Is it legal for real estate agents to get paid by both sellers and buyers?
When you buy a house, working with a seller's agent is always an option, but should you? Picture it: You enter an open house and meet the agent of the seller who looks really cool. You're going to make an offer, but you don't have your own agent. So, what's the damage of just working with the agent of the seller? In the real estate biz, a dual agency is called an agent representing both the seller and the buyer. Although in some states it is legal, many real estate agents— and also household hunters — see dual agency as a conflict of interest. Let's dive into why it's actually a bit more complicated to work with a seller agent than it sounds. What is a dual agent? Legally speaking, a dual agent is an immovable broker or agent working for the same broker who acts in a transaction on behalf of both the seller and the buyer. A broker in California is only allowed to act as a dual agent if both buyer and seller are aware of the dual agency and consent to i