You Said What
Have you ever been asked to compromise your reputation for the sake of closing a transaction? Or, do something you know is not lawful according to the contract and documents your clients are signing?
What would you say to an agent who told you “the seller can just give the buyer cash for repairs at closing”. Or… yeah, the lender and the title officer just leave the room and the seller pays the buyer for repairs. We can put it on an addendum and the lender won’t see it. WHAT?
When I hear stories like this, I assume these things used to happen on a regular basis and some agents just don’t know this is NOT legal. I prefer to believe this is an innocent request and not a blatant attempt at working the system. Of course, I tend to believe the best about people until proven otherwise.
Keeping it Legal
Whether you claim ignorance or stupidity, neither is a valid defense when facing a court or the possibility of losing your license and reputation. As agents, we must know how to protect our clients and ourselves. The only thing worse than having to face disciplinary action would be dragging our clients along. They expect us to protect their interest. Believe me; they are not interested in going to court.
How does an agent know what is acceptably legal? Education and broker supervision! Of course there is our internal BS meter, which says this doesn’t sound right.
With the rampant changes in lender requirements, we must be aware of those who will try to navigate loopholes. When faced with a request to exchange money outside of the contract, remember these words:
If it’s not on the HUD-1, it isn’t done! It’s really that simple.
