In last week’s poll we asked:
Which, if any, of these following factors do you think the Realtor should have known and shared with Sara and Amar before they made their house purchase? (Choose any that you believe applies)
- Realtor should have known and shared about the school closure
- Realtor should have known and shared about the change to the transit system
- Realtor should have known and shared about the bylaw regarding older home renos
- Realtor should have known and shared about the redevelopment at the end of their block
- Realtor should have known and shared about the two-dog limit
The story of Sara and Amar told of the couple’s disappointment and anger at the buyer’s agent for not sharing certain facts about the neighbourhood before they finalized the purchase of their Fraser Valley home.
Of the 17 Realtors who voted in the poll, all agreed that the Realtor should have known and shared with their clients bylaws regarding older home renovations and the development planned for the end of their block.
Nearly as many (15 votes) came in asserting that the Realtor should have known and shared that there was a two-dog limit in the municipality.
13 out of the 17 Realtors felt that the imminent closure of the school and the change to the bus route were also factors the buyers’ agent should have known and shared with his clients.
Our in-house expert Dennis Wilson says not all of these factors are black and white issues. He points out that a Realtor should take whatever measures he/she needs to take to avoid misrepresentation. So, if the agent knew the clients had three dogs, it would be prudent to check whether three dogs were permitted. Whereas, although the re-routing of the transit bus may be critically important to the buyers, unless they shared this with the Realtor, should he/she be expected to advise them of this change — assuming the agent had access to the transit’s plans in advance?
Judgement and circumstances vary from one situation to the next and that is why Wilson points to Article 4 of The REALTOR® Code as a good guide rule. It reads ‘A REALTOR has an obligation to discover facts pertaining to a property which a prudent REALTOR® would discover in order to avoid error or misrepresentation.’
Thanks for taking last week’s poll. Now go ahead and check out this week’s poll.