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Buyer Representation / Buyer Agency
What is Buyer agency?
Buyer agency is designed for your protection when buying a home. You can hire an agent as a buyer agent, or as a transaction broker. Buyer agency is for your own protection. Unlike dealing with a car salesman, who works for the dealer, you can discuss confidential matters with a buyer agent without the risk of that confidential information being passed along to the seller. A buyer agent would lose his/her license for disclosing any such matters to a seller. By signing a buyer agency as early as possible with your agent, you are ensuring that they are working solely on your behalf from that point forward.
Does buyer agency cost me anything?
No. Buyer agents are paid by the seller of any home you purchase, so there is no cost whatsoever to you. (When negotiated, this can also the case with newly constructed homes and For Sale By Owner homes too!)
If I sign a buyer agency, does this obligate me to buy a house?
Absolutely not! By signing a buyer agency with Hartfiel Realty, you are only agreeing that you will use a Hartfiel Realty agent if you purchase a home. If you never end up buying, you never end up paying anything.
I'd rather just drive around on my own. Why should I bother with a buyer agent?
Driving around and looking at houses from the curb is one thing, but if you actually want to see the inside of homes, it is FAR less time-consuming to use a Hartfiel Realty Agent to set up all of your showings with one call vs. calling listing agents one by one and setting individual appointments. A buyer agent could show you about 3 or 4 times as many homes in the same amount of time you would spend setting up individual appointments directly with the listing agents. How will the sellers agent help you in the following cases?:
Buyer agency is designed for your protection when buying a home. You can hire an agent as a buyer agent, or as a transaction broker. Buyer agency is for your own protection. Unlike dealing with a car salesman, who works for the dealer, you can discuss confidential matters with a buyer agent without the risk of that confidential information being passed along to the seller. A buyer agent would lose his/her license for disclosing any such matters to a seller. By signing a buyer agency as early as possible with your agent, you are ensuring that they are working solely on your behalf from that point forward.
Does buyer agency cost me anything?
No. Buyer agents are paid by the seller of any home you purchase, so there is no cost whatsoever to you. (When negotiated, this can also the case with newly constructed homes and For Sale By Owner homes too!)
If I sign a buyer agency, does this obligate me to buy a house?
Absolutely not! By signing a buyer agency with Hartfiel Realty, you are only agreeing that you will use a Hartfiel Realty agent if you purchase a home. If you never end up buying, you never end up paying anything.
I'd rather just drive around on my own. Why should I bother with a buyer agent?
Driving around and looking at houses from the curb is one thing, but if you actually want to see the inside of homes, it is FAR less time-consuming to use a Hartfiel Realty Agent to set up all of your showings with one call vs. calling listing agents one by one and setting individual appointments. A buyer agent could show you about 3 or 4 times as many homes in the same amount of time you would spend setting up individual appointments directly with the listing agents. How will the sellers agent help you in the following cases?:
- What if the seller doesn't honor the terms of the contract?
- What if substantial items are found wrong with the property after you write an offer?
- What if you decide to terminate the contract and the seller doesn't want to give back your earnest money?
- Are you sure the seller will be able to help you assess the true value of the home when writing an offer?
Why should I sign a buyer agency at all?
You don't actually have to sign a buyer agency. If you don't however, your agent is only a transaction broker. The agent's responsibility to you is far greater if you
sign a buyer agency. A buyer agent acts in YOUR best interests, is able to help you negotiate the transaction, is able to assist so you have as smooth a transaction as possible, and most importantly,
a buyer agent is held responsible for his actions, and therefore must represent you with utmost good faith and loyalty.
What if I find a brand-new home? Am I allowed to use you as my Agent?
Of course!! In fact, we guarantee you won't pay a dime more than if you had dealt directly with the builder with no Realtor representation. The important thing to note is that you don't save any money if you deal straight with the sales office. Remember, the sales agent at the construction site represents the interests of the seller and NOT yours. Only by working with a Buyer agent -- do you have someone other than you watching out for your interests. Hartfiel Realty agents are very familiar with the process and know the pitfalls to avoid.
What if I find a brand-new home? Am I allowed to use you as my Agent?
Of course!! In fact, we guarantee you won't pay a dime more than if you had dealt directly with the builder with no Realtor representation. The important thing to note is that you don't save any money if you deal straight with the sales office. Remember, the sales agent at the construction site represents the interests of the seller and NOT yours. Only by working with a Buyer agent -- do you have someone other than you watching out for your interests. Hartfiel Realty agents are very familiar with the process and know the pitfalls to avoid.
Your Hartfiel Realty Agent can help save you a lot of time and headaches with the process of buying your new home. The most important thing is to bring a Hartfiel
Realty agent along on your first visit. (If you don't have a Hartfiel Realty agent with you on the first visit, having us represent you might be difficult.)
I'd rather save the money and deal directly with the agent selling the home.
A seller-agent repsresents the seller exclusively, and you have no representation whatsoever by dealing direcly with the seller's agent. In fact, the listing agent is prohibited by law from assisting you at all with negotiations about price, terms, or anything that could be considered a conflict of interest. The little discount or rebate you may receive is far outweighed by having a buyer-agent fighting to get the lowest price possible for you.
What if you aren't finding the right houses for me?
All agents have access to the same information about houses for sale. If your Hartfiel Realty agent is not finding the right houses for your needs, all you need to do is communicate what it is you are looking for. By keeping an open line of communication with us, you are sure to find the right home!
What if I don't feel that my Hartfiel Realty Agent is doing an adequate job?
I'd rather save the money and deal directly with the agent selling the home.
A seller-agent repsresents the seller exclusively, and you have no representation whatsoever by dealing direcly with the seller's agent. In fact, the listing agent is prohibited by law from assisting you at all with negotiations about price, terms, or anything that could be considered a conflict of interest. The little discount or rebate you may receive is far outweighed by having a buyer-agent fighting to get the lowest price possible for you.
What if you aren't finding the right houses for me?
All agents have access to the same information about houses for sale. If your Hartfiel Realty agent is not finding the right houses for your needs, all you need to do is communicate what it is you are looking for. By keeping an open line of communication with us, you are sure to find the right home!
What if I don't feel that my Hartfiel Realty Agent is doing an adequate job?
Hartfiel Realty agents have a long list of happy customers, so we'd be surprised if this actually happened. However, in the unlikely event that you are not happy, all
you need to do is give an explanation of what your agent has done wrong in writing. The buyer agency specifically spells out all of the duties of a buyer agent. Terminating the buyer agency (or
"firing your agent"), can be done as simply as referencing what-in the contract your agent has not done.
What incentives will you offer me as a buyer? See our
Buyer Page.
At Hartfiel Realty, we pride ourselves on having happy customers. If we are not living up to our end of the bargain, and you are not happy as a result, we will gladly do whatever it takes to change that.
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