I was browsing around Active Rain today, checking out new groups and such, when I came across Austin Smith’s blog post, Are You Just in it for the Money?

Austin asked his father, who’s in real estate, a question: "Have you ever, or would you in the future, put your client in a house you know will be financially overwhelming for them in the long run?" Perhaps it was a little more than their initial price limit. Maybe the note is just a little higher than they were wanting to pay each month. From your side of things they just might be making a mistake buying this particular house. You ask them to consider looking at something a little less expensive or in a different location, but they refuse.

Austin’s father, and most of those who commented, said that they had never and would never do this. Good answer. I think it’s what most of us could say.

But Austin’s question got me to thinking, and I became curious. (Uh, oh!)

Let’s turn that question around and look at it from the listing side. How many of you who handle listings have given your clients advice about the necessity of de-cluttering, repairing, painting, or hiring a stager? And if your client refused to do any of those things, you took the listing anyway knowing that they were not going to be able to sell the house for as much as they could have if they had taken your advice?

Have you ever, or will you in the future, list a house that you know could be listed for a higher price if the seller would just take your advice and stage it? Of course we all have, and we all will.

So, I ask you. Is that as bad as helping a client buy a house that is too much of a stretch? The buyer may not be able to stay in the house. The seller walks away from closing with less money in his pocket to buy the next house. One seems worse than the other, so the question becomes, ethically just how much do we owe our clients when it comes to their financial well-being?

Which all leads to the caveat. Maybe they could add it to the agency agreement:

Warning! You have hired me as your agent, but don’t blame me for any aspect of your future financial well-being if you don’t listen to me and take my advice!