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What are your non-biased thoughts on this? I do my own research and found a few homes I am interested in seeing. I know NJ Real Estate laws pretty well (not my first rodeo) and once I submit the initial offer my attorney will be involved anyway during the attorney review through the closing process. I know the seller's agent works for the seller, but if the seller's agent also becomes my agent they essentially work for both parties.
Non-biased thought: you don't want the seller's agent working as your agent also.
Couple of issues: firstly, an agent may not be able to also represent you. In NJ, dual agency is allowed, so long as it's disclosed to, and agreed by, all parties; so if the agent's seller doesn't want their agent to also represent you, then they can't work for you as an agent. As well, realistically, one agent can rarely provide the best possible service to both the selling party and the buyer party, since they're so diametrically opposed and it's such an inherent conflict of interest; and it's important to note that the dual agency disclosure agreement specifically states that the agent, working for you as a buyer's agent, won't provide you with the full range of fiduciary duties they otherwise would owe you if they worked for you solely as a buyer's agent i.e. you're paying for less than the full suite of services you're normally entitled to.
It's fine if you don't want to involve a buyer agent, that's your right, but considering that the commission owed to the listing agent is going to be factored into the price you pay for your home, and that commission would nominally be shared with a buyer's agent, you're paying for it anyway, so why not have someone in your corner that's advocating solely for your interests, and has a fiduciary duty to do so?
Non-biased thought: you don't want the seller's agent working as your agent also.
Couple of issues: firstly, an agent may not be able to also represent you. In NJ, dual agency is allowed, so long as it's disclosed to, and agreed by, all parties; so if the agent's seller doesn't want their agent to also represent you, then they can't work for you as an agent. As well, realistically, one agent can rarely provide the best possible service to both the selling party and the buyer party, since they're so diametrically opposed and it's such an inherent conflict of interest; and it's important to note that the dual agency disclosure agreement specifically states that the agent, working for you as a buyer's agent, won't provide you with the full range of fiduciary duties they otherwise would owe you if they worked for you solely as a buyer's agent i.e. you're paying for less than the full suite of services you're normally entitled to.
It's fine if you don't want to involve a buyer agent, that's your right, but considering that the commission owed to the listing agent is going to be factored into the price you pay for your home, and that commission would nominally be shared with a buyer's agent, you're paying for it anyway, so why not have someone in your corner that's advocating solely for your interests, and has a fiduciary duty to do so?
On the buy side, if you have a competent real estate lawyer (and you will have the title agent on your side), an agent won't add much value, if at all. If you are a first time buyer, it is a little different, but if you have bought houses before, it's no biggie.
EDIT: Hopefully I didn't misunderstand the facts. First, as noted above, if it is a house already listed by a seller's agent, then you might as well bring in a buyer's agent because you won't be paying for it and you are not able to get the benefit of buyer agent side of the commission. The agent can do stuff for convenience for you.
I thought (maybe mistakenly) that you were talking about FSBO. In that case, you can often get the seller to reduce the selling price to account for the commission savings to him. And in FSBO's, a lot of sellers will simply refuse to let you hire a buyer's agent if they are on the hook for paying for it.
Mick
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