Ever wondered how to get the most protection and loyalty from your real estate buyer agent? The following videos do a great job of informing consumers about the advantages of a dedicated buyers agent.
There are some amazing interviews from the members of the Massachusetts Association of Buyers agents, another state not-for-profit that seeks to educate consumers about the advantages of buyer agency.
Under the videos is a response made in 2018 to a consumer who had heard he must stay away from the dual agency and only get a buyer’s agent.
Good morning Edie and Nicholas,
Thank you for your feedback! Yes, the dedicated buyer agency office of Peter & Laurie Bell is an excellent one and can provide you representation without any conflict of interest whatsoever. To my knowledge, they are the only 100% buyer service office in the area.
Since you are in the interview stage, I always like to give you a few options. So you can see who fits your needs the best. Dual agency is exceedingly rare. It only occurs only with your consent when your chosen agent has a personal listing you are interested in. A way to avoid that is to see if the agent has any listings. It might be of interest to you prior to engaging them.
Selecting Designated Agency
Large companies like Houlihan Lawrence may have many listings listed by other seller agents within that company that might be of interest to you. In those cases, you would select a designated agency. The consumer counts on the two representatives (seller agent and buyer’s agent) to not discuss your situation with one another.
Thus, I pick agents in these kinds of offices with excellent reputations for integrity. But there are of course no guarantees. You are in more of a safe harbor if you have a whole company dedicated to representing buyers, such as the Bell office.
Watch out for with a traditional agency that has listings. Make sure they are not favorably showing their own listings. And also talking to their peers about your motivation, price point, etc.
Colorado Buyers Agents Association Colorado Buyers Agents Association and the Massachusetts Association of Buyer Agents (MABA)
Kathleen Chiras, Association Manager for Consumer Inquires for the Colorado Buyers Agents Association Colorado Buyers Agents Association and the Massachusetts Association of Buyer Agents (MABA).
PS: Associations like MABA do allow their members to have listings. But they pledge “single agency”, which means they can never make money on both sides of the transaction.
