Dual agency

Definition

One broker representing both sides of the same deal, disclosed or not.

Why It Matters

Most listing brokers work for the seller, who pays them, and a buyer who forgets that will read advocacy into what is marketing. Dual agency is the sharper case: the same broker, or brokerage, on both sides of one transaction, which several states require be disclosed and consented to in writing. It is not automatically disqualifying, but it changes what you can safely tell them, because anything you share about your ceiling or your nerves can reach the other side of the table. Ask who represents whom in the first call, and keep your walk-away number out of the room either way.

In numbers: A buyer tells the listing broker their real ceiling is $1.2M against a $995k ask; in a dual-agency setup that sentence is worth $205k to the other side, and the counter arrives at $1.15M.