Over the last few blog posts, we have discussed the Liberal government’s 16-point housing plan they released in the spring. The centrepiece of it? A 15 percent foreign buyers tax and expanded rent controls. Another plank was reviewing the rules for real estate agents to ensure consumers are fairly represented.
The government has now published several proposals for changes to real estate agent rules and penalties and is seeking public consultation on them. One of the proposals is to ban — with some limited exceptions — salespeople from representing both the buyer and seller or more than one potential buyer in a trade. Today we are going to discuss what you need to know about double ending and how banning it will affect your future real estate transactions.
What is Double Ending?
Double ending is a term used to describe when the Listing Agent for a property represents both the Seller and the Buyer in a transaction.
What should I know about Double Ending?
Double ending usually occurs when a Buyer doesn’t work with an agent and searches for properties on their own. Once they find a property, they deal directly with the Listing Agent.
In the above situation, the seller is being represented by the listing agent by their listing agreement. They would call this an agency relationship. The buyer is only dealing with this agent because it is his listing. In this instance, the relationship is called Buyer Customer Service. It would be considered agency if the Buyer had enlisted the same Agent to find them a property, and most likely signed a buyer representation agreement.
Most of the time, these double ending situations arise from the former, where a Buyer without an Agent deals directly the Listing Agent. The later example would be rare.
Why is the government concerned about Double Ending?
This is a pretty straightforward one. They are taking the position that it is pretty hard to work in both the Seller’s and Buyer’s best interests, at the same time, given that their interests are directly opposed. It’s more difficult to maintain confidentiality as well when representing both parties. Its easy to see how this could be abused in the wrong hands.
What does this mean for me on my next real estate transaction?
If this proposal is passed, when buying your next listed property, you would be required to hire your own realtor, more than likely under a buyer representation agreement. This would mean there would be agency relationships on both sides of the transaction and in theory both parties interests should be protected. Our guess is that there will be some exceptions to the rules but we will have to see how it plays out.
What are your thoughts on double ending? Have you had a double ending experience in your real estate travels?
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