Have You Ever Heard of a "Dual Attorney?"

Lets face it Lawyers suffer from MESOTHELIOMA advice bad rap. I have known and done business with many an Attorney and personally do mortgage loans agree with the bad reputation that seems Drevil follow this profession around. But I will admit that some of the jokes are funny.

Before you can hire an Attorney they or their office personnel perform a conflict of interest check to see if anyone in the firm, in any shape or form, and at any time in the past has ever worked or had a relationship with the other party in which you are seeking to hire them to go against. This is all done to avoid a conflict of interest. When you hire this council it is only in your best interest that they perform their work. They cannot serve two masters at once and will not even attempt to take your work if there is even the slightest chance or appearance that there is a relationship or conflict.

There is no such thing as a Dual Attorney or "Double Attorney!"

This profession is responsible for making or changing the rules in this country. Lawyers cannot and will not pretend to represent the interests of two opposing sides at the same time. If lawyers cannot find or justify a way to act as "Double Attorneys" how and why can Realtors play Dual Agent or what I refer to them as "Double Agents?"

A "Double Agent" status is created when the Realtor who is working for a Seller and has their property listed for sale also directly finds a buyer for that same property. There is no other Agent involved in the transaction. Up until the point where the Agent finds a Buyer, the agent is considered a single agent and is supposedly working entirely in the best interest of their Seller. As a "Double Agent" the Realtor is no longer working for just the Seller. injury lawyers 4 you the Realtor is pretending to work for both the Seller and the Buyer all at the same time.

The National Association of Realtors and The Multiple Listing Service spend a lot of time and energy trying to cover their backsides by explaining this phenomenon in many ways and in many places but the bottom line is the same, no matter how hard they try to justify such poor ethics. On many of their forms they explain away this possible situation before it happens. Some forms require a signature from the Seller and declare in bold type that the form is not a contract! Well then why is a signature so necessary? This form may not be a contract but it sure is considered notice and the very Seller that they proclaim to protect has just signed a piece of paper that can and will be used against them at a later date by these same Realtors sworn to uphold their best interests.

In other clauses they explain it this way. "A dual agent shall be neutral with regard to any conflicting interest of the seller and buyer. Consequently, a dual agent cannot satisfy fully the duties of loyalty, full disclosure and obedience to lawful instructions which is required of an exclusive seller." In yet another clause Realtors caution "you have the responsibility to protect your own interests."

By breaking down their own language it seems to me that as a consequence of my agent becoming a "Double Agent" he or she cannot fully satisfy the duties for which they were hired. "A Seller has the responsibility to protect their own interests." Are they kidding? Realtors have the nerve to put this in print! One of the main reasons why a Seller would hire them in the first place is to help protect these very interests but now a Seller is to be left on their own, without professional guidance, because an Agent wants to work both sides and be better paid as a result.

Let me tell you that at this point they are not longer acting as a "Double Agent" but rather they are now working as a "Triple Agent." That's right, now there are three interests at work here in this confusing dynamic. The third interest is that of the Realtors and I believe the interest that is the most important to the Realtor because it directly effects the Realtors income. When a Realtor both lists and sells a property thereby becoming a "Double Agent" they double their income and this is actually what dual agency is all about.

Think this one through, the Agent now serves in a much diminished capacity for the Seller but DOUBLES his or her income by doing so. The Seller now pays more and receives less. In who's best interest are Realtors working for?

I would expect any professional that I hire and pay, be it a dentist, doctor or rubbish hauler to work in my best interest. It is simply not acceptable that my Realtor gets to jump ship and work for both sides just because they have given themselves this weird ability to circumvent the law and Double their income by doing so.

If you currently have your property listed for sale with a Realtor or are considering placing a property on the market using an Agent, it is entirely within your power to say no to dual agency. Why should you sacrifice the much deserved and well paid for representation for the sake of someone else's greed?

James Joseph has more than than 25 years experience in the Real Estate industry. He has purchased and sold hundreds of properties functioning as a Principal, Broker, Builder and Developer of Real Estate. In his soon to be published book The Real Estate Revolution he takes a stand for the much abandoned class of Real Estate Owners and Sellers. His maven position will be instrumental for the much needed virtual changes that are over due in this industry.
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