Phoning It or Owning It?

Let’s face it, change is afoot all around.  Whether you look at the kinds of deals we are seeing, the structure of today’s transactions, your sources of business and income or almost any other facet of business life …things are changing.  Lately I’ve heard of seminars offering education to industry folks on how to negotiate short sales, handle foreclosures or work specifically with buyers utilizing the new tax credit. 

While these scenarios are very different from one another, they also have something in common.  In the past they might have been something you could get by with only a passing knowledge, but now suddenly we are required to have some level of expertise with them.  And what happens if you don’t?  You miss out on opportunity.

It is relatively easy to spot changes in revenue opportunities and react to them.  The real estate settlement industry has traditionally been very revenue minded.  If times got tough our approach was often “we will go out and get more deals”.  And of course, the types of new deals we got was dependent upon the realities of the marketplace.  Changes in revenue opportunities tend to happen in real time, and are therefore more obvious.

But what about regulatory and legal changes?  Doesn’t it make sense to anticipate and embrace those changes as well?  If we don’t, do we risk missing out on realizing new revenue opportunities that will come our way?  What about expenses?  If we take a passive approach to adopting regulatory changes, do we put our hard earned revenue at unnecessary risk? 

I encourage you to own – really own what’s going on with RESPA, and your understanding of it.  Phoning it in, or only giving it a passing glance won’t position you or your company for success.  And though you may not choose to emerge as a RESPA expert, you will stand in better control of your destiny.