After coming across a story in Realty Times about the folly of using two or more agents to find a home, a buyer wonders if her situation is different.

Hi Blanche,

I just came across an article you published way back in 2004, where a woman named Andrea was asking if it was okay to have two agents at the same time. The reason I stumbled upon your article was because I had inserted in Google: "Is it legal to have two buyer agents" and your article popped up.

You noted: "Andrea didn't write back, but her questions poses a disturbing debate for the real estate industry -- why isn't one agent enough?"

And here is my version of my story. We sold our home and the home we were going to purchase sold from underneath us. Now we have just a little over a month to find a very specific style of home that we want. We understand our buyer agent is not to be at our beck and call, however, when my husband happened to drive by a "potential candidate" of a home, and our agent did not send us previous info on it (knowing what we're looking for), we worried she wasn't looking hard enough.

My husband took the liberty to call the listing agent directly and inquire about the home. Through conversation he told her what we were looking for. Now this other agent emails us with MANY listings of homes that are at least close to what we're looking for. Most of these homes our own agent has not notified us of.

So there lies the question for us. Is our realtor doing their job -- hard enough? Our buyer realtor comes from the same company that sold our home. So of course we feel a sort of "guilt" to say, "goodbye, you're not doing it for us." But at this point, with time running out and us not wanting to just "settle" on a home because we're desperate, we REALLY need the realtor to push many homes onto us in hopes that something isn't missed.

And there you have it, our version of why we're looking to use two at a time. After reading your article, the guilt grew even worse and I think we'll advise the emailing agent that we are represented by someone else and perhaps just stick to our original one that so far has been searching for us (just not as hard and quick as we think).

Thanks for your advice!

Anabelle

Realty Times responds:

You already know our position that working with more than one agent can be risky and self-defeating, if the agents find out and both decide to dump you.

I'm wondering why the first agent isn't as diligent about sending you listings as you would like. There could be two explanations -- overconfidence or lack of interest, neither of which is good for you. The agent could have so much other business that she's confident that throwing you a bone every once in a while is enough to keep you as a customer. The other possibility is that for some reason she thinks you aren't as likely to close as her other prospects so she spends her time working on other customers' needs that are more of a sure thing.

In either case, you've been moved to the not-a-priority pile. It could be your price point, or your need to find a very particular type of property, both of which could lower the odds of getting to closing, and agents don't get paid unless you close.

That makes me wonder:

• Has this agent been searching a short or long time for you?

• Why did you choose this agent to represent your interests as a buyer? Do you have a relationship?

• Why did you lose out on the house you wanted? Was it price, timing, failure to compromise on some term?

• Do you have any contingencies that may prevent you from closing on the house you want -- such as having another home to sell? This can make a transaction more complicated, and complications threaten closings.

• Are you trying to buy beyond your means, making qualifying to buy the home you want more difficult?

• Are you being realistic about the current market -- what things cost, what you can afford, what sellers will accept as an offer?

• Are you expecting perfection?

• Were you asked to sign a buyer's representation agreement? Did you refuse?

You can see where I'm going with this. An agent would have to be pretty stupid to give up on a sure thing, so what are you conveying that is making the agent think this deal isn't going to happen?

The bottom line is serious buyers are prequalified by lenders, have their rates locked in, have contingencies handled such as bridge loans in place so they can buy their next home before the first home sells, and they make offers on homes.

I'm seeing a mixed message in your note. You say you are under a time crunch, but yet listings are being constantly mailed to you by the second agent and you didn't say what you are doing about them. Are you making appointments to see these homes? If you find a home you like, are you ready to make an offer that day?

If you can't say yes to those two questions, then perhaps you can see why the first agent lost interest in you. And the same thing might eventually happen with the second agent.

If you aren't under contract with either agent, stop everything. Sit down and think long and hard. If you're ready to buy a home, choose the agent you most enjoy working with. Empower that agent to represent you. Be prepared to compromise in order to get the house that's the closet to what you want. Be ready to buy when she finds the house you want. Don't sweat the small stuff. It's not about winning -- it's about getting what you want.

And remember, no house is perfect.

Published: May 29, 2006

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