Commercial Real Estate

We live in a litigious society, and real estate agents and brokers are sued all the time — even if they don’t think they did anything wrong.

After a property closes, issues can come to light that make the new owners or the sellers upset and want to place blame on their agents. The best thing brokers can do is educate themselves and their agents on all the potential situations that could bring about a lawsuit, and, of course, by carrying errors & omissions insurance.

With real estate sales still slow in many parts of the country, you can bet consumers are scrutinizing deals like never before. So if your internal policies and record keeping were a bit loose during the go-go market, it’s time you took steps to protect your brokerage. Make sure your written procedures lay out the key dos and don’ts that associates need to follow.

It’s hardly unusual to hear about real estate brokers who are also active volunteers in their community. Both roles encompass a common mission: serving the needs of people to build a stronger society. But is it wise to make charitable activities a central part of your company strategy?

Buyers today are more informed than ever, thanks in large part to the abundance of real estate information on the Web. 

But even when you're working with buyers who really know what they want, your job will likely require to you show several properties in person.

Ideally, at one of these showings, your client will fall in love with the property and start thinking hard about making an offer. What can you do to help them reach that stage? Here are 10 tips for making sure that the home-showing process moves along smoothly and efficiently (and safely, of course) as possible: 

When it comes to convincing buyers and sellers that you're their best choice, you really have only two options. You can sell your accomplishments or you can sell the benefits that your prospective clients will receive from working with you.

It’s not an uplifting thought, but it’s a fact of working in the real estate business: Many of your clients will be in the midst of a sorrowful life transition. Maybe they’re leaving the home where decades of family memories were created, splitting up after an ended relationship, or selling because they no longer have the financial means to pay the mortgage.

Because you’ll inevitably work with a grieving client at some point in your career, it’s important that you understand the five stages of grief, as identified by American psychologist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. By knowing what your clients are going through, you can better understand what is motivating their decisions and help them keep the deal on track.

Define and embrace your company culture, power brokers say, then recruit agents who fit that niche.

Real estate has been slow to attract young professionals, but forward-thinking brokers are overcoming common barriers to entry.

Mapping technology has come a long way since the days Mapquest and Garmin ruled the lot. A host of open-data and proprietary tools offers real estate pros—both residential and commercial—new ways to share data about properties, local economic trends, and neighborhood amenities

Here Barbara Holland, CPM, of H&L Realty & Management Co. in Las Vegas, identifies some of the biggest liability mistakes common among those who haven’t yet learned the ropes.