Why You Should Work With A Buyers Agent When Buying a Condo

In today's difficult real estate market, when looking for a home or condo in the Miami area, it is important that you are working with a realtor who has your best interests in mind. The majority of realtors in Miami work as "transaction brokers" meaning that they can communicate on behalf of the buyer AND seller on the same real estate transaction. The agent's primary role is to facilitate the transaction and may or may not have your best interests in mind.

On the other hand, you can rest assured that a "buyers agent" will always act with your best interests in mind. Before working with a buyers agent, in the state of Florida, you will have to sign a brokerage relationship disclosure that details the single agent relationship and its duties.
Your buyers agent will operate under the duties of loyalty and full disclosure. The duty of loyalty includes, for example:

• Obtaining the most favorable price and terms for the buyer.
• Not acting for parties with adverse interest in the same transaction.
• Never advancing the agent's or another person's interest at the expense of the buyer.

Under the duty of full disclosure, it is the agent's responsibility to keep the buyer fully informed at all times of the facts or information that might affect the transaction or the value of the property. Additionally, the realtor is obligated to disclose facts regarding a property's true worth.

When purchasing a condo, it is extremely important that all material facts are disclosed to you, the buyer. Facts such as:

• The amount of pre-foreclosures and foreclosures in the development
• The quality of building construction
• The health of the homeowners association
• Pending special assessments
• Recent comparable sales
• The quality of the neighborhood

may not be disclosed by a transaction broker who is simply trying to facilitate the real estate transaction and is not legally obligated to provide such facts. Not knowing such facts could cause you to substantially overpay for the property that you may or may not be interested in after learning such details. Working with a buyers agent doesn't cost you anything extra, so why not use one?

If you are interested in learning more about this topic or are contemplating a purchase please contact me at Miami Condo Shop.