It's your fiduciary duty

Editor's note: Goldman Sachs, in its $550 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, did not admit to or deny allegations brought by the SEC, but said it would change business practices and admitted to "incomplete" marketing materials prepared for a collateralized debt obligation it sold to investors.

Episode 30: As a real estate professional you owe fiduciary duties to your clients, even though these duties could potentially cost you in the form of lost sales and clients, says Frank LLosa, broker of Frankly Realty, in this episode of The Wheel Estate Cam.

Even if you do lose business in the short term because of your diligence in offering consumers all of the information they need to make an informed decision and avoid pitfalls in a transaction, the trust and brand you build by performing these fiduciary duties will likely pay off in the long run, LLosa said.

LLosa says someone posed the question to him: "If you were selling a house and you knew that your buyer would only buy the house if (the buyer) could cut down two trees, and you knew it was illegal to cut down those trees, would you actually tell (the buyer) ... and actually risk losing the deal?"

That should be a no-brainer, LLosa says. "That is exactly what we stand for and that's exactly what we have to do. As agents we have a fiduciary duty."

He adds, "We represent the client, we don't represent our paychecks."

Being truthful and "taking a long-term approach -- not trying to make a quick buck," can serve your business best, he says.

Watch past episodes of the Wheel Estate Cam.

Frank Borges LLosa is the broker, founder and owner of FranklyRealty.com, a real estate brokerage in Falls Church, Va. He is the creator of the Trust Me I'm a Realtor blog and multiple listing service wiki site FranklyMLS.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @franklyrealty.

Contact Frank LLosa:
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