I often break down our job as Realtors like this - We are:

1. Guides (through an uncommon process)
2. Resources (assist in finding answers)
3. 3rd Parties (non-emotional participant)

I also often say we are primarily in two businesses:

1. Personal Marketing (meeting as many people as possible)
2. Deflecting Liability (protecting ourselves)

Deflecting liability simply means to stay in your lane and allow others, who expect the liability, to take that liability. We do not need to try to be all to everyone.

The Law says licensees (us) are obligated to:

1. Provide brokerage services to all parties to the transaction honestly and in good faith.
2. Exercise reasonable skill and care in providing brokerage services to all parties.

They are telling us to focus on our expertise - Brokerage Services.

RECAD lays out the obligations all licensees owe "the public" regardless of whether the consumer is a client or customer. This includes:

1. Honesty & Good Faith
2. Reasonable Skill & Care
3. Confidentiality
4. Prompt Presentation of Offers
5. Accurate & Complete Answers
6. Disclosure of Personal Interest
7. Disclosure of Relationship (RECAD)
8. Accounting for Funds

While it is very important to know these 8 things, it is also important to note the things left out. It is not our job to give our clients our opinion on everything. Our job is to provide information not opinions.

It can be a struggle to put up and maintain a mental wall between helping people with "real estate" and what we are authorized to help people with. Helping people and keeping people informed does not mean you can step out of your area of expertise. Answering questions about things that are not related to your specific part of the process of buying or selling a home is beyond your area of expertise.

Lenders have their part. Inspectors have their part. Appraisers have their part. And there are specialists for everything: HVAC people, stucco people, etc. We may know more than our clients about these things but that is only due to the frequency of contact with the issue, not actual expertise with the issue that has arisen.

Brokers are not protected by caveat emptor. We are not protected from liability. It is our DUTY to always stress to the client the importance of doing his/her own due diligence to inspect every aspect/get every question they have answered. And it is our duty to point them in the direction of the right person to answer their question; not to answer a question outside of our expertise.

So, what is our duty?

We are here to help. When clients do ask for a recommendation, real estate professionals should have something more to offer than just for them to Google it. Clients should be able to take advantage of an agent's experience, and their search should, at a minimum, be given some reasonable direction.

It is possible for agents to be of great assistance to their clients and still stop short of making the kind of specific recommendation that might incur liability. Take inspectors for example: Obviously, buyers who are looking for a property inspector want to hire the best inspector that can be found.

Evaluating potential inspectors is an important process. Not all inspectors are created equal. As in any profession, there are those individuals whose level of skill and professionalism sets them above (and sometimes, below) the crowd.

So, when they ask us, we should provide clients with multiple options (if they don't have one picked out already) so they can make their own choice. But what about when they ask us our opinion?

We are not experts in home inspections, mortgages, insurance, title work or legal issues. We are responsible for plenty already.

Here are some examples of scenarios to deflect liability:

Client asks: "Hey, do you think that spot on the ceiling is an active leak, or an old one?"

Wrong answer: "It looks old to me; it's probably not an issue."

Right answer: "I don't know, that's not my area of expertise. If that's important to you, I'll help you remember to ask the inspector about it."

Client asks: "This lot I want to buy is landlocked. It's not hard to fix that is it?"

Wrong answer: "Nah man, after closing you can get that fixed easy."

Right answer: "You know, I don't have any experience with being granted an easement. But I have had clients who needed the same question answered. I'll send you the number of a few title people you can ask."

Client asks: "Is this pool pump under warranty? It looks old."

Wrong answer: "I agree, it looks old as hell. I'd ask the Seller to replace it."

Right answer: "If that is important to you, we can find out. Make sure to ask your inspector of choice if he/she inspects pool pumps. And we can always ask the Seller for a home warranty that includes pool coverage."

If you focus on deflecting liability to where it belongs, if something goes wrong, it's not your fault, you are not responsible. You are simply the conduit, the messenger, the interpreter for the client. Inspectors, lenders, appraisers, title agents, builders are all licensed and bonded for a reason. They are experts in their field. We don't want them to start talking about market price with our clients and listing homes, do we?

No single transaction is worth a potential lawsuit. Deflecting the liability of going out of our area of expertise must be done. Do not let your guard down. We need to think about this every day.