Are you taking advantage of the elderly or just doing your job?

Elder Abuse in the Real Estate Business is unfortunately becoming more and more common. Some realtors target neighborhoods with seniors and continuously advertize their services, gain trust, and use 'scare tactics'- such as the declining housing market- to pressure seniors to sell their homes. For many of these seniors, selling their homes simply does not make sense. Many of them are already paid off and they may be on the hook for huge capital gains taxes. Furthermore, the seniors may not understand their options, all the terms, or even the fact that they agreed to sell their home at all. Because of their vulnerability and possible mobility issues, many seniors think that the realtors are acting in their best interest when they convince them to sell their home. Many do not consider simply renting out the house and living off the rent payments because they are not savvy enough. Most seniors would no doubt prefer to leave this asset for their children. A sophisticated client would be able to understand and rebuff these tactics, however, many seniors are too easily misled and pressured to sign agreements. They simply succumb to the pressure from the realtor without understanding the implications and consequences of their actions. Therefore, it could be scary for a realtor to deal with an individual of age, as they may face a serious allegation of elder financial abuse and risk their hard-earned reputation and discipline actions as well as a law suit.
In order to avoid problems, the honest realtor must be careful in the way they solicit, approach and conduct themselves with senior citizens. If the senior shows any signs of a weak mind, or even if he/she seems completely sharp and on their game, you need to take extra precautions to make sure that you are not pressuring them to do what they do not want to do, especially if it is not in their best interest. If you are not careful, not only is the transaction possibly voidable, but you may be risking accusations of elder financial abuse, unfair business practices, emotional distess, undue influence and breach of fiduciary duty. This is especially true if you are a dual agent and have the senior sign a dual agency agreement. A consent to such an agreement must be 'informed.' However, if the senior is vulnerable, weak, or has cognitive thinking problems, they may be able to claim lack of informed consent to dual representation in order to void the deal. Of course every case is different and they may not be able to prove any of these claims, nevertheless, when dealing with the elderly in your real estate business, in order to protect your reputation, do right by your clients and avoid unfounded allegations, you should cross your t's and dot your i's. In other words, you should make sure that you are not being overly aggressive in pressuring your client and that they have adequate consultation and advise, and are getting the best deal possible in the circumstances.