Dual Agency in Minnesota

Think about it, the listing agent owes certain fiduciary duties to the seller. Those duties include: loyalty, obedience, disclosure, confidentiality, reasonable care, and accounting. If a buyer calls the listing agent for information on the property, the agent will probably attempt to assist the buyer. Although the agent obviously wants to sell the property, they will need to be pretty careful about which pieces of information they can provide. At the end of the day, that agent still owes those fiduciary duties to the seller. If the buyer signs a representation contract with the listing agent, the agent then owes those same fiduciary duties to both the buyer and the seller.

See how this can get sticky pretty quickly? Don’t worry, there is a simple solution. Don’t call the listing agent. I know I am giving up potential business by telling you this, but really I just want you to get the best service possible. So do yourself a favor, and pick one agent and stick with them. Not only will they be working for you and keeping your best interests in mind, they will also be able to get a better picture of what you’re looking for over time. Don’t hop from listing agent to listing agent, you’ll end up paying more in the end than you would if you took the time to build a relationship with one agent.