I am a first time homebuyer and was told to get a real estate agent to
represent me.  I did, even though I was told that in New York state,
agents only represent the seller.  The one I chose came to my house
and spent a lot of time getting to know what I want and my price
range.  She is great and sends me many listings, but all of them are
from the firm she works for.  She has worked with me for almost 6
months.  I have not signed any agreement with her, but she said to
make sure that if I found something, to let the seller's real estate
agent know that she is representing me.

Because I believe that two eyes are better than one, and because there
are other real estate firms in town, I am also looking for listings in
the local paper and have found many things myself.  When I see
something I like, I tell her and go to an open house.  She said to
make sure I put down her name as representing me.

For a recent listing that I found, I did just that.  I found it in the
paper, I went to the open house, I signed in with her name as my
agent, and made a bid.  I was told by the man at the open house to
call another person.  This other person, I found out, was the real
estate agent representing the seller.  The conversation was going
well.  Then I said that I wanted to make sure this person knew that I
had an agent that represents me and who's name I signed in at the open
house.  This person got upset and asked if the other real estate agent
had done anything.  This person asked if the real estate agent
registered me.  I said I didn't think so.

I really would like to purchase this property.  I don't understand
what is going on here.  The real estate agent representing me has done
so much work showing me properties, sending me information, coming to
my house to interview me about what I like and what I can afford, etc.
 I think it is fair for her to represent me.  But, then again, she did
not find this property for me, she didn't go to see it.  I am
confused.  My main concern is not losing this property, but I also
feel a loyalty to her.

The question is basically, "What are my moral obligations in this?". 
Related to this are the questions:  Can I lose this property by being
represented by an agent?  Or in other words, can the seller refuse to
sell it to me for the sole reason that I have a real estate agent?  If
so, what purpose is there for having a real estate agent.  It seems
like it is more of a burden than anything.  In the scenario above, is
it right to have my agent represent me, or should she expect that if I
find it myself that she is not going to be my agent?

Hello.

Legally, you have no obligation to have an agent or not.  My parents
just bought a house and the agent that was selling the house to them
acted as a "double agent," representing both their interests and the
seller's. However, my parents live in a  small town and that's just
basically how it's done there, with no other choice.  In bigger
markets and cities, most people hire their own agent to protect their
own interests, and their agent does all the negotiating with the
sellers through the sellers' agent.  In this way, both interests are
protected-- each of the agents negotiates the best price for their
client. A "double agent" might actually want the buyer to pay more
than the buyer wants to, since the agent works by commission and makes
more on the sale the higher the price.  Most experts do recommend that
a buyer hire their own agent to represent their own interests.

To make things easier, I'll refer to your agent as Agent A and the
sellers' agent as Agent B. Agent B was perhaps adamant that you not
use Agent A in the negotiations because Agent A,  upon your buying the
house, would actually receive part of Agent B's commission, meaning
less dough for Agent B. In other words, you don't pay your agent and
the sellers don't pay the agent, but the sellers' agent would pay your
agent out of their commission.  Agent B makes, for instance, six
percent commission. Maybe they would get three percent and yours would
get three percent. (I'm not sure exactly how the percentages would
work out.)

This is also why your Agent A wants you to put down her name at the
open houses! She has a specific interest in making money on whatever
house you buy. This also explains why she has only been showing you
houses from her real estate agency; perhaps she's showing you her own
listings, in which case she gets all the commission, or perhaps she
wants her colleagues to make part of the commission rather than a
stranger or competitor.  This is actually another form of the "dual
agency" mentioned above, in which neither side is completely impartial
and representing only one client.

As far as moral questions go, I would not worry about any loyalty to
your agent. If she has only shown you houses from her firm, she might
only have her own best interests at heart.  Or, that could be a
coincidence, and her firm could truly have the best listings for you!

I doubt that the sellers themselves would have any problem with you
having a buyers' agent, because they pay the same commission whether
or not you have an agent. I don't think that getting this house will
depend on whether you have an agent or not.  Is the price you made in
your offer significantly lower than what the sellers were asking?  Do
you live in a really competitive market where buyers compete for
houses?  I would say these are the most important factors in your
decision.  If what you're offering is close to the asking price and
you don't live in a really competitive market, you have a good chance
of getting the house no matter what.  The sellers will probably accept
your offer. If you want your agent to get half of the commission
rather than the sellers' agent, go ahead and get her involved in
negotiations.

The sellers' agent has proven to be pushy/selfish by trying to bully
you into not using an agent. To me, that would translate to them not
having your best interests at heart and trying to get you to pay more
for the house than it's worth to up their commission. It's up to you
to decide whether you would be more comfortable with your own agent
representing you in negotiations.

I would say you have no moral obligations either way. If you want the
agent representing you, have her represent you. If not, don't-- as you
said, she did not specifically find this property for you.  The
seller's main concern is getting the highest price, not whether you
have an agent-- and an agent representing you would probably be better
at negotiating on your behalf than you yourself would. They wouldn't
have the direct conflict of interest that the seller's agent has.

The seller's agent, by the way, is legally obligated to present them
with all real estate offers. So it's not like the agent could "hide"
your offer and not show it to the sellers or something like that. The
most important thing is the price you use to negotiate and the offer
you make.

Good luck with the home buying experience! I hope you find a home you
love, and I hope I helped you.

Very good answer!

Who said that there are no new G-A Researchers?  Welcome aboard!

I just want to refer you to a question I answered last night:

Subject: etiquette question 
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=739690

Maybe it's the case in New York that all agents represent sellers, but
you have, in effect, had a "Buyer's Agent" working for you. The same
answer applies, the reason your agent has been asking you to please
tell everyone SHE represents you is because she has spent a lot of
time with you and wanted to be compensated.

Believe me, if you had referred the FIRST AGENT (at the property you
want to buy) to YOUR AGENT, you would not be experiencing this
confusion.

The sellers agent wants to make DOUBLE commission. Real Estate
commission is broken down to 2 parts.

On a 6% commission, it's like this:

Listing Agent: 3%
Selling Agent: 3%

If the same agent lists the house AND finds the buyer, they get 6% instead of 3%.

On a $500,000.00 house, 3% is $15,000, --not chump change. They are
trying to keep that $15,000 "in house" --among friends.  Who do you
think they are concerned about? Certainly NOT YOU.

Call your agent immediately.

~~Cynthia-ga
Google Answers Researcher

You've got a really messy situation here. Keystroke gave some good
advice, but there are a couple of things missing.

You have some sort of agreement with the agent representing you--a
so-called buyer's agent--but that relationship isn't clear. There are
three types of arrangements: Exclusive agent (anything you buy,
regardless of whether you or your agent found it, would trigger a
commission to your agent), exclusive agency (you'd owe a commission on
anything she found for you, but not on anything you found for
yourself), or open (you'd owe a comission on anything she found, but
you could use other agents as well or do it yourself). As a practical
matter, the commission will be paid by the seller if the seller has
listed with an agent. If not, for instance, in cases of some FSBO's,
you might actually be on the hook for the commission under an
exclusive buyer arrangement. But without a signed agreement, neither
you nor she knows what the arrangement is. You need to find this out
immediately.

Once you do so... You did OK with the property you were interested in
until you actually made a bid. If you've got an agent (exclusive
buyer, especially), she's the one who should put together an offer.
True, you legally can do it. But remember that the other agent is
representing the seller's interests, not yours. And he knows a heck of
a lot more about such things than you do. Your agent should have been
involved in putting together the offer. Remember: your agent will get
paid by the seller; it'll cost you no more to involve her in the
process.

You ask what your moral obligations are? That's irrelevant. Morally,
you feel an obligation to "your" agent. And practically, as I noted
above, involving her won't cost you a penny and may save you money.
But the question is: What are your legal obligations? And that comes
back to what your relationship (exclusive, exclusive agency, or open)
is with "your" agent.

My advice: If you are interested in the property--first, clarify your
relationship with "your" agent. Then work with her to put together an
offer on the property. That way, you're proceeding legally and morally
and you stand the best chance of acquiring the property you want.

Good luck.

Thank you for the kind words and the generous tip :) Good luck with
your house hunting/buying process.