Nevertheless, unless you appoint the realtor as "buyer's agent" (and
agrees to pay his/her commission if it cannot be collected from the
listing agent), "your" realtor is really acting as sub-agent to the
listing agent and cannot give you independent advice.

That is my understanding, based on our recent purchase of a property in
Michigan (it could vary from State to State). And no, we did not pay
"our" realtor any commission: he collected from the listing agent.

MB


On 03/15/04 09:29 pm Darrell put fingers to keyboard and launched the
following message into cyberspace:

Joseph E. Meehan “That makes him or her the seller's agent, not yours.
If this is the case, find a professional who will help you for a flat
fee” “It amazes me that people think the buyer's relater is on their
side when they are paid to get the buyer to pay more.”

The problem is that people buy into Meehan’s nonsense so easily. It’s
absurd to choose your REALTOR or real estate agent based on how much
they make. The problem isn’t with how much the agent makes but rather
getting past the sales presentation and discovering your agent’s
character. How do you do this? Simple present the agent with questions
or real life scenario’s and see what his/her answer is. Compare his
answer to others. The size of his company the name recognition is
irrelevant. It really comes down to a person with a real estate license
or equivalent of (attorney) that has a genuine respect for his/her
fiduciary duty AND has the experience, knowledge and fortitude to
fulfill that obligation. MONEY has nothing to do with it, unless of
course you allow yourself to be duped. In the later whatever results
you get are your own fault. Choosing a contractor should be handled
with the same care!!