As a Realtor, I subscribe to very strict standards. The thing we, as a company are most concerned about, is the issue of agency. When one or more agents from the same company represent both parties, we must disclose that fact in writing, and both parties must sign their acceptance. After this is done, no one may, by law, help either party negotiate the deal. We can provide the buyer with any public information they request, but may not disclose to either party knowledge that we as agents or a company posess about either one of their financial or personal situations. I am assuming that the Coldwell Banker situation was governed by the same rules. If it was, then my opinion is that the court ruled correctly. What makes me angry is those agents who claim to represent only the buyer -( that continually run down those companies and their agents who work with buyers and sellers, without whose continuous efforts to bring listings to the market, which in turn allow those agents to have an income )- who try to scare buyers into staying away from the traditional agents, and who want people to think that they will get their best negotiated price through them. I find that buyers are smart people all by themselves, and while I don't deny that there are some unscrupulous people who happened to enter the real estate field instead of another who can manipulate buyers for their own greed, I feel that most people know what they want to offer for a house, even when their agent represents them alone. I don't know of any one, even a simple Buyer Agency agent who would recommend offering less than what the buyer has in mind, unless the home is obviously overpriced, in which case most of us feel that it is our duty to point that out, and most of the time we will provide market analysis information that shows what market price range the property is in. At that point, just like a seller finds the price they want to ask, the buyer also finds the price they'd like to pay. Negotiation is what happens before the two prices meet. Then hopefully everyone is happy. The answer to most buyers problems is to pick a Realtor from a company who cares about what their Realtors do and how they act, and who does not allow them to continue selling real estate with their company if they are a "loose cannon". Be very aware, that just because a company advertises nationwide and its franchisees sell a lot of houses nationwide, doesn't mean they have the best ethics or agents. Get a referral from a friend, trust your gut instincts about the agents you meet, stick with one person and always call only your agent for information. And if you have any question about who is representing whom, get the answers to those questions, which should already have been explained to you when you started seriously working together. There are laws that protect both buyer and seller. We have to work within them. Get familiar with them as a consumer and let them work to your advantage. Find the good companies in your area. I know of only 2 in my area I feel that way about, the one I used to work for and the one I work for now. I wouldn't even consider any others, as a buyer or an agent, and you'd be surprised to know that they're probably not 2 that are really well known.

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