Whether you're in the market to buy Mississauga homes or are looking to get into the Oakville homes for sale market you're going to need to hire a real estate agent. There's nothing easy about buying or selling real estate and if you try to go at it alone without the help of a qualified Mississauga or Markham real estate agent you might come to regret the decision down the line.

When it comes to choosing a real estate agent you're going to have plenty of options. There are Mississauga or Brampton real estate agents that solely represent owners listing real estate properties and there are real estate agents who only represent interested buyers. Then there are listing agents who also represent buyers and those types of agents are known as dual agents.

Dual agents can sometimes find themselves in a tricky situation because they have to look out for the best interests of two competing parties. That means any information the agent knows that would help out one party over the other cannot be shared with the other party. So if a dual agent knows that the seller would take less money for their Mississauga or Toronto lofts because they want to sell quickly the dual agent can't share that information with their clients who are interested in purchasing the property in question.

The one main thing that dual agents do differently than listing agents or agents who are only representing prospective home buyers is making sure that both parties are happy and don't have any advantages over the other. Dual agents also have to make sure that they don't find themselves doing things that non-dual agents do all the time such as advising clients on home prices, advising clients on terms and negotiating on a client's behalf.

If they were to do any of those things then they could find themselves in some murky waters, which could lead to ramifications such as being fired by their clients or being sued. No dual agent wants that to happen to them so they go out of their way to ensure that they are looking out for the interests of all their clients when put into a situation where they represent the home seller and potential home buyer.

Now that you know what a dual agent is and what their responsibilities are to both the buyer and seller and what they are required to do as a dual agent for all parties you can decide if hiring a dual agent is something you want to do or if you should pass and see what types of benefits you get can from non-dual agents such as signing up for a Sutton members program.