Real Estate Agents Make Mistakes Too

Oops, that washer and dryer wasn’t meant to be included with the sale of the house?

An honest mistake can lead to a costly lawsuit.  Learn how to protect yourself with professional liability insurance. 

Real estate agents are constantly busy tracking multiple clients and their listings. There are a lot of details to keep straight –  and the property included in the sale of the home needs to be itemized and double checked so there are no surprises at the close.  The client’s list should match the actual inventory of the house so a selling agent can  be upfront with the buyer’s agent and manage the buyer’s expectations.

But sometimes things fall through the cracks.  Like a  washer and dryer that were listed in the buyer’s inventory list, but not included in the list of items the seller plans to included with the house sale.

Oversights like this can happen, especially when you’re negotiating between multiple parties. But, how do you protect yourself when your client may be trying to keep some items that the buyer expects will be included with the sale? Something like this could easily lead to a lawsuit, and the defense costs can quickly wipe out the commission from the sale.

How do you prevent this? If you have professional liability insurance you may be covered for your error. Hiscox professional liability insurance coverage protects your business against errors and omissions, actual or alleged, which occur while providing your professional services. This includes giving incorrect advice, an omission, or failing to deliver your service. In this case your failure to disclose that the washer and dryer was not staying with the home could be covered if you were sued for negligence.  

A professional liability policy is there for you when you need it. When a covered claim is reported, we’ll immediately defend you and appoint an attorney if necessary. Real estate professionals have a lot on their plates to manage. Don’t let one small mistake ruin your reputation and risk loss of future sales.