Should we bother having a system with fair rules? Right now, it’s rigged in favour of the Seller. So, who cares! Let’s just continue with it, the way it is. Why does it need to be fair? After all, once the buyer pays enough money, then they are a homeowner themselves, so they should like the system then.
It wouldn’t work in Sports. There, you need fair rules. It’s a competition, and unless you had fair rules, you’d never be able to figure out who won and who lost.
What if:
- Baseball Umpires were provided by the “home team”, not by the league, all receiving bonuses if the home team wins
- Hockey Referees were on the payroll of the home team
- Referee in Boxing was on the staff of one of the Contenders
Also, what if you provided yourself with the home team advantage in a card game?
You host a Poker Night with your friends, but you have installed a video camera on the ceiling which looks over the heads and shows their hands. You continuously have access to their hands via the internet and your cellphone. You can see their hands clearly, but they can’t see your hand, because “it’s a card game”.
All in all, you really wouldn’t be too happy with these situations.
If you were playing the real estate game, both the Seller and the Listing Agent would know:
- Seller’s bottom line
- The bids submitted by other Buyers
The Listing Agent, if they had a Buyer, would also:
- Have the ability to increase the Buyer’s bid, AFTER the others have been submitted
- Know their Buyer’s top end price
And, just to mix it up a bit, the Listing Agent might be able to throw in some commission to double end the deal.
None of this seems to be entirely fair, but who said things had to be fair.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker