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Just wondering...for anyone reading who has sold a house when your selling agent also acted as the buyer's agent (the buyer had no agent and was found by the seller's agent), do you think you were able to get as good of a price as you would have had there been two agents involved, or did the agent not negotiate as aggressively on your behalf as she/he would have if there were two? I suppose this would be influenced by whether it's a buyer's or a seller's market. Would you have preferred to have two agents?
Even in the wording of the agency agreement, the fiduciary agent/client relationship exists only when one party is being represented.
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. Since the agent gets much more commission by acting as both seller/buying agents he/she is heavily vested in pushing through that offer even if other offers may benefit you better. I personally have used this to my advantage to buy homes for under the asking price despite being initially told (before I was the realtor's client!) only a full price or better off will make it.
Now I know all these realtors will come back that realtors care about customers, the realtors and customers aims are the same etc.
But have a look at the real estate profession sub-forum on this board which is for the realtors. Most of the threads are about money/salary etc. which just means they are like most people.
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. Since the agent gets much more commission by acting as both seller/buying agents he/she is heavily vested in pushing through that offer even if other offers may benefit you better. I personally have used this to my advantage to buy homes for under the asking price despite being initially told (before I was the realtor's client!) only a full price or better off will make it.
Now I know all these realtors will come back that realtors care about customers, the realtors and customers aims are the same etc.
But have a look at the real estate profession sub-forum on this board which is for the realtors. Most of the threads are about money/salary etc. which just means they are like most people.
It is not a great thing for the buyer to have no representation. This is one of real estate's great myths. Everyone assumes the greedy listing agent will push for quick acceptance, there will be less commission paid and everyone will come out ahead because of that. NOT. Buying and selling property is an adversarial situation and parties without representation are at a disadvantage.
Buyers deal with the listing agent at their own peril.
It is not a great thing for the buyer to have no representation.
But I do have representation? I have an attorney looking over my contract, title insurance, most importantly the disclosure by the seller, home inspection etc.
What exact benefit does the realtor provide once I found a home I like?
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. Since the agent gets much more commission by acting as both seller/buying agents he/she is heavily vested in pushing through that offer even if other offers may benefit you better. I personally have used this to my advantage to buy homes for under the asking price despite being initially told (before I was the realtor's client!) only a full price or better off will make it.
Now I know all these realtors will come back that realtors care about customers, the realtors and customers aims are the same etc.
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.
It didn't hurt either that I made a cash offer, & got there to see the house 2 days after it was listed. And this is a fairly hot market, but I got it for a few $$thousand under asking.
BTW, I've found getting my own "buyer's agent", over time, to be a real mixed bag. They range from good, to awful, just like all agents--I have stories. They all want to sell, & get their commissions, of course.
It's all about how conscientious the agent is I think. And if you encounter a good (listing) agent with a house you want to buy, & know what you're doing, I think it can also make things a bit simpler.
It really, really depends on the agent. A dual-agency is often frowned on, because an agent has to wear two hats at the same time, and both sides end up feeling like they are getting the short end of the stick and losing whatever advantage they perceived they had. How can an agent negotiate with themself?! :-) i
Before I was a real estate agent, we allowed our agent to represent the buyer of our home when we were selling. I was completely unimpressed with our agents ability to handle both sides and while legal, I don't allow one agent to handle both sides.
It isn't just about price. You will have repair negotiations coming up (where our agent was clearly favoring the buyers), and what happens if the appraisal is low? There is more territory to get through.
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.
But I do have representation? I have an attorney looking over my contract, title insurance, most importantly the disclosure by the seller, home inspection etc.
What exact benefit does the realtor provide once I found a home I like?
Well, in my market, among other things; I will probably know details of closed, contingent and failed deals of similar and possibly the same property. I will have been in almost every one of them while the attorney probably hasn't set foot in any.
The listing agent isn't going to nor is she allowed to tell you that the great comp you found that supports your proposed offer included a concession not detailed in the records. Good chance I do know about it. I will use my knowledge and my past dealings with the listing agent to hammer out the best possible deal for you. I won't let you overpay unless you want to.
I will make sure your escrow deposit isn't sitting in an attorney's escrow account, at risk in the case of an escrow dispute. I will insulate you from the listing agent's attempts to get a quick deal to your detriment AND, what your attorney won't do and what the listing agent CAN'T do, I will advocate on your behalf from the moment we begin strategyzing our first offer.
I won't just look over the contract after the fact, I'll draft it and explain to you why we're structuring it the way we are, to give you the best advantage and most protection. The title company will handle the title insurance just as well as an attorney. I know the seller's disclosure is not to be trusted. Hopefully your attorney knows the same. i know the neighborhood. He may not. He certainly isn't going to the property. I won't give you an invoice for my services after the fact.
There's more.
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