Should Your Real Estate Agent Ever Say “I Don’t Know”? A Little Rock, Arkansas Broker Who Ran for Office Says Yes

A 2006 state house campaign and more than 3,000 doorsteps taught Jerry Larkowski that an honest “let me find out” earns more trust than a confident guess.

Buyers and sellers ask their agent dozens of questions during a transaction. What a contract clause means. Whether a title issue will delay closing. How a tenant’s lease affects a sale. Most agents feel pressure to answer every one of them on the spot, and Jerry Larkowski believes that pressure causes more damage than a gap in knowledge ever could.

Larkowski is Managing Broker at ESQ. Realty Group, LLC in Little Rock, Arkansas, and has been a licensed attorney since 1991. Long before he moved into real estate, he ran for a seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives. He lost. The lesson he took from that campaign is one he still uses with clients today.

Larkowski’s path to the ballot started with an election that went wrong. He recalls that during the 2002 election cycle in Pulaski County, voters were sent to the wrong polling places, not enough ballots were printed, and some people who showed up were turned away before the polls closed.

In early 2003, local officials asked him to accept an appointment to the Pulaski County Election Commission, a volunteer role, with the hope that he would soon serve as chair to show the public the problems were being taken seriously. He became chair within his first two meetings. The commission hired a new director and put put new processes in place for future elections. The smaller-turnout, library, and school tax elections immediately followed and served well for implementing the new processes before the larger elections came before us.

The coverage was steady. Larkowski says he was in the statewide newspaper regularly for months, and television crews showed up to interview him. Someone close to him offered a reality check that stuck.

“If it went south and if it went bad, nobody would hesitate to blame you,” he remembers being told. “So you better dance in the glory of it doing really, really well.”

In 2005, Larkowski resigned from the commission to run for the state house in 2006. Four candidates entered the race, and he recalls more than $250,000 in combined donations, which he says made it one of the most expensive state house races in Arkansas at the time.

From January to mid-May 2006, he walked the district after work and on weekends. By his count, he knocked on more than 3,000 doors.

He did not win. “I told everybody in the week after that, I’ve lost cases in the courtroom that I’m still more mad about than this,” he says. “It was worth losing, I guess, is probably the best way to put it.”

What he gained was a clearer picture of the people behind the votes. He says the overwhelming majority were “good-hearted, hard-working, tax-paying, law-abiding people” who simply want their city, state, and country to work. He also noticed that homeowners paid especially close attention to local policy. “People that own their homes take a little bit more interest, I think, in things because they’ve got skin in the game,” he says.

The campaign trail is a steady stream of questions from strangers, and not all of them have easy answers. Larkowski watched plenty of people respond to a question they could not answer by talking in circles.

He took a different approach, and he still uses it in real estate. “I know a lot, but I don’t know the answer to that question, but I’m going to go find out, and I’m going to get back to you,” he says. “And then follow up and do it.”

He says clients respond better to that than to a polished guess, in part because of who is saying it. After 35 years as a licensed attorney, people expect him to know everything. When he admits he doesn’t, the reaction is often surprise. “They think, wow, he doesn’t know it. Most people like him would just make up an answer,” he says. “I think it commands respect. And when you start losing respect with people that you are trying to sell something, you might as well just give up.”

For anyone working with an agent, the practical takeaway is simple. A long, vague answer that leans on “I think” is a warning sign, especially on questions involving title, contracts, deadlines, or legal obligations. A guess on any of those can cost real money.

A better answer sounds specific even when it is incomplete. The agent says what they know, names what they need to confirm, tells you who they will ask, whether that is an attorney, a title company, or a lender, and gives you a time frame. Then they call you back.

Larkowski’s background in law, public service, and real estate is outlined on his About Me page. His advice for evaluating any agent is the same one he learned on those doorsteps: nobody expects you to know everything, but they do expect you to be honest about it.

A confident guess can cost a client thousands. An honest “let me find out” costs them a day.

About ESQ. Realty Group, LLC
ESQ. Realty Group, LLC is a full-service real estate brokerage serving the Little Rock and Hot Springs markets in Central Arkansas.

Managing Broker Jerry Larkowski is a dual-licensed real estate broker and attorney with a background in trial law. Learn more at esqbrokers.com.

Disclaimer: This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions

Disclosure: Individuals or companies mentioned may have a commercial relationship with KeyCrew.

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