I was disappointed in DC Living Real Estate, even though I would say that the price we ultimately received for the sale of our house was satisfactory, as were the number of days the house was on the market. In addition, the DC Living brokers worked hard. There were aspects, too, of our sale that would have tried the patience of any broker, and they remained cheerful and positive throughout. Some, and perhaps most, buyers would find the two principal brokers to be a good fit. Despite all of this, I found my relationship with one of the brokers to be among the most problematic I've had with a professional. I would urge anyone considering these brokers to make sure that they are equally comfortable with both, as their styles are quite different. My clear preference for dealing with the one with whom I felt I still had a good relationship was overridden at every turn. I particularly regret having agreed to dual agency. In effect, as soon as I had done so, I no longer felt I could receive reliable advice on the price negotiations, and later on the negotiations over the list of repairs. I'm pretty sure in retrospect that the buyers would have gone through with the purchase without the split-it-down-the-middle approach that dual agency invites. I don't know this for sure, and it is quite possible we would have made the same concessions had we been advised by a broker with no stake in serving the buyer, but with dual agency I couldn't be sure. I don't blame DC Living for having agreed to dual agency, although it wasn't clear until afterwards when I asked that they did not have a prior relationship to the buyers before meeting them at one of our open houses. Later, when the broker with whom I had a problematic relationship described a portion of the commission that they were kicking back to the buyer as having been granted to help make the deal work, it seemed curious. When I inquired, I was advised that the buyers had asked for it during the negotiations to bridge the gap between us, but it was not disclosed at the time it was asked for or granted, but rather later as a heads up in connection with a form that we would see at settlement. It didn't make any difference to the amount of commission we paid, but it dovetailed with the narrative I was developing in which I felt managed and not listened to or treated with genuine respect. read more