If you’re a real estate professional who was not able to attend the Keller Williams Family Reunion in New Orleans recently, you’re in luck! They have posted several keynote addresses and breakout sessions on the KW blog.
Here is one of the breakout sessions they’ve shared, “2010 Business, Franchising, and Social Media Trends.” Let us know what you think by posting a comment below!
Tip 11 of 12 Risk Reduction Techniques for your daily real estate practice
Controlling your Errors & Omissions should be the mission of all real estate professionals. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of 12 risk reduction techniques you can use to minimize your legal liability and maximize your earning potential.
Tip 11: Avoid overstated adjectives.
When discussing, marketing, or otherwise promoting a property, avoid adjectives (such as “renovated”) that could exaggerate improvements to a property. When stating facts about the age or structure of the roof and/or property, be certain the information you are providing is accurate.
Stay tuned—we have just one more risk reduction tip to to post before you have all 12. Pay attention to these important risk avoiding techniques to help in your daily real estate practice! And check out our other blog posts; we have information on risk management training for your agents, using disclosure forms, what to look for in buying an E&O policy, real estate trends, and more. If you have any comments regarding tricky questions customers sometimes ask, please share them below. We’d love to hear from you!
Sometimes the past is one of the best learning tools around! Use the following Real-Life Errors & Omissions Claim Situation involving negligence to avoid a similar legal showdown happening to you in your everyday real estate career. And be sure to have a good Real Estate E&O Insurance policy in place to protect you in case you find yourself in the middle of a court battle over giving incorrect property information.
A Real Estate agent listed a cottage for sale that was located on a lake inlet. The cottage, situated on an oddly shaped lot, was originally built so that it faced the water but also had views of an adjacent, partially wooded lot. Because of the shape of the lot, the agent urged the sellers to have the lot surveyed and staked by a qualified professional.
Problem
Although the property was surveyed and staked properly, the agent incorrectly interpreted the positioning of the stakes. The agent assumed that the stake in front of the cottage facing the lake represented the boundary between the lots. However, the stake actually represented the opposite boundary of the adjacent lot. The stake representing the boundary between the lots was situated to the right of where they were standing and was not visible because of overgrowth.
Mistake
In addition to misinterpreting the positioning of the pins, the agent neglected to provide the survey results to the buyer for review.
Result
After the closing, the buyers removed the trees located in front of the cottage in order to improve their view of the lake and to install a dock for their boat. Because the agent presented the incorrect property line to the buyers, the buyers stripped the adjacent lot of most of its trees and vegetation during their renovation. The adjacent property owners, who had plans to construct a year-round retirement home on their property, sued the buyers, who in turn brought the agent and her managing broker into the litigation alleging negligence and negligent supervision.
Prevention
Due to the agent’s incorrect assumptions, a rather significant settlement was paid to both the buyers and the neighboring property owners. Had the agent provided the survey results to the buyers, the litigation may have been prevented.
Do you have a similar story involving a charge of negligence to share with us? Send us your learning experience or just let us know what you think about this one! Just leave a reply below!
If you have any questions about Pearl’s Errors & Omissions Insurance for real estate professionals, give us a call at 800.447.4982—whether you’re looking for a new E&O policy or have questions about your current one. We’d love to hear from you!
You can also visit www.pearlinsurance.com/eo to find out more about our quality Errors & Omissions program, including policy features, risk management tools, and much more.
© 2012. Pearl Insurance offers Errors & Omissions coverage and risk management solutions to real estate professionals, as well as timely news and trends involving REALTORS and real estate professionals.
