I have a question about the quote that follows:

Here is my question...I'm an agent & I've been told that my job is to INFORM, not ADVISE. Give the client all the information they need so that THEY can make an informed decision.

What things should I be advising of & what things should I be informing of?

TIA!
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QUOTE FROM OP:
Selling agents negotiate on behalf of their client's best interests, and convey the proposals of their clients. Transactional agents do everything but negotiate. As a selling agent, you are bound by a code of ethics to convey what the seller tells you to convey on their behalf, HOWEVER, selling agents also advise their clients, if necessary, as to what is in the sellers' best interests, if they opt NOT to take your advise, it's their right.

Transactional agents, by definition, do not advise except to what can and cannot be deemed legal and ethical in regards to the paperwork. They replace the need for two negotiating agents, and in most cases, are usually real estate lawyers or one realtor representing both the buyer and the seller during the transaction.

As an agent (advocate for the buyer/seller) you have a fiduciary duty, which should be spelled out in your contract with them.

Just found this thread and wanted to post a comment before turning in.

I don't know if everyone is aware of this or not, but if you go to Google and type in your name, a lot of your Agents Online posts will pop up as choices. So, for those of you who identify yourselves on here with your web sites and such, remember that there is a chance one of your clients will misplace your business card and Google your name to get your phone number, then stumble across some of your posts. Sorry for the run-on sentence.

It seems like we are a small group of friends on here, but actually everyone with a computer has access to what we say. People do not have to come to the Agents Online web site (or even know it exists) to read our posts; they can read them just by Googling our names and clicking on the different posts that pop up.

I just Googled a couple of my friends on here and some of their A/O posts cropped right up. For those who are registered here anonymously, it's not a problem. The rest of us need to be sure we don't get some surprises in the mail sometime down the line. I realize this site is for us to share our problems and learn possible solutions from our fellow agents, but we need to be sure that we do not violate our codes of ethics. I'm still re-reading some of mine just to be sure I did not accidentally do that late one night when I was not at my sharpest.

Just a thought.

Darlene

VERY good point, Darlene!! Scary to think of the complications that could be caused by a simple post. Murphy's Law and all that.

Darlene, That is exactly why I post anonymously on this BB and yet I have had two moderators take me to task in PM's to say that I should post my real name. I don't see how we can honestly let down our hair here and get advice about client situations if we post our real names and other contact info. I stopped posting here for a while as I was tired of the nasty comments from moderators on my choice not to post my real name, but there are very good reasons for not doing so as you have so clearly pointed out.

Yep, WVAgent, Murphy's Law knows where we live and will track us down every time.

GainSusan, I've been off a couple of weeks myself...we will both try to do better, okay.

Folks, maybe we need a separate thread on this issue because it impacts us all. I understand why some regulars and moderators feel like we should all identify ourselves on the board ***BUT*** if we do that, like GailSusan says, we can't bring up those sensitive problems that bring us to this board looking for help. We aren't here to waste time...we don't have any to waste. We are here to ask others what they would do under similar circumstances, and to ask for help in areas where we have little or no experience, and basically just to make us better at our jobs...and of course to vent. Sometimes, when we vent, we get feedback that the problem was us, not the client. So venting also benefits the clients if it helps us to see both sides of the issue. But, we can't safely vent or share or anything else if we sign on with our real names unless we spend some time editing our posts to protect our clients (very important) and ourselves. So, what's the answer??? I guess everyone just needs to make an informed choice of whether to sign on anonymously or with their real identities. How's that for dancing around the issue?

Actually, I had thought about creating an anonymous identify so I could come on here and ask those "stupid" questions that would ordinarily embarrass me to ask. NOW THERE IS A GOOD REASON FOR ANONYMITY. Don't believe the feedback that there are no stupid questions, cause not everyone feels that way.

I guess we are officially off topic now, so does anyone want to start a thread on this anonymity issue?

Darlene

I am sooo sorry for starting all of this. I never realy realised that I could be googled. We all have to exercise restraint.

JaxLady, you did not start anything but a good conversation. I hope I did not leave another impression. These type discussions help us all, and it's why we come to this site. I did not realize the Google thing for a long time, so I am still checking my posts.

We do need to exercise restraint, but dang, that is hard for any of us to do all the time. When our clients disappoint us after we have done so much for them, it can be very discouraging. I have one in particular to post if I can ever talk about it without screaming. Nothing dull about this business.

Darlene

As usual Darlene, your insights, and good common sense are right on point. Thank you for the heads up about the google search. Perhaps the moderators can configure a way to stop this, because we do need a forum that allows us to openly share ideas, and when necessary vent without fear of reprisal. I was reading somewhere lately, maybe it was here, about a forum that could only be visited by REALTORs whose identities, and license status have been verified. It is starting to sound like a really good idea.

Darlene you have made a believer of me I just changed mine... thank you.

Lemrut

Darlene...

Thanks for the tip. I didnt think about it, and should have. I am now anonymous!

I changed my info as well. Formerly wscottfunk... now Gulf Winds.

Thanks,

Scott

Thanks, everyone. I just stumbled onto it.

Rising Realtor, good idea on Realtors only. Maybe some would not agree, but maybe we could see what everyone thought about it and get some more feedback.

We need to go in our profiles and click to hide our email addresses, too. I think mine is hidden now. We can still get private messages.

We have learned this much--anonymity is a lot of trouble.