Hold the Price of Admission Steady

Busy seasons are when standards slip, because every exception looks small next to the pile of work waiting. In a strong market an agent may be offered more mandates than there is time to check properly. So the nephew selling on behalf of an uncle in another province, with a promise that the power of attorney is on its way, gets taken on anyway. So does the seller who goes vague when asked about the cracks in the garage wall.

Each one feels manageable at the time. But each exception teaches the office something. A new agent who watches a mandate being signed without anyone checking the title deed against the seller's ID learns that checking is optional when things are busy, and things are always busy when it matters most. One tolerated shortcut makes the next one easier to justify, and before long the exceptions outnumber the rule.

The price of admission to a well run property practice has little to do with fees. It is being the person actually entitled to sell, and being honest about the property. That price is easy to hold in a slow month. The busy months are when it is most tempting to discount it, and the discount gets paid later by whoever inherits those files.