Multiple real estate agents?
 

Just wanted to get the insight of people who have gone through this. I'm a first time home buyer and wasn't sure if there were any "rules" or such against this.

Here's my situation:
I've been looking for townhouses for the last month or so. So far I've been going it alone (without an agent) just to get a feel for what I can get for my money. At one of the open houses I went to, I was talking to an agent and he asked me if I had an agent yet. I said no, and he's been e-mailing me properties to check out (many which suited what I'm looking for). He lives in the area and is pretty familiar with what's out there.

Anyways, one of my friends best friend is a realtor as well. She sent my number off to her friend (I asked her to do so so it's not like she forced realtor #2 on me). They too have been sending me recommendations.

My question is whether there's a problem with having 2 realtors working to get my business? I know when you sell it might be an issue but as a buyer, I see it more as competition for my business. Whoever gets me the listing I like will get the sale.

Is there any issue with doing what I'm doing or should I cut one of them loose? In my mind, I've always thought it would be better to go with the recommended realtor (since someone can vouch for them), but to be honest, the one I met at the open house seems to give me more listings that I like and knows the area much better than the recommended realtor. I personally would like to have them both working to get my business but then I don't want to do anything that's "unethical" or frowned upon.

Any thoughts?

I don't see a problem having multiple agents look for the property of your choice. It's not like you have entered into any legal contract with them. In fact, I would think it's probably better to have more than one agent working for you. The benefits might be bigger selection and hopefully strike a better negotiation when it comes to fees and commission. You are making a big decision with a lot of your hard earned dollar on the line, it doesn't hurt to shop around and make them work for your money.

a problem might arise if they both send you the same property and you want it. which one do you chose for the sale?

otherwise I say the more sending you propertys = the better chance of finding the one you want.

Here is some advice.

First thing you need to do. You should ask the realtors if they are helping you as a friend (free) or if you are in a realtor - client relationship. ($$$). Even if they are not charging you, they may be motivated by the seller’s commission payout.

If they are $$$ motivated then you need to be extra careful because they might just be spamming you with mls listings in the hopes that you will eventually choose one. It’s hard for the untrained new first time buyers to understand what is in their own best interest when dealing with a trained script reading realtor.

The best way to get a realtor to work for you properly is to offer them a flat fee and make them give up any commission that they get from the seller. This allows you to negotiate the price down much better when buying. It also reduces the incentive for realtors to use the "sort by commission" button when they are finding a property and avoids other BS. Make sure you offer a good enough flat fee in order to get them to work. They still don’t like this setup.

If you are buying a relatively new condo or townhouse then even the most unskilled realtor should able to do the work that they need to do. (Check prices, some paperwork, cover their legal ass etc). Make sure they send you the strata minutes well in advance of your subject removal date. It is pretty important to read these in order to decide if that is where you want to live. Normally these massive bundles of paper are given to you a day or 2 before subject removal so that you don’t freak out after reading about all the day to day bad stuff that has gone on in the building. (assessments/ cockroaches/fines/ breakins / shootings etc). Read the whole thing yourself. Your realtor won’t do that for you. (They will skim it)

If you are buying a house or older property then I would thoroughly vet your realtor. They need to be able to do more that just basic lead generation and presentation. An old grumpy realtor is often much better than a hip young guy. Never ever choose a realtor just because she is a hot chick. With a house make sure you ask as many other home owner friends that you have for their input.

Never use an home inspector that your realtor recommends to you. It’s a conflict of interest and there are often kickbacks involved. Go to yellow pages and choose you own inspector. I would use 2 different ones if buying an older house.

I am sure there are many good and honest realtors out there, but you need to protect yourself and your money from the poor decisions of others. Realtors are a trained group of professionals, buy they are also highly skilled salespersons as well. First time buyers are easy to manipulate so you need to be careful and shrewd.

I hope you find a nice property.

(Don’t buy Richmond unless you are using your wealthy parents $$$)

Use a friend and ask for a cut of the commission.

well, did you sign a contract with anyone of them for a certain amount of time to assist you to find a property? If not, I see it is a fair game for which realtor can find you the place and earn your commission

don't be in a rush to buy, the perfect opportunity is when you feel you are ready to buy

Personally, I would let them if that there is another realtor trying to get your business. If a realtor finds out that you have another realtor working for you, and you didn't tell either of them, it could get ugly.

This idea doesn't bode well, unless you know the realtor on a personal level. In fact, if negotiations come down to a sizable gap between buyer and seller's asking price, realtors often cut their own commission (both buyer and seller's) to close the deal. Giving the realtor and upfront discount in commission before even checking out any listings is usually turn off, and makes the realtor prioritize all his/her other clients before you.

i wouldnt be afraid of hurting either realtors feelings at this point as you are not exclusive to one realtor. either one at some point would likely ask you to sign with them for exclusivity and they will offer a list of services they offer for doing so and their terms,ect. By signing, you essentially agree to go thru them only but its not an agreement to pay them commission if you bought a property.

lets say for example you signed with realtor #1 for what ever reasons. then you went to a viewing with realtor #2 and signed up a deal, it got approved, the whole nine yards ... youd legally still owe realtor #1 for their services due to the agreement you signed.
at the end of the day you could go with any realtor you wanted BUT if you sign a service agreement with one, you would have to pay them regardless of if you bought with them. this may be in the form of a flat rate or a % similar to a commission. most of the time this service fee is not charged as the property sales commission is fair compensation.

morally though, id be upfront with the realtor if you plan on using another agent. if you dont plan on using them for any reason, why have them annoy you or waste their time.

Like I said, realtors will do whatever is needed to make the deal. (does not matter if it’s the wrong deal) If the seller considers the price to low or buyer wants to walk because the price is to high then the realtors may reduce their commission (always by a measly amount) and then try to guilt the buyer or seller (whoever is softer and easier to play).

They will try to make the other parties feel that they are being unreasonable and either they should pay more than they want to, or sell lowered then they really want to.

After people have paid 10s of thousands too high for the wrong property because your realtor gave up $1000 out of his $10000 commission, they often don’t even realize how bad the deal really was. They will often praise that same realtor and recommend him to all their friends.

But in the end, a realtor that does any of those kind of tactics is a bad realtor. In that case, it doesn't matter if the realtor is willing to take a commission cut or not, because that realtor should be avoided completely.

I am not completely disagreeing with methods that worked for you, but I am just showing two sides of the coin here.