buyer agency: Why a buyer consultation is even more important today
- 02/08/24 07:21 AM
Real estate is changing, it may not be obvious to everyone, but not only has the market changed the last few years with less inventory and rising home prices as well as rising interest rates but the rash of lawsuits is causing agents and brokers to examine how they do business.
Whilst you would never list a home without a listing contract, many agents have worked with buyers without a buyer representation contract. The plethora of lead sites, Zillow, Realtor etc., have caused many agents to turn up at homes to open the door to people they have never met and do … (12 comments)
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buyer agency: 6 things to consider when choosing your buyer agent
- 01/12/18 10:45 AM
2018 is the year you are going to buy a home.
You are looking on line finding homes, visiting open houses, you have your mortgage lined up, everything is looking good.
Except you haven't chosen your buyer agent yet?
Here are six things you need to consider when you interview different agents or consider when meeting an agent who might be your buyer agent.
1) Do we get on or is this person going to annoy me?
2) Do I trust this person?
3) Does this person have experience?
4) Is this person interested in helping me?
5) Who is this agent working for?
6) Most states have a … (16 comments)
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buyer agency: Our Tredyffrin Easttown buyers snapped this one up
- 06/09/17 06:32 AM
We had clients in town last week looking at Tredyffrin Easttown homes for sale due to a relocation. We worked diligently over the days before their arrival to prepare tours for the weekend.
However, as the day of their arrival drew closer, several properties went under contract and new properties came on the market. Showing homes in a hot market means you need to be flexible and react quickly to new listings.
While we were touring several homes were listed and we were able to incorporate them into our tours. Some we were able to quickly reject for various reasons but one caught our buyers … (14 comments)
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buyer agency: He sold homes he did not even own - why you need a buyers agent?
- 04/29/17 05:55 AM
Why do you need an agent when you buy a home?
He sold homes he did not even own!
Can you imagine buying a home only to be told later you don't own it. Or being arrested for breaking and entering when you rented a home but the landlord did not really own it.
Why do you need an agent when you buy a home? There are lots of reasons, but let's take this case which hit the news here recently. And I know as people read this they will say I would know there was a catch, it was too good to be … (53 comments)
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buyer agency: Do you know who is representing you?
- 01/23/17 10:29 AM
Who is representing you?
Listing Agent
Our job as a listing agent is to represent the party we represent, the seller. That may sound obvious but often we encounter situations where other people, consumers or buyer agents think we represent them or should do when in fact we represent our client, the seller.
That representation means we will do our best to obtain the highest price we can in the time frame the seller wants with the best terms for the seller and offering compensation to buyer agents the seller has agreed upon in the listing agreement.
Our fiduciary duty, is the highest level of … (15 comments)
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buyer agency: Frequently asked question: Can you show me this house?
- 01/05/15 02:20 AM
Can you show me this house?
The phone rings and when I answer, a voice asks "Can you show me this house?" This one seemingly simple question releases a waterfall of other questions so the answer initially is "Well it depends".
First, are you working with a real estate agent with whom you have a written buyers agency contract and what are the terms of that contract? Does this contract restrict you from working with other agents in my area. I am not allowed to interfere with a relationship you may already have with another agent by PA real estate law. However, if you … (8 comments)
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buyer agency: Don't say another word!
- 09/04/14 03:23 AM
Don't say another word!
I attended a very good seminar on dual agency this morning, Practical Advice for Realtors given by William J. Weber Jr. Esq., and Gregory S Liero, both of Connor, Weber and Oberlies in Paoli, PA.
In Pennsylvania in 1998 our legislature passed real estate agency laws that affect how Philadelphia Masin Line Realtors interact with the public. Before 1998 a Main Line home buyer might believe they were being represented when in fact all agents involved were representing the seller. This 1998 legislation introduced buyer agency, and at the same time allowed dual and designated agency as … (8 comments)
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buyer agency: I've never seen that before.
- 07/31/14 05:18 AM
I've never seen that before
In Pennsylvania when you meet a real estate agent for the first time they should present you with a Consumer Notice. This notice is NOT a contract for listing or buyer services. It is a form which explains who works for whom and what services they provide for you. I just wrote a blog about How Confidential is Your Offer? which really explains this very well. The reason you sign this form is because it is a notification and an acknowledgment you have seen it.
What I want to talk about here is if a Philadelphia Main … (5 comments)
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buyer agency: How confidential is your offer?
- 07/28/14 07:24 AM
How confidential is your offer?
I was reading a post by Margaret Rome about confidentiality and it got me thinking about that.
Firstly in Pennsylvania until you either sign a buyer agency contract or a listing contract the agent does not have to hold the information you tell them in confidence. You are unrepresented, and anything you share can be used against you in negotiations. Many buyers visit open houses and share information with the agent sitting the open house who represents the seller without thinking. Always be cautious in real estate what you share and with whom. In fact whenever … (9 comments)
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buyer agency: "Just who are you representing?"
- 06/17/13 03:26 AM
I received the phone call during the evening late in the week, the day I had listed a home for sale. A local Realtor making an inquiry on a new listing. After a few non-important questions, more designed to let me know who he was and how knowledgeable he was we got to the meat and reason for the call.
"Why are you offering a reduced commission?"
"I am not offering a reduced commission, I am representing my client and offering what they want and have instructed me to offer buyers agents and as there is no set commission what I am … (2 comments)
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buyer agency: To offer or not to offer that is the question?
- 04/18/12 05:47 AM
Buyers are out in force, new listings are coming on every day this Spring along the Main Line and when a buyer finds a home that meets their list of requirements the next question is "To offer or not to offer". Some buyers don't want to compete with others feeling it will encourage them to pay too much. Some don't want to offer because it is the first home they have seen. Some want to just wait, in case they reduce the price.
Several times in the last few weeks I have heard of properties that have received multiple offers, … (0 comments)
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buyer agency: How buyer agency has changed real estate? And why that is good for you!
- 03/08/12 05:17 AM
Several years ago, well 1988 to be exact buyers were allowed to have their own agent represent them in a real estate transaction. It seems amazing, a little like women being given the vote, or equal rights for all! But before this buyers were not represented, all agents in the transaction represented the seller. Regardless of what broker they worked for they were a sub-agent for the seller. So, even if you thought you were being represented you were not. Sort of like having one lawyer represent both parties in a divorce.
Today, many buyers want to remain un-represented as long … (43 comments)
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buyer agency: I want to get paid by my client!!!
- 09/26/11 03:32 AM
I have noticed a trend recently whilst reading different posts that there is a frustration in the industry with agency and if we practice true agency will remove the problems of getting paid by our clients.
I am tired of being paid by the opposition and having my client wondering who I am truly working for and second guessing any advice I give when representing buyers. I am tired of my buyer clients wondering what I bring to the table because so many agents have told them that their services are FREE. I am sorry I am not independently wealthy, although … (3 comments)
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buyer agency: Do you care who the broker is?
- 08/04/11 02:37 AM
Under Pennsylvania real estate commission rules all real estate salespeople must work under a broker so they can be supervised and trained. But do you care who the broker is? Who do you employ, the broker or the agent?
When I speak with most of my clients they all say Nick I am employing you, not your broker, however, the contract they sign says exactly the opposite. I have even had one client alter the contract, he was an attorney, to state that the listing would stay with me if I moved or the broker sold the company.
But do you … (2 comments)
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buyer agency: Our job is to negotiate - so why do so many agents avoid it?
- 07/21/11 11:57 PM
Part of our job as real estate agents is to negotiate, so why do so many agents avoid it? We negotiate at first for ourselves when we first meet with a consumer, when we decide if this is someone I want to work with as a customer. We explain the legal obligations our state requires about the different agency representations and what they mean to the consumer and why they might want to work with us, how we will represent them and what we will charge.
We negotiate explaining our value either as a listing agent or as a buyers agent, laying out … (6 comments)
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buyer agency: Change the listing contract
- 07/07/11 09:18 AM
Different brokers use different listing contracts adapted for their use or a board approved form, but most are similar. My point here is that any listing contract that is used in a state where Buyer Agency or Transaction Licensees are the norm should be re-printed.
Why?
Because we no longer practice sub-agency, or most brokers I know do not want to be responsible for other brokers' agents, so we should remove the sub agency offer of compensation. Secondly, we should remove the offer of any type of compensation to anyone other than the listing broker.
Why?
Sorry to answer a question with … (0 comments)
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buyer agency: Are you really going to save by negotiating with the listing agent?
- 06/22/11 07:57 AM
Many buyers today believe that they can save themselves money by negotiating with the seller through the listing agent rather than have a buyers agent. I wrote yesterday that I felt buyer agency is a sham not because I don't believe in buyer agency because I do, but because the agent is paid by the seller, and until the buyer pays for their own agent the idea of agency is a sham.
Likewise I think buyers don't understand that the listing contract is drawn up before any buyer is ever in the picture. That listing contract states what percentage the home is being … (2 comments)
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buyer agency: Buyer agency and why it is a sham!
- 06/21/11 04:15 AM
Buyer agency is a sham! Until your buyer client pays you directly it is a sham. Why would any intelligent person want to be in negotiations and have their negotiator be paid by the opposition. Would you want your quarterback or pitcher paid by the other team? Of course not, but everyday consumers are allowing themselves to be represented by someone who is paid by the other side.
Would it make a difference if the buyer paid the agent directly. Of course, for one the agent is going to have to make sure they evaluate what services they are offering and why … (9 comments)
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buyer agency: Why would you want to be unrepresented?
- 04/09/11 08:59 AM
I got a call this week from a buyer who wanted to see a property of which she thought I was the listing agent. I was not and when I explained this to her she wanted the phone number of the listing agent. I asked her if she was looking at other homes and that I could set up all the appointments for her and represent her when she bought a home.
She politely declined saying she wanted to deal with the listing agents because she wanted to negotiate. I informed her that I could help her with negotiations and that as … (5 comments)
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buyer agency: FREE Buyer Agent. Not really!
- 08/21/09 07:30 AM
Buyers are so used to the services of the buyers agent being explained to them as "FREE, I get paid by the seller!" that they have no loyalty in many cases because agents do not explain the buying and transaction process correctly. Many buyers do not understand that agents are on a commission and do not get paid unless they sell a house and that as a buyers agent they represent the buyer and their loyalty and fiduciary duty is to the buyer..
How about if the buyer paid a retainer, would they select their agent more carefully? What about paying on … (0 comments)
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Real estate is changing, it may not be obvious to everyone, but not only has the market changed the last few years with less inventory and rising home prices as well as rising interest rates but the rash of lawsuits is causing agents and brokers to examine how they do business.
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