What is Fiduciary Duty?
A fiduciary duty or relationship exists when one person justifiably places confidence and trust in a person for help or advice in some matter. It is considered the highest standard of care provided by professionals, such as real estate agents. It is often described as a duty of care in the service of others.
Sales agents work in a real world with real people. When a consumer seeks our advice and expertise, they have an expectation to receive the best care and utmost loyalty.
Fiduciary is an interdisciplinary approach to client care that includes duties of loyalty, good faith, confidentiality, prudence, and disclosure. It’s a framework that must address the idea of “ought to” as well as “is.” It acknowledges training, experience, and the theory of real estate, but goes one step further to include empirical research and inductive thinking.
A fiduciary is an advocate and guardian angel who embraces choice and its implications for freedom on behalf of the client. Ambiguity and uncertainty in deal-making can be reduced by looking out for the client’s right to free choice. Choice is the defining act in ethics and the beginning of an agent’s duty to their client.
The real estate industry has adopted the The Golden Rule as its guiding star for fiduciary: Do unto others as you would have done to you. In other words, an agent should conduct business on behalf of their client with the same, or better, standard of care that they would have for their own property transaction.
At Pemberton Holmes, we believe that every customer and client is a gift and their patronage deserves our very best judgement. If you feel the same way, please contact us for a personal interview. We look forward to working with professionals such as yourself.