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Our house is for sale, and has been posted all over various local Facebook groups. Someone on one of those groups saw our house and is very interested in buying it. They are coming for a showing tomorrow.
I don't know if they are already working with their own agent, but I do know that our agent is the one who will doing the showing with them tomorrow.
If they do decide to make an offer, is it essential that we ask them to write up their offer with another agent?
What are the pros and cons? If we do let our agent write up the offer and also be the buyer's agent, won't that save us some commission?
We're just trying to think this through beforehand so that if it happens we will know what we want to do.
Our house is for sale, and has been posted all over various local Facebook groups. Someone on one of those groups saw our house and is very interested in buying it. They are coming for a showing tomorrow.
I don't know if they are already working with their own agent, but I do know that our agent is the one who will doing the showing with them tomorrow.
If they do decide to make an offer, is it essential that we ask them to write up their offer with another agent?
What are the pros and cons? If we do let our agent write up the offer and also be the buyer's agent, won't that save us some commission?
We're just trying to think this through beforehand so that if it happens we will know what we want to do.
Your agent should have covered this before you signed the listing agreement. Ask them to explain it to you again. There are several possibilities, and you need to know the specifics of your agreement.
I do know that we would have to give the "ok" for her to write an offer for them. And I know that if we want her to she can have someone else in her office do the offer. That's about all I remember her saying about it.
First, you will owe the same commission no matter who is involved in the transaction. So don't think you are somehow going to save money - your broker is not going to suddenly enter into a dual agency arrangement if these people decide to make an offer.
If your broker brought you a buyer who they also represent, they would have to disclose it to you (and you should have been made aware of dual agency conflicts when you signed your contract with your broker). Personally, I only deal with buyer brokers (when I am looking/buying a house) who do nothing but represent buyers. Similarly, I would not want to list my property with a broker who also represents buyers AND wants to bring their buyers to me. No thanks.
You say people are coming to a showing. What usually happens when someone comes to an open house? If they have a buyer broker, if they don't visit the open house with their broker, they should notify the listing agent of such, especially if they intend to make an offer. If they don't have a buyer broker, your broker doesn't suddenly represent their interests - your broker represents your interests.
People go to open houses and make offers all the time without representation. Not something I would choose to do, but it is still pretty common
The only reason to allow your agent to become a Dual Agent would be if they would agree to lower their commission a significant amount. Otherwise, why do it? A Dual Agent is really a misnomer because a true agent can't represent the best interests of both parties. If you don't need an agent to represent your interests, you might consider allowing it...but if you don't need an agent, why didn't you sell your house FSBO? Generally, I don't recommend Dual Agency--it simply can cause too many problems.
However, just because a Seller's Agent shows a house to someone, that does not automatically make them their agent (at least not in Michigan--I understand it may create an implied agency in some states). Just talk to your agent and clarify that they will continue to represent you and your interests alone.
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