Should you use the listing agent when buying a home?

An Agent has certain Fiduciary duties to a client (A fiduciary duty is the highest standard of care possible). These can be boiled down to Loyalty, Obedience, Diligence, Disclosure, Accountability, and Confidentiality.

It’s really hard for the agent to be fair and just to both sides, and the listing agent's first obligation when the listing agreement was signed was to the seller, not the buyer. Whether itt’s negotiating the purchase price, negotiating credit for repairs, or negotiating an extension of time, you want someone to be your negotiating advocate 100% of the time throughout the process. If someone is negotiating for both the seller and buyer, it makes it tough to be your advocate all the time.

Here's the core potential problem of using the listing agent: One Agent cannot provide full Disclosure and maintain full Confidentiality at the same time. To avoid this conflict of duties, a Dual-Agent may not place either client into a beneficial position over the other.

For example, a Dual-Agent can provide the asking price of a home but can’t provide advice as to its appropriateness. Similarly, say a Dual-Agent performs a Comprehensive Market Analysis. The findings can be shared between the two parties, but not interpreted for either client. In these situations, I have suggested that a current market appraisal be used to set price, with the appraiser being selected by both parties.

The decision to allow a dual agency is a personal choice.


Since the Seller pays the commission to the Buyer's Agent there really is no reason not to get professional guidance when purchasing a home. After all, the Seller starts off with dedicated representation – you may want this too!