Trust, a Key Element in Being a Successful Real Estate Professional

In this story, ESV Osy Kamalu, a practicing Estate surveyor and Valuer, and the Principal Partner at Osy Kamalu and Associates, a leading firm of estate surveyors and valuers argued from the professional point of view that trust is one of the key elements in being a successful real estate professional.

Kamalu, a successful real-estate professional with a very rich banking background, argued that most businesses are not thriving today because of total lack of trust in both the global and domestic business environments. We live in a world where trust is now a scarce commodity.  Businesses across nations and industries are being plagued by transactional and other forms of mistrust and professional conduct.

In the real estate business, where clients have the obligation of trusting professionals with huge amounts of money for business transactions, either as a client or an investor,  trust then becomes a parameter for measuring and ascertaining business credibility.  Trust is a valuable and intangible asset to all business concerns, big or small, and irrespective of the sector.

As a real estate professional, your clients and investors are not only trusting you with their hard earned resources, but they are equally counting on your professionalism and credibility as a professional to provide them with the needed advisory services, guidelines, and ultimately provide solutions to their real estate needs  at an agreed price.  Unfortunately, this has not been the tale in most real estate transactions.

Even in blue-chip organizations, lack of trust is a serious issue, due to gross abuse of corporate governance principles that are set aside to guide the businesses to an all-encompassing profitability.  Lack of trust is not only a corporate governance issue, but a serious ethical and sustainability crisis.

In the real estate business, only trusted brands have the capacity of retaining high quality clients and subsequently sustain their businesses for the next generations.  Clients are only interested in working with brands they trust. Clients should be able to trust you with your communications (written and oral), trust your process and your brand as well.  In the words of Jon Gornstein, the famous American serial entrepreneur and the President of Persona Global Incorporated – a change leadership organization, “In business, you need to communicate effectively to get results. To communicate effectively, your listener (client) must believe you.  To be believable, your client ultimately must trust you”.

For all players in the real estate ecosystem to effectively incorporate trust into their daily affairs, code of professional ethics as enshrined in their operating manuals as obtained from their different professional bodies must be followed to the later.

Also, corporate governance principles should be followed and maintained by real estate establishments, no matter the structure and size. Even in family businesses, trust is equally regarded as a scarce commodity. Different professional bodies should make it as a point of duty and punish erring members to deter others from the act of business shady deals

ESV Kamalu, Osy C, is the Principal Partner at Osy Kamalu & Associates, a leading Nigerian firm of Estate Surveyors and Valuers.