Watched the latest episode of "Million Dollar Listing" last night. In case you aren’t watching the show, you should be. This episode brought to mind just a few thoughts:
1) The fact that dual agency is legal had to be the direct result of Satan himself lobbying real estate commissions all over the country. The only person that EVER benefits from dual agency is the agent. His wallet gets fatter, and the buyer and seller get less representation. Only Satan would call that fair.
2) People buy and sell for all different types of reasons, and people don’t buy and sell for all different types of reasons, no matter how unreasonable they are.
3) While emotional therapy isn’t specifically listed among the requirements of an agent’s duty, sometimes it sneaks in there.
4) Not every agent is a money-hungry, soulless, SOB– even if they may look that way. . .at least I hope not.
I’m sure I’ll have more such musing for you after the next episode. The show has left me infuriated and entertained many times, so I can’t imagine that things are going to change very much.
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I don’t agree…dual agency is sometimes in the best interest of both parties. The reference you make to “emotional therapy” is usually the reason, i.e, both parties are attached to you and only you.
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I don’t think that single-agent dual agency is ever in the best interests of both parties. By its very nature, it can’t be. Once the parties interests differ, a single agent cannot faithfully carry out her duty to pursue those interests. Doing so would necessarily violate the relationship with one or both of the parties.
The fact that both parties might be emotionally tied to a single agent makes it all the more dangerous. Think about it like this– if you were going to negotiate a court settlement, would you want your attorney to be a close friend of the other party? Sure, your interests might be the same (you both want to settle), but what happens when you can’t agree on something? Better that everyone have their own representation. The less conflicts, the better.
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