Buyer Agency - FREE?

Buyer's Agents and Buyer Agency Explained

Some home buyers don’t understand what a Buyer's Agent is or does, and what it means to have their own buyer’s agent. Some buyers think it is going to cost them money if they hire a real estate agent to help them with their search and purchase of a home. But, did you know that buyer agency almost always costs the home buyer nothing?

The seller's agent represents the seller's best interests, not yours! The seller's agent has a fiduciary responsibility to the seller and can only perform ministerial acts for buyers. This means they can't think on your behalf or offer any advice concerning the purchase of the property.

A buyer's agent, on the other hand, would represent your best interests, consulting with you on the property's present condition, assessing its fair market value (comparing it to similar homes nearby that recently sold), present pricing negotiation opportunities and transaction options, etc.

Buyer's agents generally get paid by receiving a share of the sales commission built into the listing contract of a home that’s for sale. Many listing agreements between the seller and the seller's agent indicate whether the sales commission will be split between the seller's agent and a buyer's agent, also known as "co-op." That's because most sellers are prepared to pay a commission simply to get their home sold. They aren't concerned whether it's their agent or a buyer's agent that actually produces a buyer resulting in the sale of their home. In fact, these days the sellers' agents market more to other agents in the area vs. directly to potential buyers, knowing that the agents will be calling to schedule showings with their clients as buyer’s agents.

If you have proper representation from a buyer's agent, they won’t "SELL" you real estate.  Instead, your buyer's agent should be helping you find the right real estate to "BUY".  There’s a huge difference!

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No Salesmanship: Buyer's agents don’t sell real estate. They deliver a service. The buyer's agent must deliver all pertinent information for the buyer-client to be able to make an informed decision on whether or not to purchase the proposed home.

No Pressure: Buyer's agents are paid professional consultants. They never pressure their client to make a decision to purchase a particular property. Nonetheless, when appropriate, and still without exerting undue pressure, the agent must advise the buyer-client of the ramifications of such acts as delaying decisions and making inappropriate offers.

Reasonable Care and Diligence: A buyer's agent is responsible for researching a targeted property and its surroundings to discover all material information prior to a buyer-client making an offer to purchase.

Negotiation: The buyer’s agent has assumed the responsibility of making sure their buyer-clients never unknowingly overpay for the home being purchased. It’s the buyer's agent’s job to conduct a market analysis for every home on which the buyer-client intends to make an offer. If the buyer's agent knows of any information regarding the seller’s willingness to accept less than the listed price, it is the buyer’s agent’s fiduciary responsibility to inform the buyer-client of such facts.

Loyalty: A buyer's agent must always think of the buyer-client before him or herself, even when it may not be in the buyer's agent's best interest. A buyer's agent must always be loyal to the buyer-client, never doing anything that would intentionally jeopardize the buyer-client's best interests.

Obedience: A buyer's agent owes absolute obedience to the buyer-client provided that the buyer's agent is not asked to violate any State or Federal statutes or regulations. The buyer’s agent has the job to search out the entire area to the best of his/her ability for the properties that best meet their buyer-client’s needs and not to waste time showing their buyer-clients property that does not meet their specific criteria. Doing otherwise would be a breach of contract between the buyer’s agent and the buyer-client.

Disclosure: A buyer's agent must disclose any information he/she knows about the seller to the buyer-client. A buyer's agent must also disclose any pertinent facts about the property and the immediate area known to him/her or, which should be reasonably expected to be known as the representative of the buyer-client.

Confidentiality: A buyer's agent must keep all sensitive information concerning his/her buyer-client confidential, unless the buyer-client has given the buyer's agent permission to disclose such information.

The Contract: The buyer's agent is bound by contract to perform on behalf of the buyer-client. A buyer-client should always insist on having a written contractual relationship with the buyer's agent. The contract should fully obligate and define the legal responsibilities of the buyer’s agent. The buyer-client could then seek recourse against his/her real estate agent if in fact the buyer’s agent has not done his/her job thoroughly. In dealings with the seller, an exclusive buyer's agent should exercise reasonable skill and care in performance of the buyer’s agent's duties, deal honestly, fairly and in good faith and disclose all facts known to the buyer’s agent materially affecting the buyer-client's ability and/or willingness to perform a contract to acquire the seller's property that are not inconsistent with the buyer’s agent's fiduciary duties to the buyer-client.