Real Estate Agents Are Not Just Door Openers - What A Buyer's Agent Really Does

Wow, I didn't realize we had so many comments. This may take a while, but we always like to personally address and thank everyone who took the time to read our post and comment, so here we go:

Curt - Thank you so much for your kind remarks. Hope all is well in beautiful Annapolis.

Erik -  Education is really the key. As agents, we all know what we do for buyers, but we need to continue to educate the public to show the real value of our services. Thanks for the comment. 

Chris -  Hope all is well and thanks as always for your comments. No doubt you do a great job educating your clients. Knowing first-hand how you conduct your business, your clients are very well served by using you. Sun is out here in Cleveland, so enjoy the nice weekend.

J. Philip - Very good points. This list can certainly be expanded. After reading many of your posts, I'm sure you are very thorough and do a great job for your clients.

Lisa - The sad truth is buyers probably just don't understand what we do or see a need for our services. This goes back to lack of education and we agree they are doing themselves a huge disservice by not using a buyer's agent. Thank you for commenting.

Kathy - The thing that really amazes me is the buyers who work directly with the listing agent thinking they are going to get a better deal. I didn't realize that was common in Princeton but it really is too bad and not in their best interests.

Agent Aaron - Thank you for commenting. Our intention was to get this information to the buyers before they make the mistake of not using a buyer's agent.

Dawn - Thank you so much for your kind remarks and the re-blog. You are a true professional and I hope to see you again at an upcoming tech event. Wouldn't it be great to have an AR Camp in Ohio?

Roland -  Thank you so much for commenting. It all goes back to education and that is why having our blogs is so important, to get the word out, because our local papers sure don't do a very good job.

Cyndi - Thank you so much for the re-blog, we greatly appreciate it. You made a great point in that not all agents provide the same level of service. Perhaps having a bad prior experience in buying has turned a lot of buyers off from using an agent.

Monique - When one understands the process, having representation certainly makes sense. Sometimes a buyer is so fixated on a particular home that they lose sight of the process or just don't want to take the time to learn about it. I am convinced there are a lot of buyers out there who bought directly through the listing agent and have no idea that they weren't represented and probably overpaid.

Linda - Sad, but true. Sometimes we are portrayed as glorified chauffeurs and very few of the TV shows really show in detail everything that happens behind the scenes. I guess that wouldn't be as entertaining, would it:)

Margaret -  I hope you share your list with your clients. I'm sure all the agents who have responded to this post could generate a huge list of all the things they do. Thank you for commenting.

Dave - Very good points about the contract and disclosures. I bet you could write an entire post on just these steps of the buying process.

Ann-Marie - Yes, there is quite a psychological aspect do our job that we didn't even touch on. Some would say we are actually part time psychologists/therapists. Thank you so much for commenting.

Vickie - I wish every potential buyer could read this post. Quite a few agents re-blogged, so at least that's a start.

Frank and Sharon - Thanks so much for commenting. It always amazes me how many buyers just call on signs and I'm pretty sure the listing agent won't tell them the advantages of using a buyers agent.

Terry - We use a Buyer's Agreement although many in our market do not. Many agents here in Cleveland are either afraid to bring it up for fear that the buyers won't want to enter into such an agreement or simply don't know how to properly articulate what they actually do for the buyers. The buyers we work with, once they have an opportunity to sit down with us, understand what we do for them and appreciate us explaining everything to them.

Mike -  You are right, we really didn't touch upon the actual closing process too much, although it is certainly an important part of what we do. Thanks for bringing it up and commenting.

Gab -  It always makes my day when you comment on our posts and we greatly appreciate the re-blog. Hope all is well and you are enjoying your summer.

Don -  Great point. Some people just have in their mind that working with the listing agent is in their best interest, probably thinking they will get a better "deal" this way. No matter how much we try to educate, there are some buyers that just don't want to listen.

Kathryn - Thank you for commenting. I'm sure you could add quite a few more to the list.

Marc - Thank you for your kind words. If even one buyer out there decides to use a buyer's agent because of reading this, than it was certainly worth the effort to write it.

Kathy - You are so right. If someone went to court, they would have their own attorney, not use the other parties attorney. I don't know why someone would enter into a major financial transaction without an advocate.

Barbara-Jo - Some buyers unfortunately are so caught up in finding that great home that they don't think about the complexity of the transaction.

Michael - You brought up an excellent point that I almost mentioned, but will write an entirely new post on that topic. When an agent takes a call from a stranger and decides to just meet them at a home, that buyer will lose respect for the process and ultimately that agent and view us as nothing more than a door opener. I can understand why an agent would be tempted to do that, but there is no substitute for meeting someone at the office ( much safer as well ) and sitting down with a buyer in a professional setting. If they aren't willing to do that, than they aren't serious anyway.

Val - Thank you for the re-blog and your kind words.

Lottie - This post has been on my mind for a while, just didn't get around to writing it until yesterday. Getting the word out was most important, but the feature is always appreciated.

Bob - Thank you for commenting and we always appreciate the re-blog.

Bill - Thanks for commenting as well. Always great to hear from one of my favorite bloggers.

Christopher and Stephanie - As a regular reader of your blog, it sounds like you guys do a great job of educating your clients and showing the value of using you when buying a home. Hope all is well in Philly. 

Thanks for the kind words, Gabe and we appreciate the re-blog to get the word out to buyers.

Patti - Thanks for reading and commenting. I think it's great that you are so proactive with your clients, and yes, getting a commitment is critical.