I have long argued against Dual Agency, and need to slightly redefine/clarify my opposition – My beef is with Single Agent Dual Agency where the same agent represents both sides of a transaction. In principle and practice, Dual Agency, also known as Designated Agency, when practiced by agents in the same firm should be legal and ethical.From the Virginia code:”Designated agent” or “designated representative” means a licensee who has been assigned by a principal or supervising broker to represent a client when a different client is also represented by such principal or broker in the same transaction.”Dual agent” or “dual representative” means a licensee who has a brokerage relationship with both seller and buyer, or both landlord and tenant, in the same real estate transaction.
Date Archives December 2007
Virginia General Assembly 2008
The new session is right around the corner, so expect more postings regarding bills and discussions relevant to the new session, real estate, eminent domain, property taxes, transportation and whatever else is related to real estate.This bill, for example, submitted by David Toscano, that would (by not reading, not being a member of the Bar) be a huge boon to homebuyers in Virginia…. The rate of the tax shall be 25 cents on every $100 or fraction thereof of the stated consideration of the deed or the actual value of the property conveyed, whichever is greater.I might be wrong, but I read this this way – for example, if Mr. and Mrs. Homebuyer buy their home for $200k, the current recordation tax would be based on a percentage of the $200k. With the change in this bill, the deed could say that the transfer of property was completed for a consideration of, say, $100 – and the Homebuyers’ taxes would be much lower.
Builders are pro-illegal immigration?
That seems to be the case.
Friday links – 07 December 2007
But – what will happen to the four existing locations that are being consolidated?Maptimizer – taking walkscore to the corporate level:The tool uses some pretty complex math to calculate the best office location based on all the weighted employee locations. We can also tell you what restaurants & shops are near each of your office choices, and what the traffic is like.I bought the lake, now you drain it for me!… Now she is suing to try to force the city of Raleigh or Wake County to buy the soggy land from her or drain it.”It’s extremely valuable to me,” Wallace said, “dry.”All you wanted to know but didn’t want to (or know to) ask about the “New Hope” (bailout) Plan and Nouriel Roubini gives his analysis…. This builder “gets it.”Excellent news for Community Land Trusts – In a survey of community land trusts nationwide, the National CLT Network found that just 2 CLT mortgages had gone into foreclosure in 2007.
Toy lift needs Help
From today’s Daily Progress:It’s T-minus two days before Tom Powell lifts off the Charlottesville Fashion Square mall pad in the 19th-annual Toy Lift amid some serious concern at mission control….“This really isn’t the first economic downturn we’ve had in 18 years and every year that we’ve had the Toy Lift, people have put themselves out there and helped pull off a good Christmas for the children,†he said…. That’s all it takes on your part to help make a child’s Christmas/Hannukkah. There is no doubt that this year has been hard for anybody associated with real estate, but it shouldn’t be asking too much to ask for one two per person, or twenty bucks…. I’ll come get your donations (new toys, no used ones due to the recalls this year); just let me know.Find out more here.
What are the arguments against Divorcing the Commission?
While this is currently allowed, the culture of “we’ve always done it this way” is a seemingly immovable force.One question – how do we change the culture – the culture of the Realtors, lenders, buyers and sellers?These are a few of the questions that come to mind — Would buyers be willing to finance their Realtors’ commissions into the purchase price of the home?- One argument is that Buyers and sellers have always paid the commissions out of the equity – would Realtors fees go down if this were not the case?… Greg defeated this argument last month – but how does one distill this argument into a marketable sound bite?- Are Buyers ready, willing (and able) to pay for Buyers’ Agents’ services even if the transaction does not succeed?Real estate is perhaps the only profession where the person hired gets paid only in the event of a successful transaction…. Right now, I doubt it.Or while many buyers and some Realtors are unhappy with the status quo, is the alternative (whatever that may be) far less palatable?What is the alternative?I have long argued for the separating of commissions – if nothing else, it would eliminate this situation -When I take a listing, no matter how much I negotiate for my own compensation, I always set aside 3% for the buyer’s broker…. Even if the seller is “short” on what he owes the lender — that is, even if the seller will have to bring his own money to the closing table to get out of the loan — we’re going to offer 3% as the co-broke.In order to effect a solution, we must clearly understand the arguments in favor of the the status quo and we must define that solution.
Representation isn’t free
Jonathan’s chronicle of getting burned by a buyer client of his (as well as on AG) is worth reading – for both Buyers and Realtors.Realtors have created this situation for themselves, and Dingo’s comment on this thread about ZipRealty on BHB highlighted a simple problem – most buyers have no idea what Buyers’ Agents do.From a buyers point of view, we could not care less about the running of the organization…. Driving, negotiating, assessing, knowing what questions to ask, know when to ask, knowing zoning, political influences, legalities, contingencies, and on and on and on. There is no substitute for experience.Buyers have been told that a buyer’s agent’s services are “free” because the “seller pays.”… (more on this in a post later today)If you are searching for a Buyer’s Agent, please start here -Being Selective, or how does Buyer Agency/Buyer Brokerage/ Exclusive Buyer Representation benefit the agent and the the Buyer?Rolling the Dice with BuyersWhat exactly is a Buyer-Broker?Here are a few questions to ask your prospective representative. I take what I do seriously, and put my clients’ best interests ahead of mine (and sometimes my family’s).If you’re a Realtor who chooses not to use Buyers’ Agency agreements – why not?Update 4 December 2007: Athol posts a great suggestion that the NAR could/should be marketing exactly what Buyers’ Agents do.