Taking Advantage of a 1st-Time Buyer (Or Trying To)
First-time Buyers may not know prevailing lender fees — but experienced Realtors do.
In that vein, a colleague recently reported that, to his chagrin, he discovered that the lender he referred his client to quoted her lender fees (origination, underwriting, appraisal, etc.) easily double the industry norm.
When the Realtor got wind of that, he quickly hooked his client up with another lender.
Two Theories
So, what was the overreaching lender thinking?
Probably that the Realtor wasn’t paying attention, or, if he was, that he countenanced such behavior.
Moral of the story: a good Realtor’s loyalty to their client trumps their relationships with other professionals.
What Standard of Conduct?
The fancy legal term for the foregoing — not screwing your client or standing by when someone else does — is “fiduciary duty.”
Specifically, it’s called the “the duty of loyalty” — one of the dual requirements fiduciaries must uphold (the other is called “the duty of care”).
Now contrast that with Wall Street’s business model of enriching itself while beggaring (just about) everyone else.
Until Wall Street agrees to live by a fiduciary standard in its client dealings — or it is imposed upon it — forget their whining that they are being held to unfair, burdensome rules.
(Note: currently, investment bankers are only subject to what is called a “suitability” standard — that is, the investments they recommend for their clients must be “suitable” for them — never mind the bankers’ self-interest).
See also, “Contractor ‘Win, Place, or Show.'”
