I have been hesitant to write about broker reciprocity because reciprocity is so hard to spell but if you are a regular reader you have already noticed that not being able to spell something doesn’t stop me from writing about it.
Broker Reciprocity allows me as a Realtor® to show and sell any home listed by any real estate company. When I am working with buyers to find that perfect home I don’t look to see who’s listing it is. It doesn’t matter. Finding the perfect home is all that really matters. I am often asked if I can show homes listed through other real estate companies and have talked to buyers who believe that if a home is listed through Saint Paul Home Realty they have to work with one of our agents to see it. Not true, any agent from any real estate company can show our listings.
Find the agent you like best. There are excellent agents affiliated with each real estate company. I have written about this before. Real estate companies don’t sell real estate, licensed real estate agents and brokers who are usually independent contractors sell real estate and in real estate experience really does matter.
For real estate agents broker reciprocity means that there are thousands of agents helping us find buyers for our listings. It also means that if we are representing a buyer we will get paid through the sellers broker, in most cases the seller pays the commission as an incentive for the buyers agent. We do need to get paid and buyers need representation and our expertise as they go about making the most expensive purchase most people ever make.
Local real estate companies have homes for sale on their web sites that are listed by their agents and by agents from most other brokerages. Home buyers should find the site they like the best for research. Local sites are better than national sites because they have all of the local listings on them. There is no advantage to searching for homes in Minnesota on a site that also has homes for sale in Iowa and New Jersey.
This concludes my infomercial for buyers agency and broker reciprocity complete with a picture of a brownstone.
Also see: The Truth about Real Estate Companies
Fair enough, although I have my own gripe. Last fall when I was buying my latest home, I found that selling agents would refuse to show properties they were representing to folks who were not represented by an agent. As far as I know, buyers representing themselves without an agent remains a legal and legitimate option (even if ill-advised), but selling agents refusing to show properties was frustrating, to say the least.
Some of it was, I’m sure, the agents experience telling them that buyers representing themselves may be inexperienced, a hassle to deal with, or not motivated buyers. However, it also smacked of agents just refusing to accommodate folks who challenged the idea that agents are necessary for a transaction to occur.
I understand your frustration. Some times it just comes down to how much risk an agent can handle and how much insurance they have. 😉
Very well written article. I’m a Realtor on the other side of our country and I can see things work the same way by you as they do in Florida.
Darn I forgot to mention that real estate is local and it doesn’t work the same in every state
I totally agree with you Teresa as I am selling real estate here at Key Biscayne Florida. It really depends on where you are.
Nice article Teresa. I think broker reciprocity is a great thing. How do you feel about 3rd party syndication?
Not a fan of third party syndication. Should I be?
I can’t speak for my company, but I personally think giving our listing data to 3rd parties so they can sell our leads back to us is just crazy.
Dusty Carr
I Agree whole heatedly. The third party syndicators would have us believe they are providing a service to consumers.
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