Recently I acquired a client through a referral from a close friend. After speaking with the client for a short period of time I was told a very unfortunate story about the recent experiences this person had had with the listings agent of a property they wished to purchase.
It would seem that they contacted the agent for a viewing, were interested and decided to place an offer on the property through the listing agent. The agent informed them that another person was interested in the home but had not placed an offer and so they were not in a competition. They wrote their offer and were contacted shortly there after that they had lost the home to the other interested party.
Obviously, it is impossible to know what was going through the mind of the other agent. If they used one offer to motivate the other client to place an offer. If they knew the other clients were interested and used one offer to bolster the other. What I do know is that the offer that was placed by my referred client was left open for almost 36 hrs. I fear that this particular clause was not explained correctly and was done intentionally to allow the listing agent enough time to secure another offer of assumably higher value.
Note: Not only was my current clients interested not served but the vendors were not as well. My client would probably had been willing to pay more had they even been informed of the competitive situation.
This story is told to present a point and is not meant in anyway to incriminate anyone, hence the reason why I presented no names.
My concern is in that through the course of my conversation with this client I was told that they felt they had a better chance of getting a "deal" on the property if they dealt with the listing agent, and as it seems were not aware of all the factors involved in Dual Agency.
To keep things simple think of dual agency as when the listing agent represents the "interests" of both the seller and the buyer. The agent is suppose to move to a position of acting on the behalf of both parties.
This said, it is impossible to act representing the best interests of both. When we represent the seller we are trying to get the best possible price for their home. When we act for the buyer we would love to get them a deal. The two cannot co-exist.
The point being that a person should always seek out a professional to represent their interests in any real estate transaction. The job of this person is not just to open the lock box on the property you wish to view but includes an extensive list of subtle duties that can help to prevent such experiences as the one outlined about.