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"How Can a Buyer's Agent Help Me?"
Any Buyer's Agent usually owes these duties to their home buyer:
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- Loyalty
- Diligence
- Confidentiality
- Obedience
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- Full
Disclosure
- Accounting
- Care
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These responsibilities are defined by
state laws, the Realtor Code of Ethics, general principles of agency
and court decisions. That's the legal definition. But what does a Buyer's
Agent actually do for the home buyer? Like other agents, a Buyer's Agent
will show you available homes, point out the property's features, provide
financing information and submit the offer to purchase. But that's not
all. As your representative, a Buyer's Agent will share valuable and
essential information with you if the agent knows it, such as:
- Whether the seller would
accept a lower price
- The seller's reason for
selling and timetable
- How long the home has
been on the market
- Previous offers and counteroffers
for the property
- Strengths and weaknesses
of the property
Most important for many buyers, you can ask a Buyer's Agent for
advice and assistance in setting your offering price and structuring
the other terms of your offer. What's more, you'll have peace of mind
knowing an advocate is working on your behalf to help you buy at the
best possible terms.
What Will a Buyer's Agent Cost Me?
Not a penny. The seller pays your fee through the commission their agent
shares with your agent. Perhaps the right question is, "What will
it cost me if I don't use a Buyer's Agent?" Purchasing a home without
representation is possibly the biggest financial mistake you can make.
A Buyer's Agent can guide you each step of the way to prevent costly
errors. Failure to find out about defects in the property or the actual
value of the property can, of course, be an expensive mistake. And failure
to negotiate a contract that works for you can cost you plenty. With
a Buyer's Agent, you can ask for and receive advice and assistance in
selecting the best property and determining an offering price.
Who Needs a Buyer's Agent?
If you want to make sure you buy smart, you need a Buyer's
Agent. If you're a first-time buyer, if you're relocating or unfamiliar
with the local real estate market, if you're buying for investment and
want negotiating help, or if you need to purchase anonymously, you'll
be best served by a Buyer's Agent who puts your interests first. Also,
if the real estate professional helping you find a home is a relative,
close friend, a business associate or you previously were the agent's
home-selling client, chances are you'd expect the agent to represent
your interests and should establish a Buyer Agency relationship. Or,
if you just want to get the best value in a property and an agent, you
owe it to yourself to be the most knowledgeable buyer you can be.
Can a Seller's Agent or Subagent Help Me Buy?
Without a Buyer's Agent, you're really on your own. Keep in mind, the
Seller's Agent or subagent is actually working for the seller and is
the seller's legal representative. Yes, a Seller's Agent or subagent
can offer buyers some services, including a diligent search to find
the right home, an explanation of available financing, calculation of
monthly payments, estimation of settlement costs, presentation of your
offer to buy. What a Seller's Agent cannot do is disclose information
not in the best interest of the seller such as an opinion of the home's
real value or what price and terms the seller would accept. By law,
the Seller's Agent or subagent must negotiate on behalf of the seller
and may not withhold from the seller information that could strengthen
their bargaining position. That means you, as a buyer, should be careful
not to disclose to the Seller's Agent or subagent any financial or personal
information that could be used against you.
What Is a Transaction Broker?
If your Buyer's Agent locates a home you wish to buy from
his own agency ("in house"), the Seller's Agent and your Buyer's
Agent must both revert to either Dual Agents or Transaction Brokers,
in order to assure that buyer and seller are treated fairly and equally.
At The Hasson Company, the office policy is for both agents to revert
to Transaction Brokers. Both agents are required to provide complete
disclosure, due diligence, and the care and accountability that they
would always provide. But neither agent may disclose personal information
(like how much a buyer would be willing to pay or how low a seller would
be willing to sell) to the other.
The Bottom Line.
If you want an agent to fully represent your best interests,
if you want help evaluating a property, if you want someone to negotiate
to get you the best price and the best terms, if you want to purchase
a home in what's becoming the most popular way to buy, you'll want to
enlist the aid of a Buyer's Agent
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