Radon and Residential Real Estate: Getting to Know the Players
Dr. Paul Locke is a radon leader who has over 20 years of experience in radon science, policy and law. He is particularly interested in how radon testing and remediation can be made part of residential real estate transactions. Dr. Locke is an Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
This is Part 2 in a five-part blog on radon and residential real estate. Click here for the first post.
To take full advantage of the opportunities for radon testing and remediation that real estate transactions offer, and to learn more about the possible pitfalls of working in these transactions, it’s essential to understand the community of people that make up the world of real estate and learn about what motives them.
Real estate transactions vary quite a bit across the country, because, as the saying goes, all real estate is local. Still, we can make some useful generalizations about real estate professionals and their organizations that are very likely to be true wherever you are working.
Agent(s) and Broker(s).
First and most obviously, in residential real estate there is almost always at least one agent and at least one broker. Agents are the professionals that represent either the buyer or seller (and, in some cases, both). Agents work for companies that are run by real estate brokers. Both agents and brokers are licensed by the state. Most, but not all, are members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) as well as state and local associations or boards of Realtors.
Agents and brokers are the front line soldiers in the real estate wars. They are the individuals upon whom buyers and sellers rely for advice and information. As such, they are an absolutely crucial group for radon professionals to know and perhaps the best partners to help educate buyers and seller about radon.
Keep in mind that not all real estate professionals are “Realtors.” In order to be a realtor, you need to be a member of NAR or one of its state or local affiliates. If you are working with real estate professionals it is very important to remember this distinction. Calling all real estate licensees or agents “realtors” is a tip off that you probably are naïve about their world. That could hurt your credibility, and set back your efforts to educate these important groups.
Mortgage Lenders, Title Insurers and Lawyers.
Mortgage lenders and lawyers are important to the real estate transaction for obvious reasons. Since the vast majority of home purchase and sales agreements require a mortgage, without mortgage lenders there would be no sales. Lawyers put together the paperwork that captures the purchase and sale. And title insurers are the companies that write policies guaranteeing that the property is being sold free and clear, without liens or other problems.
While these professionals are important to the transaction, they are not particularly good targets for radon education for a couple of reasons. First, their interactions with the buyers and sellers are not extensive and usually very short term. Second, whether a home has radon is often of little consequence to them. Because radon testing and remediation costs are generally small when compared to the cost of the home, there is little risk from a financial perspective if radon is a problem.
What motivates these parties?
In a word – Money. This is especially true for agents and brokers, who do not get paid until the transaction closes. What that means to radon professionals is that in order to engage agents and brokers, you must make radon testing and remediation something that is not seen as a deal breaker. Success for public health means explaining how radon testing and mitigation is a win for the real estate professionals, as well as for health. We will look at how to do that in the next blog, which will describe what a typical residential real estate transaction looks like, when is the best place to bring up radon in this transaction and how it can be raised so that the deal is not put in jeopardy. Until then, please chime in and share your stories about working with the real estate community in the comments section below.
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