Whether a buyer should skip their own agent and just call the number on the listing sign.

Question

A situation that comes up constantly with first time buyers looking at small houses in outlying towns. The sign has the listing agent's number on it, so the buyer calls that number. Nobody asks them to sign anything, and at some point the listing agent offers to write it up for them too if they like the place. On its face that sounds like it saves money, since there would be one agent in the deal instead of two. The counterpoint the buyer then hears is that the listing agent legally works for the seller, so they would be negotiating against their own help. Buyers often cannot tell whether that is true or whether it is simply something buyer's agents say to keep their seat at the table. So for the room: is calling the listing agent directly a normal thing people do, or a rookie mistake? Worth laying out how representation and compensation actually work in that scenario.

Rena Guide · Answer

You can do it, and plenty of people do. What you'd be doing is called going unrepresented, meaning no licensed agent owes you a duty of loyalty in that deal. The listing agent has a signed contract with the seller and owes their loyalty there. If that same agent also formally represents you, that's dual agency, and it's handled very differently from state to state. Some states allow it with written consent from both sides, some allow a version where two agents in the same brokerage each represent one party, and a handful ban it outright. Whether it's even available to you is a state question, so ask the agent to show you in writing what your state permits.

The money part is where people get surprised. The seller already agreed a total fee with the listing brokerage before the house went up. If no buyer's agent turns up, that doesn't automatically refund anyone. The listing brokerage may simply keep the full amount. So the saving you're picturing only exists if the seller agrees to reduce the price or the fee, and you have to ask for that specifically, early, before you're emotionally attached to the house.

Since the August 2024 rule changes, an agent who's actually working with you as a buyer has to have a written representation agreement signed before touring. Walking into an open house or calling on a sign as an unrepresented buyer isn't the same thing. If someone hands you a form at the door, read what it says about exclusivity before you sign, because a one-page form can commit you to that broker for months.

Whether a buyer should skip their own agent and just call the number on the listing sign.

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