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Old 03-20-2015, 02:13 PM
 
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Basically, in your state can one agent give full info on prices, comps, how to counteroffer, what each side it thinking and desiring, what is best for each side totally? Or is one side represented and not the other.
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Old 03-20-2015, 02:18 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WoodyWW View Post
I'm in the process of buying a house exactly like you described. And I suspect that the listing agent (I signed a "dual agency agreement", so she's supposedly "my" agent too) might have (?) promoted my offer b/c she will get both commissions.

... but I got it for a few $$thousand under asking.
There is no might off about it. You got it because the agent wanted both commissions.

But how can you fault him/her? Its only human nature and I think most people (perhaps not Mother Theresa, the pope and Abraham Lincoln) would do the same and justify it to themselves and the seller.

The first time I bought with a dual listed agent they said the extra commission was due to them because of all the buyers who flaked on them.
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Old 03-20-2015, 03:18 PM
 
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An agent might be able to legally represent a buyer and seller in some states but it's highly unethical regardless. You can't have privileged info on both sides of the deal and fairly represent both parties.

When I worked in RE in Pennsylvania the SOP in my office was that if you had a seller and a buyer you stuck with whichever client you had first and had the 2nd client work with another agent in the office.
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Old 03-20-2015, 05:47 PM
 
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My best broker always had me in dual agency transactions and I would do every transaction like this if I could.

You have one person in touch with both parties and questions are answered quickly and efficiently.

Also a great incentive to get the deal done.

As buyer, I always wrote my own contracts and later filled in the blanks on Standard CAR forms... knew exactly without question what I was offering/committing to.
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Old 03-20-2015, 06:01 PM
Status: "Made the Retirement Run in under 12 parsecs!!!" (set 22 days ago)
 
Location: Cary, NC
43,176 posts, read 76,815,786 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drive carephilly View Post
An agent might be able to legally represent a buyer and seller in some states but it's highly unethical regardless. You can't have privileged info on both sides of the deal and fairly represent both parties.

When I worked in RE in Pennsylvania the SOP in my office was that if you had a seller and a buyer you stuck with whichever client you had first and had the 2nd client work with another agent in the office.
Nothing is particularly unethical about dual agency.
"Ethics" is a behavior, not a situation.
If one feels that they cannot serve their clientele properly when they come into both sides of a transaction, one likely should refer out BOTH sides to agents in two other separate firms to be squeaky clean enough to claim the high road.
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Old 03-20-2015, 06:02 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drive carephilly View Post
When I worked in RE in Pennsylvania the SOP in my office was that if you had a seller and a buyer you stuck with whichever client you had first and had the 2nd client work with another agent in the office.
I did one of those as well. But it was clear that the 2nd agent was just going through the motions and the selling agent was getting the bulk of the commission.

But I got my home for under the asking price so I didn't complain!
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Old 03-20-2015, 10:10 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by drive carephilly View Post
An agent might be able to legally represent a buyer and seller in some states but it's highly unethical regardless. You can't have privileged info on both sides of the deal and fairly represent both parties.
It's wrong to throw those types of scurrilous statements about, there is nothing remotely "unethical" about it as long as it's allowed by state law and the rules about it are followed. Whether it's a good idea is another question.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DontKnowIfImComingOrGoing View Post
I've been in your situation as the buyer a few times. Let me assure you its a great thing for the buyer but not so good for the seller.
Let me assure you that you cannot make such a statement based on a few transactions, it could just as easily be a disaster for the buyer and good for the seller. In general I don't think it's a good idea, but I get a kick out of how some people are convinced it's great for the buyer and some people are convinced it's great for the seller.

However there is one thing that is not in doubt. The agents CLIENT is the SELLER.

BTW, in my experience one of the top causes if the myth that it's good to use the same agent is...real estate agents who quite hilarious convince buyers they will get a better deal if they eliminate the other agent! Often taking them for a ride and getting a higher price for the property. But again, I'm not saying that is always the case, or that what you have experienced is not also valid.

Last edited by Green_Mountain; 03-20-2015 at 10:18 PM..
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Old 03-20-2015, 11:28 PM
 
Location: Georgia
4,578 posts, read 5,643,202 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mark85 View Post
Thanks for the comments, everyone. I posted this because I just listed with an agent to sell a condo located in CA. I negotiated with her to lower the total commission by one percentage point if she ends up finding the buyer. We also used a graduated commission (4% up to a certain sale price and 5% if above that price). Hopefully these term will help motivate her to push for a favorable price.

While it's definitely not ideal, I'm hoping that, if the seller is very familiar with the market, willing to stand firm on their lowest target price and able to effectively negotiate things like repair allowances, working with a dual agent shouldn't be a problem. We shall see.
Frankly, most of the listing agents I work with would have knocked the commission down to 4% if they brought the buyer, too. Saves their seller some money, they make a little extra -- win/win. Or it gets tossed into the mix in an effort to help the chances of a sale -- on a $400,000 unit, you're talking $8,000 of negotiating room. A client might be more willing to take $392K instead of $400K if they are saving $8K on the commission.

So, what's your plan if your seller comes in dead on the 5% price level, but due diligence renegotation knocks it down below that threshold, through no fault of their own (not their fault that your roof might need $5,000 of repairs, or your HVAC is shot, or your chimney is structurally unsound, or you have to perform radon mitigation, etc., etc. . . .)? Still going to give them 5%?
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Old 03-21-2015, 12:11 AM
 
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That's a good question. I guess I can tell the buyer I reject the offer but I'll accept an offer for $1 less, so the 4% applies Realistically, I'm hoping we can get an offer for $5,000 over the threshhold, which would cover the extra 1% commission, with some left over for a repairs allowance (the place is in good shape and won't require much repair work).

Quote:
Originally Posted by dblackga View Post
So, what's your plan if your seller comes in dead on the 5% price level, but due diligence renegotation knocks it down below that threshold, through no fault of their own (not their fault that your roof might need $5,000 of repairs, or your HVAC is shot, or your chimney is structurally unsound, or you have to perform radon mitigation, etc., etc. . . .)? Still going to give them 5%?
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Old 03-21-2015, 12:26 AM
 
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Originally Posted by brotherfromthegutter View Post
Your over thinking this. Its just simple greed. 5% of $200K is better for the agent than 3% of $220K.
You're under thinking it and making the same mistake many people make, projecting your own biases onto it and going with a nice simple one size fits all answer.

It's precisely your thinking above that some agents love to take advantage of (not saying with you, but with many people). In one of my favorite instances I saw an agent convince a buyer to get rid of their agent to save money because "I can get you the best price if I don't have to split the commission", then got the idiot to pay 10% higher for a condo in a building than any other buyer with their own agent had paid, while convincing him he'd gotten him the best price possible! That also was "simple greed", so see how your theory does not always fit ?

Again, I'm not going for the simple answer. Sometimes it can benefit the buyer, sometimes the seller. Sometimes neither. You just have to understand the situation. For most buyers having their own advocate can be invaluable, and in my opinion dual agency is usually more likely to benefit the seller.

Last edited by Green_Mountain; 03-21-2015 at 01:24 AM..
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