Everyone seems to be a broker these days

So who isn't a broker these days? In the past a developer was a developer, an investor an investor and an acquisition guy was just that, but now in a supercharged market where everyone is scrambling to find deals, hats are being too easily switched around. In the New York City market, where a majority of deals are done in an "under the radar, off market" fashion or as an open listing, where there is no exclusive, qualifying who you are dealing with and protecting your information becomes that much more critical. As brokers, we spend a good part of the day qualifying prospective buyers but in this imperfect real estate world we live in, there is always the one who slips through the cracks and decides he/she is going to take a pass on the deal, and takes it upon themselves to "pass it on" to their broker friend, an investor/relative, or another group whom they know is looking for "that specific type of deal," all without proper authorization. Nothing worse than getting that call from the mystery person who got their hands on your information. While intentions are not always bad, there is something called proper protocol and ethical behavior which easily gets lost in this fast paced market. We as brokers work hard to track deals and gather information, so as hard as you work at that, is as hard as you should work qualifying who you are doing business with and in controlling where and to whom the information is going, so as not to have it end up in the wrong hands. In the cold world of email and texting it is easy to lose sight that this is still a people business and an old-school industry where placing a face behind the voice can make all the difference between success and failure. Taking advantage of all the available search and research tools can also help weed out the bad apples. Furthermore, Confidentiality/Non-circumvent Agreements should be used whenever necessary to help curb the forwarding of sensitive information your client may be providing. As cliché as it sounds, it is important to get to know your clients. It's not always about the quantity, but rather the quality. Sharing information internally with your fellow agents about those that try to harm, is equally is as important as the information you share externally. At the end of the day this is a relationship business and the ones who for the most part played nicely in the sand box will survive and thrive and have a long and successful career. Laurence Ross is the managing principal of Highcap Group, New York, N.Y.