In this age of litigation any agent, who lets greed prevail over common sense, has set themselves up for problems. While some states place little importance on the concept of "buyer agency", we in Virginia take it very seriously. Here, the buyer and seller must both agree to dual agency in writing. This would not have negated the requirement for either a property disclosure or disclaimer but it would beg the question of the acceptability of an existing home inspection. In case of a disclaimer, the agent should have advised the buyer that this usually means the home is selling "as is" and it is incumbent upon the buyer to adequately inspect the home with a certified home inspector, prior to proceeding with the contract. In Virginia, one of these signed documents, become a part of the contract package. The contract cannot be considered ratified until one of these documents is present. If neither of these documents exist, then the agent, and possibly the seller, has a problem. It's possible that the selling agent, was operating as a sub-agent (not the listing agent), representing the seller. Even in this case, the requirement for disclosure isn't negated. In my opinion, the wise agent, will insist on a buyer agreement when working with any buyer. If the agent is the listing agent, then again the wise agent, will insist on the buyer using someone else to be the buyer's representative. The agent who opts to discard caution for the sake of making more money, is hurting the entire Real Estate Industry. In Virginia, the watchword is DISCLOSURE, DISCLOSURE, DISCLOSURE. Although proper disclosure and representation doesn't always make problems disappear, it could have gone a long way toward protecting all parties. Max Goodgion Realtor Licensed in Virginia

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