Dual Agency and Why Using a Buyer’s Agent is a NO Brainer!

Do you know what DUAL AGENCY is? 

Limited Dual Agency (as defined by Arizona’s Dept.of Real Estate)  - Is a relationship in which a real estate agent or broker represents both parties in a transaction.

Do you know dual agency is ILLEGAL or a banned practice in 35 out of 50 states in the country?

Do you know that limited dual agency is ALLOWED in Arizona? 

Do you know that by calling a for sale sign in a front yard, you are potentially creating or getting closer to creating an implied limited dual agency relationship with the listing agent?

Do you know that the listing agent will always have a superseding Fiduciary Responsibility to the SELLER? 

What is Fiduciary?

Fiduciary duty – The relationship of trust that buyers and sellers expect from a real estate agent.  This would include the ability to advocate and negotiate on the behalf of your clients best interests.

How can a listing agent who is Fiduciary to a seller, possibly also be looking out for a buyer’s best interest at the same time?

Using a Dual Agent to represent both you and the seller in a real estate transaction, would be like someone using the same lawyer as the person who is suing them in a civil court case. Would anyone in their right mind do that? Then why do buyers use listing agents to help them make offers, write up contracts, and help them buy the very same home, that they are trying to sell?

Buying a home, is not like buying a pair of pants or a car. When you go to buy a pair of pants or a car, you use the salesman who is standing in front of those pants or that car. But what if that salesman was bound by some standard to say to you…

“Just so you know, I have a responsibility to get the best price for this car possible and I have no loyalty to you the buyer and all my loyalties and powers to negotiate or advocate are on the stores behalf and I can offer none of that protection to you?

Would you still feel comfortable buying that car? or that pair of pants?

Well, in Arizona, an agent is Duty Bound to tell you up front that if there is a chance that you are entering a dual agent relationship, that they cannot be your advocate or look out for you. 

Now, they are duty bound to be honest and fair dealings, but they can at no time offer you advice or their skills and cares in how to get you the BEST DEAL possible. As a matter of fact, if there were found to be doing this, they could get fined, and possibly lose their license.

So, where does that leave you the buyer? Are you left out in the cold? 

Absolutely not!

In Arizona you can use a BUYER’s AGENT.

In Arizona, we have a system set up where the listing agents are willing to share their pre-negotiated commissions with a buyer’s agent who brings a brings a buyer to the table.

In Arizona, a Buyer’s Agent has a FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY

to the BUYER!

In Arizona, your buyer agent will bring your camp to an even playing field with the sellers camp, because now you have a professional who has all the same skill, care and ability to negotiate, advocate and work STRICTLY ON YOUR BEHALF!

The best part is, its basically no additional cost to use a buyers agent, because Buyer’s Agents get paid from the listing agents Co-Broker Commission Agreement. In most cases the Buyer’s Agent will actually save you money, by being able to help you RUN DETAILED MARKET ANALYSIS and COMPARATIVE PRICING on RECENT SOLDS. They will be able to find out the status of a home, if its a short sale, REO, or if they are just upside down in their financing or whatever they can find out that will be useful to your decision making process. 

A buyer’s agent will do everything they can to provide the buyer with as much information they have access to, to put the buyer in the strongest buying position possible.

Don’t go into one of the biggest and most important deals of your life without an agent in your corner.

Contact me today, if you are un-represented…and you are thinking of making a home purchase!

brian@phoenixpowersearch.com or 480-650-7712