Is The Agent Putting You First?

Recently we offered some Alabama hunting land for sale at a below-market price (at the owners request).  It truly was a good deal.

An interested buyer asked me, “if it’s such a good deal why aren’t you buying it”?

What an important question!

Fact is, some agents do buy their clients property.  There is even a residential agent in the Birmingham market that advertises if they can’t sell your house, they’ll buy it.

But, how can a buyer or a seller ever trust an agent that will do this?  What an enormous conflict of interest that agent has!

For example, if a seller knows their agent will buy a listed property, then the question should be asked, “how hard will my agent try to sell my property?”. Remember, no agent will buy your property unless they believe they can flip it for a profit.  When an agent does this, they put their own best interest ahead of their client’s best interest.

If a buyer knows an agent will buy a listed property, then the question should be asked, “how good a deal can it be if the agent won’t buy it?”.  After all, why would an agent pass up the chance to make money on a really good deal? When an agent competes with buyers for good deals, they put their own best interest ahead of their customers best interest!

As hard as it is to understand, some agents force their clients and customers to ask these questions.

At Cyprus Partners, we have a strict rule that our agents can’t buy a listed property until 2 years after the termination of the listing. This way our customers and clients know their best interest ALWAYS comes first.

Does the agent you’re dealing with buy listed property from time to time?

If so, don’t forget to ask yourself some good questions.