Areas of Expertise

Real Estate Agent Standard of Care & Professional Duties

In most claims against a licensee, the central question is whether the licensee acted as a reasonably competent real estate licensee would have in the same circumstances. Keith explains the professional practices and industry standards that applied at the relevant time and assesses the licensee's conduct against them, at listing, marketing, negotiation and completion.

Questions this may address

• What would a reasonably competent licensee have done in these circumstances?
• What professional duties did the licensee owe, and to whom?
• Did the licensee's conduct at listing, marketing, negotiation or completion meet industry standards?
• Which industry practices applied at the time of the transaction?

Agency, Representation & Conflicts of Interest

Many disputes turn on who the licensee represented and what duty was owed to each party. Keith addresses agency relationships, the disclosure of representation, conflicts of interest, and the professional obligations licensees owe to their clients and to other parties in a transaction.

Questions this may address

• Who did the licensee represent, and was that relationship properly established and disclosed?
• Was a conflict of interest identified, disclosed and managed appropriately?
• What did the licensee owe a client, compared with an unrepresented party?
• Was the representation consistent with the documents signed?

Property Disclosure & Due Diligence

Keith assesses professional practices around property information: what a licensee should reasonably have investigated, verified or passed on about a property's condition and history, and how material facts and representations were communicated during the transaction.

Questions this may address

• What should the licensee reasonably have investigated or verified?
• Was relevant information about the property's condition or history communicated?
• How were the Property Disclosure Statement and other representations handled?
• Did the licensee's statements reflect the information available at the time?

Real Estate Contracts & Transactions

Keith reviews how a transaction was documented and handled, from offers and counteroffers through subject conditions, amendments and negotiations to completion, and whether the licensee's practices met the expected standard.

Questions this may address

• Were the contract terms and subject conditions prepared and explained in line with standard practice?
• Were amendments, subject removals and notices handled properly?
• How did the licensee manage negotiations or competing offers?
• What practices are expected in the lead-up to completion?

Deposits & Compliance

Keith addresses licensee practices around deposits and transaction documentation, and the professional and regulatory responsibilities that apply to them.

Questions this may address

• Was the deposit collected, delivered and documented in line with expected practice?
• What was the licensee's role in handling the deposit, compared with the brokerage's?
• Were the required transaction records kept?
• Which regulatory requirements applied to the licensee's conduct?

Professional Conduct & Supervision

Drawing on his Professional Conduct Committee service and his experience training and leading licensees, Keith addresses real estate ethics and professional standards, licensee conduct, regulatory compliance, and the supervision expected of brokerages and team leaders.

Questions this may address

• Did the licensee's conduct meet professional and ethical standards?
• What supervision would reasonably be expected of a managing broker or team leader?
• Were the applicable regulatory requirements followed?
• How do industry conduct standards apply to the facts of this matter?

Responding to Expert Reports

When another party serves an expert report on professional-practice issues, Keith can independently assess its factual assumptions, reasoning, methodology, application of professional standards, and conclusions.

Questions this may address

• Are the report's factual assumptions supported by the evidence?
• Does the reasoning follow from those assumptions?
• Were the correct professional-practice standards applied?
• Do any conclusions go beyond the expert's area of expertise?