Should I use the listing agent to buy the house?

Usually no. Not because the listing agent is untrustworthy, but because of what Utah law requires them to become the moment they represent you too.

In Utah, an agent or brokerage representing both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction is a limited agent. A limited agent has to remain neutral and act in good faith toward both parties rather than advocating for either, and the arrangement is only permitted with the prior informed written consent of both sides, typically through the Division of Real Estate’s Limited Agency Consent Agreement (Utah Division of Real Estate; Utah Administrative Code R162-2f).

Read that again with your own interests in mind. The person who was hired to get the highest price for the seller cannot now argue for the lowest price for you. Nobody is doing anything wrong. There is simply no longer anyone in the room whose job is to push on your behalf.

What you actually give up

Specifics, rather than vibes:

• Advice on what to offer. A limited agent cannot tell you that the seller would likely take less, or what the seller’s motivation is.
• Advocacy on repairs. After the inspection, the negotiation about who fixes what is adversarial by nature. Neutrality is not a position in that conversation.
• Strategy on terms. Rent-backs, closing dates, appraisal gaps, which contingencies to keep — all of it benefits from someone arguing your side.
• Candid read on the house. The honest downsides of the property are easier to hear from someone who is not also responsible for selling it.
• Confidential information. Things you would tell your own agent about your finances or your flexibility are not protected the same way.

The inspection negotiation is where I see this bite hardest. Whether you have to fix everything on the inspection report is a negotiation, not a formality, and it is the point in the deal where buyers most need somebody in their corner.

What you might gain

I want to be fair about this, because people do it and it sometimes works out.

The listing agent genuinely knows the property better than anyone. They know what the seller has disclosed, what the seller has already turned down, and what the timing pressure is. In a market where a house will get several offers, a buyer working directly with the listing agent is sometimes communicating faster than the competition.

There is also a real-money argument. If the overall compensation on the deal is lower because one brokerage is handling both ends, that money has to go somewhere, and sometimes it goes into the price. Whether it actually does is a question worth asking directly rather than assuming.

When it is reasonable

A few situations where I would not talk you out of it:

• You already know the property and the terms, and there is nothing to negotiate. Occasionally true with new construction or a family transfer.
• You are a seasoned investor who negotiates for a living and does not need representation to do it.
• You are buying from someone you know, where price and terms were settled before anyone involved an agent.
• The alternative is no representation at all and you have read the paperwork carefully.

In all four cases the common thread is that you are not relying on anyone to advocate for you, because you are doing it yourself.

The version people actually ask about: new construction

A related situation comes up constantly in Herriman and the south valley. The agent in the model home works for the builder. That is not dual agency in the technical sense, and the practical effect on you is similar: nobody in that conversation is working for you unless you brought them.

Most builders require your agent to accompany you on the first visit, and walking in alone can forfeit your ability to be represented on that purchase. That is a five-minute decision with consequences you cannot reverse. The questions to ask a builder in Herriman is the list to take with you, and whether to use the builder’s lender covers the financing half.

How to decide

If this is true	Then
You want someone arguing your side on price	Get your own agent
You expect an inspection negotiation	Get your own agent
You are relocating and do not know the area	Get your own agent
Terms are already settled and you read contracts for a living	Limited agency is defensible
You are buying new construction	Register your own agent before the first visit
You are not sure	Get your own agent. It is the reversible choice

That last row is the practical one. Representation is easy to add at the start of a search and impossible to add after you have already toured with someone else or signed a builder registration.

The part that is awkward for me to write

I have an obvious interest in telling you to hire a buyer’s agent, so weigh this accordingly and go read the Division of Real Estate’s own explanation of limited agency rather than taking my word for it.

What I will say is that I am Kelsey Earl, a Realtor with Keller Williams South Valley, I work both the south Salt Lake Valley and Washington County, and the transactions where I have watched a buyer get hurt were almost never about the purchase price. They were about the inspection, the appraisal, the timing of a simultaneous sale, or a builder addendum nobody read closely. Those are the moments where having somebody whose only job is your side of it earns its keep.

If you are weighing a simultaneous sale and purchase, that is the hardest version of this and how to sell without being stranded is where the sequencing is laid out.

What to do next

If you are touring a house and the listing agent offers to write your offer, you do not have to answer on the spot. Say you want to think about representation and come back to it. Nothing about that costs you the house.

Then read the Limited Agency Consent Agreement before you sign it, because it describes exactly what the agent can and cannot do for you, in the state’s own words.

And if you want a plain read on whether limited agency makes sense for a specific deal, get in touch and I will tell you honestly, including when the answer is that it is fine.

Note: General information, not legal advice. Agency relationships, consent requirements and contract terms vary and your transaction may differ — read the actual documents you are asked to sign and speak to a Utah real estate attorney about any specific situation.