Hi Clifford, While I agree with you that buyers need to beware in terms of real estate agents, it would be foolish of one who is purchasing a home, particularly a resale home to go with the agent who is contracted to sell the home, as opposed to go with an agent who is hired to look for a home for you.
In terms of hiding certain defects in the home, not only is that morally wrong, it is illegal. Real Estate agents have an obligation of full disclosure when selling a home, that is why one must hire their own agent to look for homes on their behalf. Not only is this ethically sound, from a financial point of view, as agents will have to cater to your wishes, it is morally sound, as there is no conflict of interest in what the agent must report to you. Just like a lawyer cannot defend two defendants who are charged with the same incident, as this would indicate a conflict of interest, an agent is ethically bound to not represent the homeowner and the buyer. I'm not saying that this does not happen, but if certain regulatory bodies ever got wind of it, that agent's license would be pulled almost immediately, and the agent punished with a fairly large fine. Victor Gouveia
