The real estate environment is always changing, and one scenario that seems to be happening more often lately is an unrepresented buyer asking a listing agent to write an offer on their own listing. 

The buyer's line of thinking, in many cases, is that they can better compete for the home when the listing agent writes the offer and receives both sides of the commission. In other words, when the listing agent stands to earn more money from the sale, the buyer is betting that the listing agent will use their influence to persuade the seller to accept their offer. 

But there's a problem with this. The seller hired the listing agent to represent the seller's best interests, not the buyer's. And asking the listing agent to serve both sides in a transaction is often fraught with conflict.

For example: What happens when defects are found during an inspection and the resolution of those defects need to be negotiated? How will each party know in their gut that they are receiving the right advice and taking the best course of action? 

It's conflicts like these that inform me to serve only one party in a transaction. This is my policy right now, and how I will choose to operate in the future. I know I'll sleep better at night when I choose to run my business without any potential conflicts of interest.