Thread: Buyer agent/dual agency question

We looked at a house with another agent from the same firm as the listing agent.

Was that agent acting as a subagent to the listing agent? If not, why was this agent showing you the house and not the listing agent?

Also, did you learn about agency relationships from this agent or any other? If not how did you learn about it?

From what you have said I believe you have not signed anything tying you to one agent/broker? This agent that was not the listing agent and showed you the house, is acting like your agent. I'm surprised if that agent didn't touch on this subject and still showed you the house. I would always recommend to not be involved with dual agency. Technicly though, dual agency is where one agent represents both the buyer and seller. I understand your concern about both agents being under the same broker.

To answer your question though, if you did not sign an agency agreement then you are not obligated to use that agent.

This is just my understanding and opinions and I am not licensed.

As long as you haven't signed a contract with the agent who showed you the house you can use any agent you want. That is the way it is in most states.

The agent you are going to work with will know if this will be a problem or not.
All the best,
Tony Zito

Thanks for the responses. We figured out there was a problem when we called another agent to be our buyer's agent, and they declined when they learned that we had already been shown the house by another agent. They cited procuring clause, saying that the first agent could then lay claim to the buyer's commission, so no one else would agree to be our agent.

We contacted the agent to show us the house because we could not get a hold of the listing agent.

Also, assume we have the agent who showed us the home be our buyer's agent, who is from the same agency as the listing agent, what conflicting responsibilities are there on his part? Will their responsibilities to us be compromised since they are at the same agency; ie do they have some responsibilities, written or just expected, to not reduce the selling price of a house represented by someone at their agency?

Thanks in advance.

Dual agency is where one agent represents both the buyer and seller, not two agents under the same broker representing each party separately. See, if one agent represents both, then that agent can not give an advantage to either one, because it would violate the responsibility to the other client. Your now new buyer's agent is still bounded by his/her fiduciary responsibility to you, since you are his/her only client in this transaction. There really is nothing different in terms of the responsibility to you than if the agents were at separate brokers. The listing agent represents the sellers and the buyer's agent is representing you. This does happen, separate agents from the same broker involved in the same transaction.

Basicly you lose nothing and are at the same risk of problems as you would be having an agent from a different broker. I just feel bad because you have stated that you do not feel comfortable with this agent.

I'm not licensed and this is only my opinon, but if you could ask that agent to sign a document releasing any future claim to commisions from your possible purchase of that residence, that maybe worth a shot if you do not want this agent to represent you. Maybe a contract just ending his/her representation of you too. This gets into contracts and I would recommend an attorney if going this route. I do not know if there is a basic form already just for this situation, or if an attorney will need to draw up the contract.

Obviously you know now and I don't mean to rub it in, but this is why people need to have an agent to represent them BEFORE looking at homes. I have heard a few horror stories where people tried to save a few bucks, and it cost them their home, savings, ect. This is not like buying a car, it is a huge investment and it is important to know what you are doing before jumping in. Now, since there is no signed contract between you and that agent, there really isn't an expiration date, and that agent acted as your agent.

Again though, I am not licensed and this is only my understanding and opinion. I do wish you good luck, and again, you do not lose any kind of representation if you choose to go with this agent from my understanding.

In my personal opinion you should be careful on signing contracts etc. as it will be a problem to you in the long run, I think JJ have put out some great advices that I feel I don't need to explain further more.

I am licensed and I will explain how it works in most states. There is an act called procurring cause and it is when an agent is the first person to start a chain of events for a buyer going forward with purchasing a property. There is much more involved than an agent just showing you a home. But because procurring cause is such an open term, it would be up to the courts if this agent decided to persue their commission from another agent that you decide to use. This is why many agents will not get involved from this point on with you.

It would not be considered dual agency if the 2 agents work in the same office in most states. Dual agency would be if you decided to use the listing agent as your representation. A buyer or seller also cannot be forced into dual agency anyway, since both parties MUST agree to dual agency in order for it to go forward. If both parties don't agree to dual agency, then one of them must eith find a different agent to represent them or represent themselves.

The agent that showed you the home was probably the on-call agent in the office at the time of your call to them. You wanted to see the home. They came out and showed you the home. Why are you uncomfortable using them as your agent if you decide to go further with purchasing this home? Is it only because you thought the agent was representing the seller also? If they are not the listing agent, then why not give the agent that showed you the home a chance?

Ultimately, the showing agent may have procurring cause because they started this chain of events by showing you the home. Now you're interested in purchasing it. You do have the rights to choose your own agent if you are not comfortable with one too. It's just finding another agent to help you now due to you already seeing the home with someone else. Agents are rightfully worried that the original showing agent might come after them for their commission. It may stand up in court that the agent you choose be paid, but the risk for the agent may not be worth it.