In this day and age, businesses succeed because they add value to a commercial transaction. It's the "extras" that we flout and use to stand out "above the crowd". You've heard the old saying "under promise and over deliver". Not only is this a sensible model, it's a fun model. I love happy clients more than the air I breathe.
However, there is one duty Realtors owe to their customers and this is absolutely non negotiable. The Realtor Code of Ethics compel us to "take reasonable steps to determine the material facts relating to the purchase or sale of a property and, at the earliest practicable opportunity, disclose the material facts to the client".
What is a material fact? It's something that could affect a reasonable person's decision to purchase or sell a property and may also influence what price to offer or to list at. It might also influence the conditions attached to any such contract.
Some examples are:
1. flooding or structural problems,
2. rights-of-way or restrictions regarding the use of the property,
3. wiring or anything not visible,
4. neighbourhood issues such as a planned wind farm,
5. whether property was used for illicit purposes.
All Realtors are obliged to investigate these facts even if they dissuade a client from offering on the property. Besides that, we must "promptly disclose those facts to the client".
