Realtor asking for my first 5 of Social on Short Sale

[Peter Lee]

So, I made an offer a month ago on a BofA short sale and was accepted. My realtor happens to be both the buyer's agent and seller's.

She called me up today and ask me for my first 5 digits of my Social Security Number and my date of birth.

Has this ever happen to you guys?

She says Bank of America needs to I guess to identify me, which sounds like crap to me as they could just issue me a numeric ID.

I'm worried as she may have my last 4 numbers from my bank statement I gave her to show proof of funds. Thinking back, i should of just gave her a fake number, like 123-45. lol

I guess I could lock inquiries on my credit, but i don't want to jump the gun yet.

[J Scott]

Originally posted by Peter Lee:

My realtor happens to be both the buyer's agent and seller's.

Is the agent actually representing both of you (dual agency)? Do you have a Buyer Brokerage Agreement with the agent indicating that the agent has a fiduciary responsibility to ensuring your best interest? Or are you just a "customer" of the agent, meaning they help with contracts, pass information back-and-forth, but you don't have a written agency agreement?

Keep in mind that the seller is actually a client (the agent has a fiduciary responsibility to them), but if you're just a customer, the agent can (and must) do everything to get their seller the best deal, even at your expense. If you're just a customer, don't expect that if the agent is impartial in any way, shape or form -- you are at a disadvantage, and if you don't know how to negotiate on your own behalf, you will get taken advantage of.

All that said, if you're not comfortable handling all aspects of the deal, the negotiation, the paperwork, these types of questions, etc -- get yourself an agent who represents YOU in the transaction, and don't rely on the listing agent.

Even if the listing agent is serving as a dual agent (representing both parties), you're not getting a fiduciary benefit out of it.