I read a post by Best Choice Realty in Florida this morning and I though I might be able to improve upon the ideas shared there. Maybe I am biased as I have worked hard to learn my craft and I really work with every client looking out for their best interests, but here are some rules of a real estate agent a buyer should know.
1. Most real estate agents work on 100% commission so if you use their time, gas, wear and tear on their car, and time away from their families or other clients you will see it is fair to be loyal. If a real estate agent writes a contract on a house for you and the sales doesn't close, the real estate agent doesn't earn any income. If you make offers on multiple homes before you finally secure one and close, the real estate agent doesn't get paid for any of the previous attempts.
2. The broker doesn't supply the agent with their car, pay for their gas, provide them with an allowance to take people out for lunch with, all those funds come from the real estate agent's pocket and are often spent before they have any commissions earned, so please don't run the real estate agent around.
3. The real estate agent is really trying to find the best home for you.
4. Please honor an agent's time. When you are late for an appointment or choose not to come, you have inconvenienced the real estate agent and sometimes the sellers you have asked to see their homes. Often the seller has to leave their house to make it available for the showings and they have to eat out at an expense that they wouldn't have done if they could have eaten at home instead. When you, as a buyer, don't show up, or are late to an appointment it often rude to the seller, and it is sometimes difficult to reschedule or to make an offer later as the seller feels ought against you for delaying them.
5.You should choose to work with a real estate agent that has experience. How can you determine that? Ask them. Find out how long they have been licensed. Ask them if they have experience in your area of interest. Even go on and ask for specific addresses for homes they have sold in that area. Ask for references of buyers they have already served in that area. Read their blogs, like the one you found here. Look at their websites.
6. Learn the rules of going to a new home subdivision or an Open House. Some builders require the real estate agent to either call ahead and register their buyer or to attend at least the first visit to the builder's models. In the Open House, there may be a real estate agent there to show the house. That agent may either represent the seller or it may be another real estate agent who is there for the express purpose of acquiring a buyer as their own. If you are already in a contract or feel loyalty to your real estate agent, show your real estate agent's business card and let them know your agent will contact them with your feedback. Don't expect the other agent to watch out for your best interests when it is the seller or the agent themselves that they are watching out for.
7. A Buyer Representation Agreement and an Agency brochure explaining the Agency Law in your state should be papers that the buyer would want to sign to have a loyal relationship with a real estate agent. Some forms may be required by state law, like the Agency Law brochure, to be signed at the first substantial contact with a buyer. The representation agreement will set out specific time frames you will work together and a description of what you want to purchase.
8. In the early times together, you should share your expectations and whether you are already approved for financing or how you expect to purchase the house. By clearly determining whether you expect your real estate agent to check in with you and by what means and how often, you clearly set those expectations. If the real estate agent can't agree to those terms perhaps you have the wrong real estate agent or perhaps the expectations are too rigorous to expect anyone to conform to.
9. There will be lots of forms needed iun a real estate transaction. The real estate agent should be able to explain all of them to you, to your satisfaction. Remember you do have the right to have an attorney review them if you wish. Of course that review would be at your expense.
10. Finally, make sure you have the funds for your down payment and closing costs, if the seller won't be paying them. Make sure you have your loan approved, preferably from a local lender, not a on-line person who may not be there when you need the money.
As we work together, we will find the home you want and you and I will be happy.
Thanks for reading, I realize it was a long post. Let me know if you have any comments and if you are a buyer in the Boise Metro area of Idaho, give me a call or e-mail me at Tim@TimBurroughsGroup.com.
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