Pros And Cons Of Dual Agency For Buyers And Sellers

Dual agency refers to a single real estate agent representing both the buyer and seller in a real estate transaction.

If the mere thought of that kind of arrangement raises alarm bells in your head, you are not alone.

A seller agent’s objective is to sell the house as soon as possible at the highest possible price.

A buyer agent’s objective is to help identify the most suitable house at the price that delivers the most value.

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the objectives of the parties on both sides of the fence are almost polar opposites.

And therefore, it is next to impossible for a property agent to be a dual agent for both sides and go all out to deliver his responsibilities on both fronts.

Can a lawyer do his job properly if he represents both the plaintiff and defendant?

Sure, there are occasions where a deal is so right for both the buyer and selling party. And that a perfect price can be met with both parties where even a $1 variation would disrupt the balance of the deal. Only the best of the best agents would be able to achieve dual agency deals. So one would be lucky to have an agent willing to do just that.

But these occasions only exist in fairy tales.

If you believe the sales talk as mentioned above, you are not mature enough to buy real estate. You should take a break.

In dual agency deals, the only party that draws the most benefit is the agent.

This is because he know exactly what are the hot buttons a buyer is triggered by. And he knows exactly what kind of factors a seller is limited by.

This is why a double agent would be able to close a deal quickly… but there will almost certainly be one party holding onto the short end of the stick.

And this party is surely not going to be the agent who cannot wait to collect commissions from both buyer and seller.

Because of the obvious potential for unethical practices, many states have very strict codes of conduct for dual agency representation.

The rules placed on such representations are so restrictive that you’d wonder why not go with a dedicated agent instead.

Buyers and sellers should avoid dual agency as much as possible so that they can be confident that their interests are prioritized by their agents.

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