{"id":293,"date":"2019-02-15T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-02-15T17:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waltersrealestategroup.ca\/blog\/?p=293"},"modified":"2019-02-15T14:47:38","modified_gmt":"2019-02-15T19:47:38","slug":"dual-agency-ending-vancouver-real-estate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waltersrealestategroup.ca\/blog\/dual-agency-ending-vancouver-real-estate\/","title":{"rendered":"End of Dual Agency, AKA Double-Ending, in Vancouver Real Estate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Effective June 15th of 2018, Dual Agency has been banned in BC by the Real Estate Council of British Columbia. This has major implications to buyers & sellers of real estate in Vancouver, and here\u2019s our take on the issue.<\/p>\n

Dual Agency is a Conflict of Interest<\/h4>\n

Would one lawyer act for the defendant and plaintiff at the same time to strike a deal? That would be a terrible idea for both parties, as one person cannot truly represent the best interest of both parties. A similar reality exists in the real estate world. The owner wants to sell their home for the highest dollars possible, while the buyer is seeking to lower their purchase price. These two key motives directly contradict each other.<\/p>\n

Dual Agency Exposes Too Much<\/h4>\n

When both buyers and sellers have their own Realtor\u00ae, each real estate agent is bound to look out for their respective clients\u2019 best interest, while protecting their confidentiality. In a dual agency situation, it\u2019s like one party seeing the opposing player\u2019s hands in a poker match, depending on which direction the Realtor\u00ae wants to go.<\/p>\n

Dual Agency Ends Up Working For the Wrong Party<\/h4>\n

The biggest interest looked after, often, is neither that of the buyer nor the seller – it\u2019s the agent him\/herself to complete a deal and earn the commission cheque in the shortest time period possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Dual Agency<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/td>\n
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Sole Agency<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  • Knows the motives behind offers\/pricing of both sides, without confidentiality.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
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  • Keeps the buyer\u2019s motives & eagerness a secret as the Buyer\u2019s Agent.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  • Cannot advise the buyer on what price or subjects to put on the offer.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
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  • Keeps the seller\u2019s urgency (or lack thereof) to sell a secret as the Seller\u2019s Agent.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  • Attempts to balance the interests of the buyer and seller at the same time – or often – the agent\u2019s own interest comes in first.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
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  • All advice & actions are 100% loyal to either the buyer or the seller only, with alternative options explored for the best deal.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Ensure you are protected by having a Realtor\u00ae on your side when you are buying.<\/p><\/div>\n

Protecting Consumers and the Integrity Of the Industry<\/h4>\n

The fundamental advantage of each real estate professional representing one party\u2019s interest, and that alone, is now abundantly clear. Without such protection, questionable transactions such as shadow flipping in Vancouver<\/a> was allowed for many years leaving home sellers feeling cheated. In other cases, the Realtor\u00ae would agree to rebate a portion of his\/her commission to double-end (an industry jargon for a real estate transaction completing under Dual Agency) the deal, which leaves questions on whether this was in the best interest of both buyer & seller, or just one or two of these parties.<\/p>\n

The new ban on Dual Agency ensures that there will be significantly less \u201cquestionable\u201d transactions pushed through by real estate agents, and it makes it much more likely that each real estate professional will stay true to their course of looking out for their buyer or seller\u2019s best interest, and that only.<\/p>\n

Still, There Is A Loophole – Don\u2019t fall for it!<\/h4>\n

One way a real estate agent could skirt the ban on Dual Agency is to pressure the buyer to become an unrepresented party. This is truly a nightmare scenario where you are left on your own accord, and the real estate agent has absolutely zero loyalty for your best interest – in many ways, worse than a Dual Agency scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Unrepresented Party<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/td>\n
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With Buyers Representation<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  • The other Realtor\u00ae is entirely loyal to the homeowner, not the buyer.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
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  • Loyal to the buyer, not the homeowner, and leaves options open.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  • Obligated to protecting the privacy of the seller, not the buyer.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
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  • Obligated to protect your privacy, not the homeowner (seller).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  • Can disclose private information of the buyer to the seller, but not the other way around.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
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