The Benjamin Button Effect in Real Estate: The Curse of Non-Compliance

Compliance Forward: A Story Better Told in Real Time

By Summer Goralik

This article was also published on my Substack here.

Have you seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button? The David Fincher film with Brad Pitt is cinematic magic. Memorable for its vivid imagery, top-notch acting, and a story told unlike any other. And of course, it leaves us with that provocative question that rises and falls, lingering in both imagination and soul: Who wouldn’t choose to grow younger rather than older?

Another way to frame the premise, though, is this idea of going back in time. By the time we reach the middle of life, most of us feel an innate pull to return, to do it again, or to do it differently. Maybe you’d make the same choices (good on you!), maybe not. The idea of rewinding time is something most adults can relate to.

But exit this la-la land of cinema for a moment and journey over to my side of the fence, that is, into real estate compliance—and suddenly, running backward loses all its appeal.

Allow me to connect the dots.

The story of Benjamin Button didn’t begin in Hollywood. It began in 1922, when F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story was first published in Collier’s, a popular American magazine of the era. It has been claimed that Fitzgerald was inspired by a remark often attributed to Mark Twain: “It’s a pity that the best part of life comes at the beginning and the worst part at the end.”

The answer, of course, as depicted in the story and later the film, was that living life in reverse wasn’t really a gift at all. It was a burden, even a curse.

And if you were sitting in my office right now, you’d realize why that’s the perfect analogy for compliance in real estate. The curse of non-compliance—yes, that’s what I’m calling it—will snap you out of this pretty metaphor quickly, strip away any complacency, and drop you into a far less romantic reality.

Too many brokerages begin their business with compliance on the back burner. Success gets narrowly defined by the usual business suspects, such as production, recruiting, and growth metrics. Compliance is saved for “later.” It isn’t exciting or shiny. It doesn’t carry much street cred, and it rarely earns bragging rights. For these reasons, compliance ends up a tough sell.

But compliance in reverse, waiting until you’re forced to catch up, doesn’t bring youth or renewal (the way it does in the movies). It means backtracking under pressure, scrambling to instill systems that should have been in place from day one.

When Compliance Is an Illusion

I know what compliance theater looks like because I’ve lived it. Over my career, I’ve worked for companies that propped me up as their compliance officer, not to actually run compliance but to give the appearance it existed. That veneer was little more than a flimsy alibi, far removed from any genuine effort to do the work required to stay above board.

Mark my words, the illusion of compliance never lasts. One brokerage I worked with looked like a grown-up operation on the outside, but inside, compliance was still in infancy. Eventually, the charade ended. Complaints rolled in, investigations ensued, and unaddressed violations weighed the company down. It was ultimately forced to confront what it had long refused to see.

At the recent California Association of Realtors’ Broker Conference, where I spoke with former Real Estate Commissioner Wayne Bell about broker supervision, I looked into the crowd and said plainly: “Compliance can turn on you if you don’t do the right thing.”

Because what starts out as a polished facade can quickly morph into something far more damaging. The same stats that once made you look successful—sales, recruiting, closings—become irrelevant when regulators, lawsuits, or consumers reveal how weak your foundation really is.

From House of Cards to Steady Hands

I’ve taught broker supervision classes. I’ve written article after article about it. And in my past life as a Department of Real Estate investigator, I gazed brokers in the eyes and asked: “Explain, in detail, how you supervise your firms and agents.” Or, “Do you review transaction files?” Even, “Prove it.” More often than not, I was met with blank stares, excuses, or outright fumbling.

I watched brokers in investigative interviews scramble to log into systems they didn’t even know how to access—asking assistants for help, trying to cover for the fact that they weren’t doing the work. On occasion, I fact-checked their answers by interviewing agents. (If you didn’t know that was a possibility, consider this both “I’m sorry” and “you’re welcome.”)

Some brokers didn’t even have an actual office in the building. In extreme cases, staff couldn’t identify who the broker was. That is not an exaggeration.

Of course, not all non-compliance is exposed right away. Some firms enjoy a run, but it’s always fragile. Disciplined brokers often ask me, “Why am I being targeted when so many others are flaunting the same tactics?” The answer is simple. Lack of oversight is a house of cards. It may stand for a while, but shaky delegations to unlicensed staff, absent internal controls, and no true supervision guarantee eventual collapse.

That’s the curse of non-compliance. First you neglect oversight. Then you end up reverse-complying, hustling back to rebuild the foundation that was missing from the start.

But here’s the hopeful arc. Supervision doesn’t need to be perfect to be effective. In the film, when Benjamin is learning to play the piano, his teacher tells him: “It’s not how well you play it, it’s how you feel when you’re playing it.”

I love that line because I play piano by ear. It’s rarely perfect, but always with heart. And that’s the mindset regulators expect, not perfection, but effort that’s reasonable, consistent, and real.

You may not play flawlessly every day, but you do need to sit at the piano and practice.

As I told brokers at the C.A.R. conference (some of you taking notes, I noticed): aim high. Build the systems. Create the policies. Enforce them every day. Do the work.

Then, when something non-compliant happens, you can show the DRE with confidence it didn’t occur because you weren’t supervising. It wasn’t neglect or abandonment. And, in the spirit of this piece, your firm was moving compliance forward, not clinging to a desperate, damage-control trip back through time.

The Collision—and the Cure

Although watching Brad Pitt age backward in the movie is spellbinding, in real estate that course can be costly.

Non-compliance isn’t fate, but if you wait too long, your fight back to baseline can end up defining you. Ignore compliance requirements month after month or even year after year, and the trajectory locks in. Soon enough, you’re on a collision course with the DRE, consumer complaints, and lawsuits.

But the story doesn’t have to end that way.

The curse only falls on those who measure success without compliance. And the cure is redefining success so compliance is firmly stitched into the very fabric of the business—both mindset and practice.

Benjamin Button reminds us: “For what it’s worth, it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be.” If I were a compliance fortune-teller, I would tell you to correct course now. Don’t delay.

As I told the room of brokers (and some aspiring ones), “Success without compliance isn’t success at all.” I’ll stand by that every day, even if it doesn’t sound glamorous to founders and entrepreneurs. Because reasonable supervision today is better than reverse-complying into collapse tomorrow.

Non-compliance can warp your business, stall your progress, or tear down what you’ve built. Didn’t think compliance could sound poetic? Well, anything is possible, as I tell my son.

As I close and glance backward, I’ll say this. If I had to rewrite this piece tomorrow, I’d write it exactly the same way.

So let compliance be part of your business story. Be compliance-forward, and make it a hallmark of your success.

NOTE: The opinions and recommendations expressed in this article are based on Summer Goralik’s experience as a real estate compliance consultant and former investigator for the California Department of Real Estate. They are provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Readers should consult with their brokerage and/or qualified legal counsel in their jurisdiction for guidance on specific situations.

About Summer

Summer Goralik is a Real Estate Compliance Consultant and licensed Real Estate Broker (#02022805). Summer offers real estate brokers a variety of consulting services including assistance with California Department of Real Estate investigations and audit preparation, mock audits, brokerage compliance guidance, advertising review, and training. She helps licensees evaluate their regulatory compliance and correct any non-compliant activities. Summer has an extensive background in real estate which includes private sector, regulatory and law enforcement experience. Prior to opening her consulting business in 2016, she worked for the Orange County District Attorney's Office as a Civilian Economic Crimes Investigator in their Real Estate Fraud Unit. Before that, Summer was employed as a Special Investigator for the DRE for six years. Among many achievements, she wrote several articles for the DRE, which still live on the Department's website today. Prior to her career in government and law enforcement, Summer also worked in the escrow industry for nearly five years. For more information about Summer's background and services, please visit her website.