Lesson Learned: Take your fiduciary responsibility seriously

As seen in Inman, this recent article was written by Troy Palmquist and published 6/10/24

Lesson Learned: Take your fiduciary responsibility seriously

Find out how 'consummate student' and San Francisco agent Chris Jurach keeps challenging himself to 'learn new things, read and listen to books, and gather fresh ideas'

The road to real estate was a long and winding one for San Francisco-area agent Chris Jurach. After a past in media as a field producer traveling to Africa, and in hospitality, working on-camera with star chefs in New York City, Jurach transitioned into real estate, first by managing his family’s investment property in San Francisco.

“Becoming a real estate agent has made me a better person, all around,” said Jurach. “It set me on a lifelong path of personal growth. Growing up as a latchkey kid in California, I felt like I was constantly moving. This has embedded a deep understanding of the long-term value of homeownership.”

Since meeting his wife at Burning Man, Jurach has been happily married for a decade and is the father of a 7-year-old daughter. “These two inspire me every single day,” he said.

Name: Chris Jurach

Title: Real estate advisor

Experience: Licensed 8+ years

Location: San Francisco and Marin County

Brokerage name: Engel & Völkers

Rankings: Top 10 percent Realtor (SF) 2018-2021

Transaction sides: 125+

Sales volume: $150 million-plus

Awards: Top Producer Marin (2021)

What’s the best advice you ever got from a mentor?

Practice the highest standard of care as a fiduciary. Know your product. Know what you know, and know what you don’t know. Know when to ask and whom to ask for what you or your client may need.

Get to know your market inside and out. The information that you provide should be more specific, more actionable than any information a client could obtain from any online article or a quick answer from one of your competitors.

What’s one big lesson you’ve learned in real estate?

Your business is your reputation. Agent-to-agent relationships are equal to client relationships — maybe more so since you work with each other and see each other frequently. I learned this through selling listings in high volume.

What would you tell a new agent before they start out in the business?

Be prepared to adapt and change constantly. You will need to adapt to the cycles of your local market as well as to the evolution of your clients’ needs.

Your clients want the most efficient process possible, and they are not going to wait for you to learn it. Don’t waste your client’s time trying to figure something out when you could simply make a referral or bring in the right partner.

What podcast has taught you the most?

GSD Mode podcast with Joshua Smith. I started listening to every show 10 years ago because his delivery resonated with me. This led me to learn about Russell Shaw, Pat Hiban, Leo Pareja and Jack Cotton, gaining respect and awareness for many of the best brokers from across the country from the 1980s and 1990s on into 2000s, including those who have been through four or five different expansions, two or three major recessions, working in all kinds of markets.

Essentially, this opened my mind up to real estate as entrepreneurship, from books like Poor Charlie’s Almanac by Charlie Munger to studying Warren Buffet and Benjamin Hardy. Ultimately, this made me a student of the game and constantly, always leveling up. Being comfortable being uncomfortable.