or property withheld with the third party for safekeeping

• Real Estate Agent is the person licensed for negotiating and conducting real estate transactions

The much awaited regulation in the realty sector has been announced by the Government of India last year, which is the introduction of the RERA Act (Real Estate Regulatory Act). Under the act the home builders have to deposit about 70% of the amount in the Escrow account. This will ensure the buyers that the amount is not diverted to some other projects.

Benefits of the RERA Act:

• As mentioned earlier, the builder will divert 70% of the amount taken from the buyers to Escrow account and this will ensure the buyers that their amount is only being used for this project and safe as well without being transferred to other projects.

• With the introduction of this new act the buyers doesn’t have to pay for the area over the carpet area. It is one of the important things to remember.

• All the clearances both from the buyer and the builder should need to be made before selling. The builder needs to disclose the information regarding the apartment.

The builders are allowed to sell the property only after getting proper clearances
RERA, is the central law, but as Real Estate is subjected to state, the state governments have a major role in implementing this act. However the various other related practice area to the Real Estate law include Tax Law, Landlord Tenant Law, Accidents and Injuries, Estate Planning, Insurance Law.

Whether you are buying or selling a property, choosing a real estate agent may be the most important decision you make. Good real estate agents can save you a substantial amount of time and money. They can also ensure that the buying or selling process is an enjoyable and memorable experience. Here are some tips for choosing a real estate agent:

1. Ask Friends/Family for Referrals
Ask family and friends for their advice on local agents. This way you will be sure to find an agent with a good reputation.

2. Consider More than One Agency
There is an array of agents that will kill for your business. That is why you should interview as many agents as you can. Compare agents with regard to their knowledge of the area, experience and qualifications. Also, ask for references from previous clients.

3. Choose an Agent that Knows the Importance of Customer Care
While interviewing different agents you will be able to establish their level of customer care or how far they will go to satisfy the customer. Look at things like their attitude towards returning phone calls and their willingness to meet with you.

4. Choose an Agent that Handles Homes in Your Price Range
When you opt for an agent that deals with homes in your price range, you will be sure to end up with an agent that will give his or her best effort. Some agents deal only with high-end properties and are used to high commissions. They are more likely to attend to these properties first.

5. Choose an Agent that Respects Your Time Schedule
If you will not be able to view properties during office hours, you need to find an agent that is willing to do business after hours or over weekends.

6. Look for an Agent that You Can Communicate With
Communication is vital when buying or selling real estate. Make sure that you choose an agent that understands your needs and that communicates them well. You will be best off if you choose and agent that registers a high level of comfort with you or with whom you are compatible with.

7. Choose an Agent that Provides Multiple Services
It will be a bonus if you can find an agent that can handle the buying/selling process as well as other additional services like arranging property inspections or who can refer you to a trustworthy real estate attorney.

8. Choose an Agent That Can Negotiate
Negotiating skills is an essential quality of a good real estate agent. Make sure you choose and agent with impeccable and proven negotiating skills.

9. Choose an Agent with Lots of Resources
Ask agents where your property will be advertised. Make sure that the agency uses print advertising (newspaper/magazines) as well as other promotional material such as brochures. Also check if the agency makes use of the Internet for advertising their listings.

10. Follow Your Instinct
Choose an agent that makes you feel comfortable and whom you trust. You level of comfort and satisfaction will let you know if you’ve met the right agent.

In the United States, there are well – over, one – million, licensed real estate professionals, although, only a relatively, small percentage of them, are responsible for, the vast – majority, of closed – transactions. Therefore, whether, you seek to sell you home, or are a potential, qualified buyer, it is wise, to carefully, choose, your agent, based on, your personal, best – interests, and, after interviewing them, feeling, they have the combination of attitude, aptitude, skills, persistence, professionalism, and expertise, to serve your needs, goals, and priorities! After, over 15 years, as a Real Estate Licensed Salesperson, in the State of New York, I strongly, believe, these 6 things, you must demand, of the individual, you hire. With that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, what this means, and represents, and, why it matters.

1. Integrity: The real estate professional, you choose, must, consistently, exhibit, absolute integrity! To serve and represent you, you need, and deserve, someone, you feel confident, you can, consistently, trust, in good – times, or less!

2. Allegiance: Nearly every state, as well as Realtor Board’s, include a Code Of Ethics, regarding, the conduct, required by a realtor, to his clients, and customers, etc! One of the key components is, owing a client, complete allegiance, and protecting their privacy, etc. Your chosen professional must put – you – first, consistently, and never provide, any information, which might harm or compromise, your interest (however, that does not mean, violating the law, and/ or, providing any material misstatements!)

3. Tell what they need to know: My service – marked, slogan, is, I will always tell you what you need to know, not, just, what you want to hear. You need, and deserve, someone, who will inform you, in a realistic manner, rather than, wearing, rose – colored, glasses!

4. Prepare a client: Agents owe their clients, a readiness, and willingness, to thoroughly, consistently, prepare them, for potential, possibilities, in order to make this process, as stress – free, as possible! When one prepares his clients, properly, the transaction period, becomes, an easier one!

5. Negotiating expertise: One of the reasons, to hire, a specific agent, is their degree of negotiating expertise, in order to achieve the best price, in the shortest period of time, with a minimum of hassle! This requires the individual, to thoroughly, understand, and know the local, real estate market, etc.

6, Handling details: The transaction period, is, often, full of challenges, and requires, handling the details, effectively, and efficiently, on a consistent basis!

Since, for most, the value, of their house, is their single – biggest, financial asset, doesn’t it make sense, to do, whatever, possible, to ensure, you protect it, and make the best decisions, and take the smartest actions! Consider these 6 things, when you hire your real estate agent!

Heck of a year, to say the least. In the interest in brevity, let me keep it short n’ sweet. Here’s my 2021 predictions.

The Plague
The very obvious question is if there will be a negative impact on real estate because of the Covid-19/Coronavirus. Short answer, Yes. Long answer, Yes again. This especially so in the shopping center retail space. Restaurants are dependent on the residual income of an affluent society. America is an affluent society. The per capita for nearly every societal accoutrement is off the charts. The overabundance of restaurants, gyms, spas, grocery stores, and even tire repair shops pale in comparison to other societies, and even Western Democracies. Ergo, America has suddenly realized it doesn’t need as many restaurants as it thinks it needs, when you consider eating at home is more economically sane – in a time of uncertainty.

My informational sources, such as quarterly reports from Deloitte & Touché and the CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Managers), all indicate that office space (for very obvious reasons), retail, multi-family are in for a rough patch the next 18 months to mid-2022. But for industrial and warehouse space, life is exceptional great. The need to stockpile resources and provisions for consumers is fairly apparent.

On a miscellaneous note, home sales – which is not connected to commercial real estate, but is residential real estate, is doing exceptionally well. This robust disposition is a result of many Americans with abundant resources (and job stability), that enables the purchase of homes and/or an upgraded home. This is also part-and-parcel in a fear of raising interest rates; the need for ownership, personal space and solitude; and likely a bunker mentality – wherein existentially some fear that hordes of people will desperately roam for food in a Dawn of the Dead fake realism (and from the overload of cable news) – but superficially there is no threat, but only in one’s own psyche. It’s important to keep in mind, that despite the chaos, the unemployment rate is still only 6.7% as of November 2020.

Interest Rates
As I correctly predicted last year, rates hit a new low, spurring an increase in market activity. Based on the economists’ predictions I’ve read for 2021 – because there is some dissension within their mindsets, interest rates will fluctuate back and forth, but should be about a fifth of a point lower then where they were at year end 2020. That calculates to about 2.90% for the 30 year fixed rate.

Sellers’ Market
In most localities in the US, it will be a Sellers’ market, which has an inverse relationship with demand. Meaning, when you have higher buyer demand, it will result in an increase in house prices, which will result in a Sellers’ market.

Broker Productivity
This revelation is actually dear and near to my heart, given I was previously a commercial real estate broker dating back twenty years ago before I started to buy homes on my own account. The fusion of technology for residential brokerage has been in the making for a long time and will see a more efficient – perhaps proficient as well, number of brokers emerge as the number of closed transactions is expected to increase in 2021. This is due in part as a result of technology advances. As a contrast, in 2019 the average number of sold homes per residential brokerage was 50.7 homes. In 2021, there is expected to be marked improvement on that number, with in addition the average broker taking less time to close transactions.

At the present time, in the United States, there are more real estate agents, than houses! However, the reality is, all of them, are not, created equal! Since, there’s no – such thing, as a born salesperson/ agent, several factors, and characteristics, differentiate, between individuals! In addition, someone, who may be, great, for someone else, may not be, the one, for you, so, the best path, if you hope to either, purchase, or sell a home, is to thoroughly, interview, potential candidates, and hire, the one, which might best suit, your specific combination of skills, attitude, and other factors, which make you, most comfortable, and satisfied, with your choise! With, that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, 6 key things, which, matter, to many people, and may be significant, for you, as – well.

1. Listens to you, to learn, and understand, your needs, goals, priorities, and perceptions, etc: When you interview, observe, whether, a specific person, prioritizes, listening to you, and addressing your concerns, and situation, rather than, immediately, speaking, and reciting, how much, he can do for you! There will be, plenty – of – time, to discuss that, but, first, it’s essential, to hire someone, who, puts – you – first!

2. Local knowledge: Each area, region, and locality, is different, in certain ways! Seek someone, with considerable, local knowledge, who, is ready, willing, and able, to fully – explain, to your satisfaction, how those nuances, may impact/ determine, the smartest strategies!

3. Integrity: Unless/ until, you feel, someone, has, consistent, absolute integrity (instead of, merely, when it is convenient), you will, probably, find it, challenging, to feel, truly, comfortable, with that person! Seriously, consider, someone’s quality of character, from the onset!

4. Common sense: Unfortunately, although, many take it, for – granted, common sense, is, often, quite – rare! Have a discussion about a variety of scenarios, and possibilities, to learn, as much, as possible, about, who you hire, before, doing – so! Since, for most, the value of their house, represents, their single – biggest, financial asset, doesn’t that, make sense?

5. Understands pricing: A listing and selling price, may, often, differ, so, be careful, to avoid the temptation, to be, bought – by – a suggested, listing price! Be certain, to select, an agent, who, thoroughly, understands, the nuances, and realities, of the current market’s pricing, and is capable, of explaining, why!

6. Negotiating skill: Just, as, it relates, to any other business – related, skill, real estate professionals, need, a high degree of relevant, developed, negotiating skill, and self – confidence, in this area!

When you choose a person, to represent, you, focus on, a variety of factors, and select the individually, carefully, and thoughtfully/ thoroughly! Be a wiser consumer!

In any Listing Agreement there is a point in time when the agency relationship ends.

A Listing Agreement, as it is widely known, is none other than a contract between the rightful titleholder of an interest in land (the ‘Principal’) and a duly licensed real estate firm (the ‘Agent’), whereby the firm stipulates and agrees to find a Buyer within a specified timeframe who is ready, willing and able to purchase the interest in land that is the subject matter of the contract while acting within the realm of the authority that the Principal confers onto the Agent, and wherein furthermore the titleholder stipulates and agrees to pay a commission should the licensee ever be successful in finding such Buyer.

As in all contracts, there is implied in a Listing Agreement an element which is commonly know at law as an ‘implied covenant of good faith and fair dealings’. This covenant is a general assumption of the law that the parties to the contract – in this case the titleholder and the licensed real estate firm – will deal fairly with each other and that they will not cause each other to suffer damages by either breaking their words or otherwise breach their respective and mutual contractual obligations, express and implied. A breach of this implied covenant gives rise to liability both in contract law and, depending on the circumstances, in tort as well.

Due to the particular nature of a Listing Agreement, the Courts have long since ruled that during the term of the agency relationship there is implied in the contract a second element that arises out of the many duties and responsibilities of the Agent towards the Principal: a duty of confidentiality, which obligates an Agent acting exclusively for a Seller or for a Buyer, or a Dual Agent acting for both parties under the provisions of a Limited Dual Agency Agreement, to keep confidential certain information provided by the Principal. Like for the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealings, a breach of this duty of confidentiality gives rise to liability both in contract law and, depending on the circumstances, in tort as well.

Pursuant to a recent decision of the Real Estate Council of British Columbia (http://www.recbc.ca/) , the regulatory body empowered with the mandate to protect the interest of the public in matters involving Real Estate, a question now arises as to whether or not the duty of confidentiality extends beyond the expiration or otherwise termination of the Listing Agreement.

In a recent case the Real Estate Council reprimanded two licensees and a real estate firm for breaching a continuing duty of confidentiality, which the Real Estate Council found was owing to the Seller of a property. In this case the subject property was listed for sale for over two years. During the term of the Listing Agreement the price of the property was reduced on two occasions. This notwithstanding, the property ultimately did not sell and the listing expired.

Following the expiration of the listing the Seller entered into three separate ‘fee agreements’ with the real estate firm. On all three occasions the Seller declined agency representation, and the firm was identified as ‘Buyer’s Agent’ in these fee agreements. A party commenced a lawsuit as against the Seller, which was related to the subject property.

The lawyer acting for the Plaintiff approached the real estate firm and requested that they provide Affidavits containing information about the listing of the property. This lawyer made it very clear that if the firm did not provide the Affidavits voluntarily, he would either subpoena the firm and the licensees as witnesses to give evidence before the Judge, or he would obtain a Court Order pursuant to the Rules Of Court compelling the firm to give such evidence. The real estate firm, believing there was no other choice in the matter, promptly complied by providing the requested Affidavits.

As a direct and proximate result, the Seller filed a complaint with the Real Estate Council maintaining that the information contained in the Affidavits was ‘confidential’ and that the firm had breached a duty of confidentiality owing to the Seller. As it turned out, the Affidavits were never used in the court proceedings.

The real estate brokerage, on the other hand, took the position that any duty of confidentiality arising from the agency relationship ended with the expiration of the Listing Agreement. The firm argued, moreover, that even if there was a duty of continuing confidentiality such duty would not preclude or otherwise limit the evidence that the real estate brokerage would be compelled to give under a subpoena or in a process under the Rules Of Court. And, finally, the realty company pointed out that there is no such thing as a realtor-client privilege, and that in the instant circumstances the Seller could not have prevented the firm from giving evidence in the lawsuit.

The Real Estate Council did not accept the line of defence and maintained that there exists a continuing duty of confidentiality, which extends after the expiration of the Listing Agreement. Council ruled that by providing the Affidavits both the brokerage and the two licensee had breached this duty.

The attorney-client privilege is a legal concept that protects communications between a client and the attorney and keeps those communications confidential. There are limitations to the attorney-client privilege, like for instance the fact that the privilege protects the confidential communication but not the underlying information. For instance, if a client has previously disclosed confidential information to a third party who is not an attorney, and then gives the same information to an attorney, the attorney-client privilege will still protect the communication to the attorney, but will not protect the information provided to the third party.

Because of this, an analogy can be drawn in the case of a realtor-client privilege during the existence of a Listing Agreement, whereby confidential information is disclosed to a third party such as a Real Estate Board for publication under the terms of a Multiple Listings Service agreement, but not before such information is disclosed to the real estate brokerage. In this instance the privilege theoretically would protect the confidential communication as well as the underlying information.

And as to whether or not the duty of confidentiality extends past the termination of a Listing Agreement is still a matter of open debate, again in the case of an attorney-client privilege there is ample legal authority to support the position that such privilege does in fact extend indefinitely, so that arguably an analogy can be inferred as well respecting the duration of the duty of confidentiality that the Agent owes the Seller, to the extent that such duty extends indefinitely.

This, in a synopsis, seems to be the position taken by the Real Estate Council of British Columbia in this matter.

Clearly, whether the duty of confidentiality that stems out of a Listing Agreement survives the termination of the contract is problematic to the Real Estate profession in terms of practical applications. If, for instance, a listing with Brokerage A expires and the Seller re-lists with Brokerage B, if there is a continuing duty of confidentiality on the part of Brokerage A, in the absence of express consent on the part of the Seller a Realtor of Brokerage A could not act as a Buyer’s Agent for the purchase of the Seller’s property, if this was re-listed by Brokerage B. All of which, therefore, would fly right in the face of all the rules of professional cooperation between real estate firms and their representatives. In fact, this process could potentially destabilize the entire foundation of the Multiple Listings Service system.

In the absence of specific guidelines, until this entire matter is clarified perhaps the best course of action for real estate firms and licensees when requested by a lawyer to provide information that is confidential, is to respond that the brokerage will seek to obtain the necessary consent from the client and, if that consent is not forthcoming, that the lawyer will have to take the necessary legal steps to compel the disclosure of such information.