Do The Right Thing
I care passionately about doing the right thing. Warburg Realty has built its reputation on a platform of outstanding client service, broad agent knowledge, and integrity in our affairs. But in 2018, what does the word “integrity” actually mean? Everyone believes in integrity as a concept. But how does that concept get applied to real life in a world in which it often seems that money outweighs everything? Let’s look at a few situations we encounter regularly in the residential real estate business:
1) GAZUMPING – this is the situation in which our integrity, and that of our clients, is most often called into question. Our seller accepts an offer. A contract is sent out. Then a higher offer comes along. (The submission of the higher bid is known as gazumping.) As fiduciaries for our seller, we are required by law to pass on every offer. But what is the right thing to do? We as agents should make sure to advise our sellers as to how to achieve the best and highest price. But once a deal is struck I believe all parties should stick with it. At that point there has been a verbal handshake. A handshake should still mean something. And it doesn’t matter how much higher the second bid comes in. Whether the difference is $10,000 or $100,000 the concept is unchanged. As agents, we must do as our client instructs us, but we can at least urge them to stick to an agreement they have already made.
2) DUAL AGENCY – New York State permits dual agency, which is the practice of representing both the seller and the buyer in a transaction. Warburg Realty does not permit it. When considering ethical priorities, the response “But it’s legal” is never appropriate. Just because it’s legal does NOT make it right. Integrity has a higher standard than the law. We don’t permit dual agency at Warburg because it is impossible, in good faith, to represent both sides in a transaction with equal care. What if you know that the buyer is willing to pay more than the seller’s bottom line? Which side do you choose? It’s an impossible situation. At Warburg, any time a customer comes directly to one of our listings we represent the seller. Period.
3) TV – Warburg participated in several seasons of “Selling New York” when it first appeared a little less than a decade ago. Although it was transaction focused, we felt in the end that it risked the confidentiality of our clients and asked us to behave in ways which did not jibe with our values. We learned that there is little reality in reality TV. But today I believe the shows actively undermine the best values of our industry. It’s all about money; clients service is literally never mentioned. And they focus on creating larger than life portraits of the agents, a number of whom have acted right on the edge of minimal ethical standards. The broker is the one who counts, they seem to say, and there are no holds barred in the race to the seven figure payday. This is pretty much 180 degrees from my view of our work. Residential sales transactions are about the client, not the agent! The agent’s job is to achieve the best price for the client while maintaining the highest professional standards. We are not the star.
Recently our firm hired an agent who had also received an offer from an extremely well financed competitor. When our competitor heard that the agent had signed with us, their reaction was not to wish them luck, as I have always done. Their reaction was to sweeten their offer even more to urge her to walk away from the contract she had just executed with us. Is that legal? Absolutely. Does it set an example that it is best to do the right thing even if it does not get you just what you want in the moment, that you recognize that the ecology of our best society depends on each of us holding ourselves to a higher standard of behavior? You decide.