What is a Real Estate Buyer’s Agent?
First Time Buyers
August 15th, 2008
The first thing you should know about working with a buyers agent to locate and purchase real estate is that it costs you nothing. Absolutely no charge to the buyer for our professional services. Buyers Agents are paid from a portion of the commission that sellers agree to pay area brokers whose clients select their home.
Because Buyers Agents are compensated in this fashion they are pretty much paid the same regardless of which home their clients decide to purchase. Why is this important? Well, lets put the process in a context that may be easier to visualize. Let’s say that you are in need of a new car. New to you anyway. You have $10,000 to spend and need a car that will hold your family of four, gets reasonable gas mileage and because you like to snow ski has all wheel drive. Those criteria narrow the field considerably, perhaps just a few models and you finally decide that the Subaru Outback is your choice. As there are several used car dealerships in town as well as numerous on-line auto sales sites you have lot’s of places to look so off you go. You visit one used car dealership after another and guess what? At each dealership they do everything they can to sell you a car from their lot. Why do you suppose that is? It’s because they work for the dealer. They don’t work for you. If you walk off their lot and buy down the street they don’t get paid. That puts enormous pressure on that sales person to close the deal on the car they have to sell. Is it any wonder that the term “used car salesman” has become a cliche? That’s a tough environment for everyone involved.
Now let’s change the story a bit and imagine that confronted with this same need for a car you enlist the services of a Buyer’s Agent to locate your car of choice, perform a diligent inspection of the vehicle and professionally negotiate your best price. Your Buyers Agent would not have any preference as to which dealership the car was ultimately purchased from as every dealership and car lot in town would have a standing offer of commission to be paid. Your Agent would have a legally binding fiduciary duty to serve exclusively in your best interests with no hidden agendas. Because your Agent knows that eventually they will be compensated for their services they are under no pressure to sell you a particular car and are free to scour every lot in town in order to find you the perfect car.
Now let’s imagine that instead of a car you are shopping for a house. Because that’s what we are really talking about here. Feel free to Contact Us to learn more about our Buyers Agent services.
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