An agent would like to have a list to give to buyer's agents saying "Buyers must use one of the following lenders". Or, "here is a list of our company's "approved" home inspectors. You must use one of these"

Response from Betsy Urbance: There are all kinds of potential issues here. If the agent is the listing agent only, then he should not be recommending these services to buyers anyway. If he is a dual agent, he might offer some suggestions if he has knowledge about reputable lenders and/or home inspectors. This is true if he is only the buyer's agent too.

If he is REQUIRING the use of particular service providers, then he is likely taking on a host of potential liability issues. If his brokerage business is affiliated with any of these services, he would also have RESPA issues if he were REQUIRING these services. Suppose, for example, the buyer agent requires that Home Inspector Z be use. Z misses a big defective condition and buyer is looking to sue someone. I would think the agent who required the use of Z would be buying into more potential liability than he should in the prudent practice of real estate brokerage. This does not mean that you can't make recommendations to reputable providers