Hot Market Rookie Mistakes | Tips for Agents, Brokers, and Contracts!

As professional real estate agents, much of our success hinges on having the proper resources and the proper training. Proper training, however, needs to be paired with strong discipline, and there are a few situations where this discipline becomes a crucial part to staying safe and responsible as an agent or a broker. One big and relevant example is a hot market.

Hot markets can be tricky to navigate responsibly, especially for agents who haven’t been through one before already. Learning how to navigate hot markets is incredibly important, though, since irresponsible handling of a hot market can result in expensive consequences for you and your client, and can put a bad mark on the industry and colleagues by association. Here are a few key rookie mistakes when it comes to hot markets, and why you should avoid them.

Lack of professionalism

Somewhat of a recent trend across different industries has been to call into question the meaning and purpose of “professionalism.” For many, professionalism means a workplace performance that does little to truly affect the quality of a product or service. It’s a sort of remnant of tradition, an outdated practice belonging to a different generation with different standards. While there may certainly be some truth to this, it is a mistake to fully embrace it within the real estate industry, especially during hot markets.

In this industry, our reputation is everything. From your clients to your sales and everything in between, everything hinges on your reputation, your image as an agent, and thus on your professionalism. In a hot market, things can get hectic, but remember: a little goes a long way. As an agent, not only do swift responses to any sort of offer, inquiry, or message build stronger relationships with clients and other agents, but in many cases, it’s the law to do so. Additionally, being courteous and patient with your clients can only help then and down the line, especially if and when the market starts to cool down.

Airing dirty laundry

A big thing popping up on different pockets of the internet has to do with agents airing out their dirty laundry. Look, I get it. As agents and brokers, we go through a lot, and gossiping is a great release. However, airing out these grievances on Facebook or other public spaces is a huge mistake.

Again, this industry is all about reputation. Posting unnecessary details online about poor interactions with other agents, buyers, sellers, etc. is not only just done in poor taste, but it can also get you into all sorts of trouble down the line. If these posts find their way to a potential future client, you could lose the detail before it even gets started. Some details might not even be very legal to share, and so this could also land you in some legal trouble.

Just like in any industry, gossiping and venting are important parts of the job, but if you need to do so, go grab a coffee with a friend instead! Posting bad evidence against yourself online for a dopamine hit is not worth the potential harm to your brand that you could be committing.

Handling disputes

In an industry with such high value deals and negotiations, disputes with buyers, sellers, or simply other agents are practically inevitable. Once again, however, in an industry where your reputation is your career, getting messy in any dispute only goes against your best interests. As before, your social and professional reputation is always on the line, and damage there means damage everywhere. In disputes with other agents, however, something else is also on the line: legal repercussions.

In this industry, everyone has lawyers. This means that disputes aren’t just grounds for reputation harm, they’re grounds for expensive lawsuits. Navigating disputes calmly and healthily, then, isn’t just something you should be doing as a good person. It's immediate professional, legal, and financial damage control. Lawyers are only a call away, so watch your temper!

These are all, of course, some of the first things we learn when aspiring to our positions as agents and brokers. However, the pressure and pace of a hot market can make it easy to slip into a less professional, riskier behavior and attitude. Resist the urge!

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