Working with the listing agent

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As I was networking earlier this week, I got to talking about some properties I was looking at. The person I was talking to told me to ALWAYS work with the listing agent because it will ensure you get a better deal on the property. However, I was told a few years ago that it's illegal for listing agents to also be the buyer's agent. Can you work with the listing agent? If so, is it really in your best interest? And how do you go about following through with that?

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Originally posted by @Trevon Peracca:

At the end of the day the agent just wants to close the deal. They will not care which party benefits more from the transaction if you use her as a dual agent. They will more time "Talking sense" into you instead of fighting for you.

Source: Used a dual agent before and fired her for that reason.

 That's what I expected, as well, but this person was adamant that because the listing agent would get the full commission, instead of half of it, that he or she would be more willing to convince the sellers to accept whatever offer you put on the table.