A New Attitude About Buyer's Agency Agreements

We stood around the granite-covered island in the kitchen of a bank-owned property and as we chatted I felt it was time to bring out the Buyer Agency Agreement. I casually went into the script that began: “As you know, everything in real estate is done in . . .” Since acquiring my ABR designation, I’ve made it a point to have buyers sign on the dotted line. Not long ago, having an agreement on file paid off when a misguided client and agent tried to pull a fast one. I got paid, but that’s not the point here.

Today was a turning point for me. While conveying all the benefits and protections a Buyers Agency Agreement offers both agent and buyer, I still felt a twinge of uneasiness as I explained this to my young first-time homebuyer and his dad. Today, however, I was on a roll closing with a light-hearted twist: “And if at any point you feel I’m not doing my job you can fire me, and I’ll tear up this agreement!” Pretty dramatic statement said in jest, but the knee-jerk response from dad was telling. “No way . . . you’ve been GREAT!” he roared.

If buyers see that I’m going all out to find what they want, if I show up at properties ahead of time to set the stage by turning on the lights, etc., if I anticipate their concerns and help with finding answers, if I give them a sense I’m there for them, if every time we meet I’m upbeat, and if I promptly return their phone calls in a cheerful voice, then I have no reason to feel insecure about asking to be hired as their exclusive buyer’s agent.

Today I got it. The fear of getting buyers to sign on the dotted line is not about them as much as it’s about my own sense of worth as a professional. I have testimonials aplenty that speak of my good work, and I have proved that I am a professional. From here on there will be no more feelings of unworthiness when asking for a contract between a buyer and myself. I have earned it.