Daniel Rothamel musing on “Million Dollar Listing”, a real estate reality show on the Bravo TV network:
The fact that dual agency is legal had to be the direct result of Satan himself lobbying real estate commissions all over the country. The only person that EVER benefits from dual agency is the agent. His wallet gets fatter, and the buyer and seller get less representation. Only Satan would call that fair.
Actually, that would make a fun “South Park” episode: Satan versus Saddam at the Department of Real Estate.
I watched the show for the first time last night, but I was playing my guitar (loudly and badly, the way god and Leo Fender intended), so I missed a lot. I did see one agent who was clearly torquing her clients to buy when they weren’t ready to buy — way over the line. I think this might be the dual agent Daniel is talking about. But later in the show the buyers seemed to be completely happy. Maybe they were awed by the TV cameras and didn’t want to make a scene. Maybe they don’t understand reality TV…
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Daniel Rothamel says:
My musing about dual agency was actually more of a cumulative reaction. Not only to the first two episodes of the show, but to other personal observations as well. Beelzebub is behind the whole thing somehow . . .
September 6, 2006 — 7:56 pm
Jonathan Dalton says:
On the dual agency front, the MLS is showing that you have worked in a dual agency capacity as recently as January on the property on Del Monico.
With everything I’ve read about your stand on dual agency I’m assuming this must be a typo, so it might be worth contacting ARMLS to have the error corrected.
September 7, 2006 — 9:43 am
Greg Swann says:
> On the dual agency front, the MLS is showing that you have worked in a dual agency capacity as recently as January on the property on Del Monico.
We established our no dual agency policy in May as the result of a dual agency transaction that didn’t close, but which highlighted everything that is wrong with dual agency as it is normally practiced. We have never done dual agency in the traditional way, looking for the double-dip, but our feeling is that, no matter what the underlying facts of the matter might be, Caesar’s wife must be above reproach. There is simply no valid justification for introducing doubts about loyalties into a client’s mind, even if those doubts are entirely unfounded.
But prior to May of this year, I had done quite a few dual agencies, most often selling my own listings to investors. In a case like that, I might list for 5%, then concede 1% each to buyer and seller as compensation for the constraints of dual agency. On Del Monico, I listed the home at $125,000 with 5% commission for both sides. I was paid $1,470 gross, conceding back all but 1.176% of my earned commission. The seller of that property was a long-time client, discussed at some length in a story about another house, who was (and still is, alas) going through some tough times.
In a comment in July at Jim Duncan’s Real Central VA weblog I detailed my proudest effort ever at dual agency:
I expect you’re looking for some kind of moral satisfaction by running “gotcha” games on me. I can’t imagine how this will improve your character, but I wish you luck in digging something up. I learn to to better, in most cases, by learning that I have done something badly in the past. So if you discover that I have done something wrong, I definitely want to hear about it. That way I can discover how to do better in the future.
September 7, 2006 — 10:35 am
Jim Cronin says:
And now I learn you play guitar?!
My axe: Gibson SG ’61
September 7, 2006 — 3:20 pm
Greg Swann says:
> And now I learn you play guitar?!
Now you learn I don’t play guitar. I have a Variax 500 and a Line 6 modeling amplifier, so I can produce hundreds of different kinds of thunderous dissonance.
I knew you played, by which I mean I know you can actually play.
September 7, 2006 — 4:48 pm