Why I Fired Myself as a Buyer's Agent in 2021

In 2021 I made a decision that cost me half my potential business on paper. I stopped representing buyers. Completely. From that point on, I have worked for home sellers only, and I want to tell you why, because the reason is the same reason you should care who is actually on your side of the table.

The problem nobody in the industry wants to say out loud

Real estate has a built-in conflict called dual agency. It is when one agent, or one brokerage, represents both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. The law allows it in California with disclosure. I think it stinks.

Picture it. You are selling your home. Your agent brings a buyer they also represent. Now that agent is supposed to get you the highest price and get the buyer the lowest price, at the same time, in the same deal. That is not possible. Somebody’s interest gets quietly set down. It is usually the person who assumed loyalty and never got it in writing.

I spent 20 years at LAPD before I ever wrote a listing. In that world, you do not get to serve two masters and call it fair. I carried that into real estate. I do not think I should owe anybody anything except the client whose name is on my agreement.

So I drew a hard line

When I represent a seller, there is exactly one person I answer to. You. I will never sit on the other side of your deal. If a buyer wants to see your home and they do not have an agent, I connect them with someone from a small, vetted group I trust to represent buyers well, and I tell you and them exactly how that works. On my own listings I will not even make that introduction, because I will not stand anywhere near the appearance of a conflict.

That is what “seller’s only agent” actually means. It is not a slogan. It is a fence I put around your interests.

What you get because of it

• Undivided loyalty. My eye is on your outcome at 100 percent, start to finish.
• Cleaner negotiations. When the offers come in, I am reading them for you, not managing my own conflict.
• Straight advice. I have no incentive to talk you into a buyer I am also being paid by.

Twenty-seven years in this valley taught me that the difference between a good sale and a great one is rarely the house. It is who is truly working for you when it counts.

I’m Connor MacIvor, Connor with Honor, Santa Clarita’s seller’s only agent. Call or text me any time at 661-888-4983.