Is Dual Agency Okay in Tacoma?

Is Dual Agency Okay in Tacoma?

Dual Agency is legal in Tacoma (and Washington State generally), there are some important legal requirements, risks, and trade‑offs to understand. Is it a good idea? I will argue that no, on the whole, it is probably not something to get involved with. Once you are in a transaction it can be pretty hard to untangle or undo. It is important to think about and discuss with your Broker up front.

What is dual agency / limited dual agency in Washington

Dual agency means representing both sides in a single real estate transaction. A Broker may act as a limited dual agent with written consent of both parties

In that circumstance, the Broker must keep each party’s confidential information private and refrain from disclosing information to one party that would harm the other party’s position, such as what that party has said they would accept in a negotiation.

Pros & advantages

While I am NOT arguing that dual agency is good or even okay here, there could be some advantages. Those include streamlined communications, less opportunity for a message to become corrupted as it passes from person to person. Remember that game “Telephone” from childhood, where a secret is whispered from one kid to another until it reaches the end of the line at which point the message bears little resemblance to the original message. Dual agency would conceivably minimize that effect. Communications like offers, counter-offers and notices should theoretically move more quickly with one less stop to make. The Broker MIGHT also reduce their commission in a dual agency situation, saving one or both parties money.

Cons & risks

There are several important drawbacks you should be aware of:

Conflict of interest - The core issue: one agent has to balance interests of both sides. These can be sharply opposed. An agent must act "neutral," meaning they cannot fully advocate for one party over the other. You may lose the benefit of having someone fully in your corner. It is common in dual agency situations for one party or the other, or both, to feel that the dual agent is acting more for the other side. Human nature, to be suspicious of a situation where the potential exists for unfairness. The very appearance of unfairness may be enough reason to avoid dual agency.

Limited disclosure of confidential information -The law requires that the agent not disclose confidential information of either party. What counts as “confidential” can include things like how much you're willing to pay, or how far you’re willing to negotiate. That means some helpful information that could help you may be off‑limits.

Reduced negotiation strength - If you want someone to push aggressively on your behalf, to fight hard for certain concessions, repair credits, etc., a dual agent is constrained. They can’t favor one side, so they can’t really go all pitbull for you.

More risk of legal trouble - Dual agency transactions tend to have a higher risk of getting tangled up and into disputes. This is likely due to both the perception of bias or actual instances of a Broker disclosing something confidential.

Brokers in OUR OFFICE are discouraged from being involved in dual agency situations for the reasons above, primarily the enhanced risk of legal trouble! They will permit two agents on the same team (like the Hume brothers) to represent either side. In fact, this is something Tom and Matt have done successfully many times. We are probably tougher on each other than we are on other Brokers! :) While some disadvantages may linger under this circumstance, the advantage is that we do work with a lot of clients, so a seller client may prefer that we go ahead and show their home to our buyer clients too.

Conclusion

In general, while dual (limited) agency is legal in Tacoma/Washington, it is risky unless you're very comfortable with the trade‑offs. In many cases, having independent representation gives you greater peace of mind. kable.

You might also like to learn more about what contingencies blow up deals in Tacoma.

Or the blog version