Dual Representative & True Representative

If an office represents sellers or takes listings they cannot rightfully claim to be an exclusive buyers office or agent.

• Only an Exclusive Buyer Agent (often called an Exclusive Buyer’s Broker) can GUARANTEE to represent you in your home purchase.
• Listing Agents (the ones with the sign in the front yard) and the company that they work for represent the SELLER, not the buyer. Their job is to get the SELLER the highest price on the best terms.
• Only with an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent can you be sure you are provided the true facts as to value, market/neighborhood conditions, and obvious physical defects of the home that you are considering.
• The job of the Exclusive Buyer’s Agent is to get you the BUYER the lowest price on the best terms.
• Your Exclusive Buyer’s Agent has the legal and ethical obligation to put your interests first!

Who Does Your Real Estate Agent Represent?

If you are planning to buy real estate remember these important points which are often blurred by misuse or misconceptions in everyday real estate practice:

Misconception #1

When purchasing a home, the real estate agent is representing only you in the transaction.

Most often, a homebuyer will select an area and visit a local real estate office in that area. The buyer may work with several agents at the same time or select one particular agent to find the ideal home.

At this point the buyer feels comfortable that the agent is representing him in the purchase of a home.

WRONG! In most cases, that agent is a sub-agent of the listing agent and is bound to help the seller get the highest price possible.

In the normal course of business, the seller’s agent (Listing Agent) lists the property and puts it into the multiple listing service. Most agents who show the listed property work as a sub-agent of the seller’s agent and are required to negotiate the highest purchase price and terms for the seller.

The only way an agent can solely represent you, as a buyer, is for you to enter into a written agreement with the agent.

Misconception #2

When you purchase a home through a real estate agent, you will see all of the properties that are available in the area that you have selected.

WRONG! Most agents will show you their own office listings first, followed by other Seller’s Agents (Listing Agent) listings, so that they are assured of receiving a commission when you purchase a property. Most buyers will never see the foreclosures, probated properties, or for sale by owner homes, because the agent is not assured of being paid a commission.

Many times the agent knows of the perfect home for the buyer but won’t show it because the owner refuses to pay a commission to an agent.

If you have an Agency Agreement with an agent, you see all available properties, because the agent knows that if you purchase a property, a commission or fee will be paid.

Misconception #3

The Seller Pays the Commission.

WRONG!A commission is not paid until the property sells! If a buyer does not buy, there is no commission. The buyer’s funds are what the commission is paid from.

Listed properties have the commission built into the price of the Property.

These points raise very important questions: Who is the agent working for? Who does your agent really represent? Who is paying the agent’s commission and to whom does the agent owe fiduciary duties? An attorney would never represent both the plaintiff and the defendant in the same case. By the same token, buyers and sellers of real estate should have separate representation. Only an Exclusive Buyer Agent (often called an Exclusive Buyer`s Broker) can GUARANTEE to represent you in your home purchase.

• Only an EBA can GUARANTEE to negotiate on your behalf.
• An EBA provides the true facts as to value, market/neighborhood conditions, and obvious physical defects.
  
• An EBA will insist that the buyer utilize a qualified home inspector who will treat the buyer as their client, and not as a customer.
  
• Listing Agents (the ones with the sign in the front yard) and the company that they work for represent the SELLER, not the buyer. Their job is to get the SELLER the highest price on the best terms.
  
• An EBA`s job is to get the BUYER the lowest price on the best terms.
  
• EBAs will do a better job for transferees that anyone else. They will give you the facts, good and bad. A listing agent cannot tell you about many things that would be detrimental for the BUYER because they work for the SELLER.
  
• An EBA will help you with your financing alternatives. They may advise you to be pre-approved by a lender. Why? Because a fully approved loan makes you a cash buyer.
  
• EBA’s have a legal and ethical obligation to put your interests first!
  
• It just makes sense!