The Benefits of Having Your Own Agent

In some provinces like ours here in Ontario, it is legal to have the same agent represent both buyer and Seller in a Real Estate transaction. This is called ‘dual agency’ or multiple representation. One should try to have their independent representation as much as possible, and here are the principal reasons:

Motivations should be safeguarded – Real Estate is a high dollar value transaction if I as a buyer reach directly to the listing agent advising that I don’t have any agent and I want to purchase this property. Now, my interests and motivations are exposed to the listing agent. Namely, what is my financial eligibility, how much I like the property, and how much I am willing to pay for the home.  I have no one on my side to independently value, assess and review the property to advise whether it is worth the price I am agreeing upon and other physical aspects of the lot, layout, location, current condition etc. of the property. 

The agent here is representing the Sellers, and by design, we cannot expect them  for critical advice on the property as it’s a direct conflict of interest. They would need to be neutral to both, and moreover, they are already in a client relationship with the Sellers. It is as if we are in a court case and we have the same lawyer representing both plaintiff and defendant, and in a word, it would be a mess and would by design tilt in one direction. 

On the other hand, if for us as a Buyer our interests are represented by our Broker. Our motivations would always remain with our Broker, they will not reach the Sellers or Sellers agent, and that is where the scope of negotiation is formed. How much I am in love with the property or how critically it fulfills my needs, that feeling or motivation doesn’t reach the other side, and our buyers representative can objectively negotiate the deal. As I mentioned earlier, since Real Estate is a high-dollar-value transaction, we should check our emotions during the process, both on the Seller Side and the Buyer Side, to reach a win-win outcome. 


Compensation is part of Fair Market Value – Since the majority of the properties are sold with brokers involved, the fair market value of the property which is evaluated by your buying broker based on neighborhood sales has already the compensation component built in. The learning is that for me as a buyer, having my own representation doesn’t impact me negatively, in fact, it only works to my benefit. Now, I can take benefit of unbiased advice from a person who looks at hundreds of properties every year and has a breadth of knowledge in evaluating properties. And my agent can objectively review and provide feedback on the subject property and negotiate on my behalf for the best price. 

Since I am not directly involved in the negotiation, my emotions are in control, and more objectively, the deal can be negotiated by my agent. I have assisted my clients in multiple transactions where we could secure the property at a favourable and objective price determined by the as-of-market and certainly not by emotions. 

When we talk from the Seller’s perspective, also the dual agency should be discouraged, as would not want my agent to put special emphasis on only direct buyer clients and not the buyer prospects across the broker community. The reason is that it is in our best interest as a seller to ensure we can expose the property to the widest array of buyers, and it sells at the credible price market can bear for my property. If I try to expose my property to a wider cross-section of buyers, the property would attract the right buyer willing to pay a credible price for the property. 

If I only limit it to the consumers put forth by my agent, I am missing out on the wide selection of consumers and not allowing my property to bear the right price. Generally, the dual agency relationship exists if the same agent is representing both buyers and the sellers, they will be double ending the compensation for both sides. And this is the reason, the only party that benefited in such transactions is the agent who is representing both. 


However, in remote and rural areas where the broker community is not that much in volume, the dual agency still works if done ethically, as it is needed to ensure the Sellers sell the property in a smooth and agreeable timeframe. 

Wish you all the very best! Reach out to our dedicated team at Elixir for any queries you have in Real Estate and we will do our best to help.


Mudit Mehta 
Broker of Record
ELIXIR REAL ESTATE INC.
Off: 416-816-6001 | info@elixirrealestate.ca