Q. I know you have written before about buyers agents but I do not understand what they are.  Can’t any agent be a buyer’s agent?  H Landis, Wayne, PA

A.  You are right, any agent can represent a buyer. Buyers do not have to use the agent who lists the house but can have their own agent under PA law.  What I do is quite unusual in that I never represent sellers.  Only buyers.  That is a new niche for this part of the country.  I think that is a benefit to buyers in that I focus all my attention on their needs and issues.  Exclusive buyers agents have a higher standard of duty as well.  They cannot water down their loyalty through disclosures, even though that is permitted under PA law.  For example, even though the concept of “dual agency”—where one agent represents both sides of the transaction—is allowed here, it is widely misunderstood.  According to Realtor News, in a national survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors, most agents reported that they did not even understand their obligations under those circumstances and they thought it created “confusion among all the parties”. The magazine further reported that the practice is a constant source of disputes and legal problems.  Although agents who do this have the best intentions, I think it is impossible to decide how to be “fair” to two parties on opposite sides of a deal.  Maybe that is just my legal background.  Many agents will disagree with me on this point.

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