Recently I was in a class where our instructor was explaining duel agency. He has thirty years in the business. He informed us that he never engages in duel agency due to the risk of a law suit. I respect his judgement and do not engage in due agency myself.
Just a few months ago a property was listed and sold by the same realtor. The house was listed in the 600's so the big commission was tempting. The problem is that this house was overpriced to start with, it needed twenty thousand in repairs, it was built by the owner with low grade materials. Several realestate agents were interviewed, including myself and refused to list it for the price the seller had requested. Of course the sellers found a realtor who would list it for the price he wanted. The buyers were from out of town, needed to find a house quickly, and were un-informed about the area and the current market. They didn't understand that they needed to be represented by an agent working for them, not the sellers. Since they had a large down payment, the appraisal was not a problem.
I am familiar with this property, I am discussed with the selling agent. Taking advantage of clients is hurting our business. I would much rather get a referral fee than a commission if it was to the benefit of the client. It makes me sad that we have agents in our business who care little about how the public feels about our business.
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