Help, I’ve got two real estate agents!

 

Since today’s market is much more customer driven, this is actually a pretty common occurrence. So- what do you do to gracefully find a way out of this situation, and how do you avoid running into it again?

First off, did you sign a buyer’s agency agreement with one of your realtors? If so come clean IMMEDIATELY with the other. Even if you purchase a home with the other agent, the first will get the commission, and that is terribly unfair. You go to work every day because you expect a paycheck at the end of the week. No matter how much you love your job there’s no way you would be happy if you walked into payroll about your missed pay, and they informed you that it was never coming.

If you have not signed an agency agreement, you have a little more leeway on who you pick, but let them know as soon as possible. Many people think that realtors make big bucks for very little work, but that’s just not the case. The check that you see go out at close gets split with a broker, and goes towards a number of licensing and equipment fees as well- not to mention taxes. And as I mentioned before, with a customer driven market, more and more of an agent’s time is taken up by consumers who may not pay them at the end of the day, so their per hour rate is plummeting.

All in all it’s a horribly uncomfortable situation, but both agents will appreciate your honesty.

How to avoid it happening again? Direct all property inquiries through your real estate agent. It’s fine if you look around online, but please send inquiries to your personal agent, not to the ones listed on the properties. Odds are they are not the listing agent, they are likely a buyer’s agent as well- who will try and help you find your home. They will not find you answers any faster than your current agent, as they will be using exactly the same channels, and you will once again find yourself in the uncomfortable situation of having two employees and only one paycheck.