Terry Tracy (CRM Construction Inc) Agent Orange, CA Contact Me

A.

Regardless of the type of contract, to me this is unethical on several   issues. I hope there are very few Agents that would do this. I therefore suggest Consumers not to hire Agents who suggest it is OK or Participate in that type of Practice.

Mike McCann - Broker - Nebraska Land For Sale - Farmland - 308-627-3700 (Mike McCann - Broker, Kearney, Nebraska) Agent Kearney, NE Contact Me

A.

I would specifically ask the Buyer Agent a yes or no question as tho whether he/she is or will be working with or writing an offer with anyone else on this property.  In some states, that question is in black and white on the agency agreement.

I have done it in the past and always disclosed the fact to at least the second buyer and then made a call to the first buyer as we are to discuss all adverse conditions to the offer.

Fernando Herboso www.ReallyNiceHomes.com Herboso & Associates | MD & VA - (Maxus Realty Group - Broker 301-246-0001) Broker Owner Gaithersburg, MD Contact Me

A.

Yes. . .if you disclose it. . No if you don't 

but it is not a smart decision in my opinion.  

John MacArthur Licensed Maryland/DC Realtor, Metro DC Homes (Frankly Real Estate) Agent Washington, DC Contact Me

A.

Yes...the buyers agent agreement notes that the agent may be working with other clients. I do not see this as a disclosure matter at all. If you think about it, each client is a separate entity. The agent is presenting an offer from the client. The agent is bound by law to present the offer. None of the information in either offer should be disclosed to either buyer. 

It is perfectly legal to inform the clients that you are aware that there is at least one other offer,  but you can not disclose terms.

Disclosing the fact that you presented the offers to either client would be a violation of your fiduciary duty to keep information private.

Pacita Dimacali - ePRO, SRES, CDPE, MBA Alain Pinel in Alameda County CA (Alain Pinel) Agent Oakland, CA Contact Me

A.

In our state, we have a form called Disclosure of Representation of more than one buyer/seller which we ask our clients to sign so that they know we have other clients.

It is not unusual to have buyers as clients who are looking for the same things. We can't favor one client over the other so we will send them the same information. If they decide to write an offer, the price, terms and conditions of each offer could be very different.

But in many cases, to avoid any perception of wrong doing, we may ask another agent to write an offer on behalf of one client if we are writing an offer for another.

Larry Riggs - Your Frederick County Specialist (Real Estate Teams, LLC - Ahearn Team) Agent Frederick, MD Contact Me

A.

I am an ethics instructor in Maryland and this issue came up in class. One of our MAR attorneys clarified what I suspected. While the buyer agency agreement that most use does say the agent may represent more than one buyer they may not represent more than one buyer on the same property. Think of it logically. The buyer agent already knows the terms of the first offer. They know who the winner and loser will be. Are they being fair to the buyer client with the lower or less desirable offer by writing the offer knowing it will not win? The agent will be put in the position of having to pick which buyer's interests they will represent. In that case the buyer agent should have the broker designate another agent to represent buyer #2 on that property.