Buyer's Agency Agreement-Committing to Each Other-1st Time Home Buyers Guide Kitsap County WA
This is the fourth installment in an on-going series of helpful articles designed to effectively guide 1st Time Home Buyers through a successful home-buying process. We have been identifying and discussing, in chronological order, the key events that occur.
So far in this series, we've identified the Top Ten Traits of a Great Real Estate Agent (Part One) (Part Two) and Choosing Your Mortgage Lender.
This time, we’ll talk about the importance of executing a Buyer's Agency Agreement.
Buyer's Agency Agreement - The Contract of Mutual Commitment
One of the most important and fundamental first steps in meeting with your Real Estate Agent should be to discuss and sign a Buyer’s Agency Agreement. This is a contract that accomplishes several purposes:
- It empowers your Agent to represent you legally in the course of the real estate transaction.
- It demonstrates your commitment to your Agent and the value you place on the services they will provide.
- It equally conveys Your Agent’s commitment to you; to professionally serve your best interests; and to fulfill all the duties, obligations, and responsibilities of a licensed real estate professional.
Make sure that your agent provides you with a copy of the Buyer’s Agency Agreement and explains it completely. You may not feel comfortable signing this agreement during your very first meeting with your agent, but you should make it a goal to sign it as early on in the process as possible.
Each agent is different. I know some who refuse to show any properties, let alone even begin the process, without having their clients first sign a Buyer's Agency Agreement. Personally, I almost never ask my Buyers to sign one so early in the process. I feel it's important to develop a certain measure of trust and rapport before asking them to commit to me
Your agent should also provide you with a copy of “The Law of Real Estate Agency.” This pamphlet will share the various relationships that can exist in a real estate transaction, and explains the various duties/responsibilities licensed agents are obligated to perform in each of those relationships. Here in Washington State, these duties/responsibilities are statutory in nature. They are a required by law.
Great agents take agency relationships and agency laws very seriously. Their primary focus is to ensure that the Buyer's best interests are being fully represented and served throughout the entire home buying process.
In our next article, we'll answer the common question that many 1st Time Home Buyers have Do I need $$$ to Buy a House?
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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional with Keller Williams West Sound, providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SoundBiteBlog, Crabbing in the Hood.
E-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com or call (360) 440-4758
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