So I was recently emailed by a potential Buyer client that "they had seen some houses with an agent, but would be happy for me to send them listings and show them houses". Mmmm.... the dark side in me rejoice and yelled "Go for it, steal that client..." But then the image of Yoda's face, frowning in disapproval, popped up and I quickly dismissed the idea. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that while this Buyer thought that having 2 agents working for him would be a good thing, it's actually the WORST thing he could do. And I'll tell you why, but first a little ground work.
For those of you who may not know this, Real Estate Agents only get paid when there's a closing. There's no salary from a company, no bonus of any kind, just a sales commission off a transaction paid by the Homeowner who's house is sold. Which means we agents work as hard as we can to make our clients happy and get transactions done.
And it's easy to see how a Buyer just entering the market can get seduced into having more than one agent represent them. Let's say you're a Buyer just starting to look for a home. With bank pre-approval done and knowing what your budget is, you check the internet for Open Houses and head off to see some homes. At the first Open House you fill in the sign in sheet and the hosting Agent asks that you put down your email address so they can send you listings. You like the Agent well enough so you do. But then at the next Open House you go to you meet me, and of course you and I hit it off swimmingly! And yes, yes, yes, you'd love for me to send you listings and yes!, let's go look at some houses together....
So lo and behold on Thurs afternoon you get emails from us agents filled with house listings. Now more or less the listings will be the same, since all the houses for sale end up on the Multiple Listing Service. But instead of both of us sending you all 25 listings in your price range and overwhelming you, we cut that number down to what we think are the best 12 or so and have you pick your favorite 5. So maybe there's a couple different choices in our listings, so one day you go out with me and the next day with the other agent.
Now while you're out with the other agent, they ask if they can show you a house they think you'd like. You tell the agent thanks, but you saw that house already, with me the day before. Suddenly EVERYTHING changes. Now they have to compete with me to get a transaction done and get paid. Now instead of working diligently to get you the house YOU want, they're working to get you the house THEY want, the house that's going to make them money. Now time and patience go out the window as the agent feels the pressure to push you to a closing, instead of letting you take the time you need to find the right home for you.
When I'm out with a Buyer and they ask me my opinion about a home I give it to them, warts and all. I have no problem pointing out what I see as faults with a house. Now no house is without faults, and I always try to come up with the best way to fix that fault. Competing Realtors lose sight of that as they whitewash a Buyer's apprehension about a house in the hopes that the Buyers will turn a blind eye to potential problems just to get the deal done.
Generally speaking competition is a good thing, but in this case, it doesn't serve any purpose. As a Buyer, you don't pay us anything so it's not like we can cut our fee and save you money that way. And quality of service shouldn't even be an issue. If you ever feel that an Agent isn't giving you their all, you have every right to tell them as much, and either threaten to fire them, or flat out fire them. You shouldn't have to work with an Agent that doesn't put you and your needs first.
Which goes back to why you should use just one agent. When an agent knows that if you decide to purchase a house, that it will happen through them, they can then relax and focus all their energies, time and effort to make sure that you find the right home. For me, that's what matters most, having my Buyers living happily in their new home.
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