Continuing to hand out referrals indiscriminately is a way of relaxing the standards of the real estate advisor profession and is something that should be avoided at all costs.
By Massiel Martínez Marte
Special for El Inmobiliario
There are definitely figures that should not disappear when it comes to the development of the real estate business, and one of them is the "referral," a figure that has always existed and that often creates an alliance between buyer and seller or vice versa.
As a result, the AEI's own Code of Ethics makes reference to this. What I do believe is that this role—in addition to all the others that arise during negotiations—should be regulated and its functions and responsibilities clearly defined.
I feel the law has been too lenient regarding the commission, and this needs to change. It should clearly establish who is responsible for paying the commission, which should definitely be the person being referred. One of the parties involved in the process cannot be forced to assume responsibilities that haven't been assigned to them, and there's no reason why the negotiation with this referred party shouldn't be transparent.
Part of the purpose of creating special laws, such as the one that will regulate real estate services, is simply to establish norms and rules that regulate the actions of the people who participate in the activity in question, and this cannot and should not be the exception.
In order for this Law to be coherent and applicable to reality, the aforementioned must be a figure that definitely forms part of it.
As Bienvenido Paulino and Reyna Echenique stated, not everyone can be considered a referrer, and that's where the importance of the law and its application lies. In my opinion, a referrer should possess certain qualities to be compensated for their work. Otherwise, anyone could be mistaken for a referrer, and that would be very problematic.
Continuing to hand out referrals indiscriminately undermines the real estate advisor profession and is something that should be avoided at all costs. This is a bill that has taken years to achieve; ideally, it should be as realistic as possible and as clear as possible for its application.
The author is a lawyer and CEO of DomusRD.
