In residential real estate, the competition for business never stops.
It’s especially intense during the interviewing stage, before home Buyers and Sellers decide who to hire.
But, it continues even after the sale, when agents vie to claim sales credit on MLS, in their marketing materials, etc.
All of which is why Buyer’s agents are well-advised to check MLS to make sure they’re properly credited.
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With the caveat that it’s uncommon, I have found two types of situations where the listing broker — who’s responsible for submitting the information to MLS — incorrectly identifies the Buyer’s agent (for some reason, known as “the selling agent” once the deal closes).
The first scenario is innocent and inadvertent; the second, anything but:
One. The Buyer’s agent has a common surname — for example, “Bob Smith” — and the wrong Bob Smith is identified.
Two. The listing agent credits themselves as the Buyer’s agent as well, notwithstanding the Buyer had their own agent.
I’m pretty confident the latter practice violates both MLS Rules and Realtor Ethics.
But . . . first someone has to flag it (a colleague just had that happen to him, and was not shy about getting the guilty broker to correct it, post-haste).
