Exclusive Buyer Agent – any advantage ?

[youdontwannaknow]

The argument in favor of having a “buyers” agent is that the they represent the buyer and not the interests of the seller. But what I don’t get is that if I am working with any real estate agent (not necessarily a “buyers” agent) who helps me find and purchase a home then most likely the seller of that home would have their own agent too who listed their property. Each agent represents their own client. So in this case where is the conflict of interest ? My agent would be working only for me and not for the seller, correct ? What am I not getting ?

Another thing is I did a search (via naeba) and found like 2 agents and they are individuals and not associated with any well known organizations in real estate, so that does not give me much confidence in this whole thing ? Now if I search for an agent with ABR acreditation then I find many and that too associated with nationally known big names in real estate. So is there much to gain by going with the “exclusive buyer agent” v/s any agent with ABR accreditation ?

 

[bepperb]

No, there's no advantage to an agent whom only represents buyers. Yes, there is a conflict of interest for a dual agent, but they should be and you can be candid about this.

To be honest no agent is working for you. They are working for commission. They may do a great job because they want a good reputation, are decent people... etc... but at the end of the day they don't get paid until you sign so that is what they are working to do. Finding one with an obscure (based on what you've said in your area) organization's membership seems pointless to me. You don't know anyone who knows a good realtor? Ok, go to a couple open houses and talk to the selling agent there (which obligates you to purchase that home, not any home with them representing you) and find one you like.

 

[HardbodyLoyalist]

Originally Posted By: youdontwannaknow
Each agent represents their own client.?



No, they don't. The seller's agent represents the seller, and "your" agent represents the seller. If your "agent" hasn't explained this to you, then you absolutely need to find a new agent.

 

[Jeffs2006EvoIX]

I can give you my sisters Info she is a "Buyers Agent" and real Estate Broker, she is not in your area but can tell you what is what and why having a "buyers agent" is in your best interest. If you can find a good one.

PM me if you would like and I can give you her email or business number. May help you.

Jeff

 

[JHZR2]

The question you have to ask is who pays "your" agent? The reality is that it is the seller that is paying your agent, and as such, they are really responsible as much to the paying party, regardless of what anyone else whats to say. it is in their best interest for the deal to go through and for the price to be as high as possible, to maximize commissions.

There are some great agents out there, who are willing to give some great advice, but I wouldnt trust any if I were a buyer and having the seller pay their commission.

What I am not sure of is if you pay your agent's commission directly, so they truly are connected to and working for you, what happens to the other 3% in the commission pot. Everything is negotiable, Im sure...

 

[PandaBear]

There are pros and cons.

The pros is that you will find agent more willing to help you look for properties than you looking around yourselves, and help you negotiate and look over things in your interest that the seller may want to hide, answer your questions, etc. If this is the first time you buy a house it would help.

The cons is there is less incentive for the seller's agent to help you vs another buyer without a buyer agent to split the commission with. I've bid on one house in the past that the seller agent convince the seller to not sell it to me at my offer, and in the end sell to someone else at the same price of my offer (after an extended period of time waiting for bid to come in). Sometimes when there is disagreement (i.e. inspection report says something must be fixed, or some appliances or accessories like curtains are not included in the deal), agent will offer to compensate by taking money out of commission hoping to close the deal. When there is just 1 agent, the chances of that happening is higher.

 

[Maximus1966]

Originally Posted By: bepperb
To be honest no agent is working for you. They are working for commission.


THIS ^

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
The question you have to ask is who pays "your" agent? The reality is that it is the seller that is paying your agent, and as such, they are really responsible as much to the paying party, regardless of what anyone else whats to say. it is in their best interest for the deal to go through and for the price to be as high as possible, to maximize commissions.

There are some great agents out there, who are willing to give some great advice, but I wouldnt trust any if I were a buyer and having the seller pay their commission.



Fully agree.

I have been buying real estate for 35 years in Europe U.S. and Canada.
I have very little trust or regard for 90% of agents I have met.
An RE agent stands between a Seller and a Buyer much like a Pimp, cares only about His/Her commission.

 

[stephen9666]

I try to be as paranoid and skeptical as some people on BITOG, but when we had a buyer's agent on our home purchase last year and it was a very good decision. The experience overall was great. He answered all our questions and was very knowledgeable about houses of the vintage we were buying. I never felt that he was pressuring us to close the deal or trying to increase the closing price. We (the buyers, not our agent) chose all our offers on both price and items to be repaired.

In our case it was a very good experience and I'd definitely use our buyer's agent again.

You have to be smart and make sure you are making the decisions. I was prepared for that in our case but it never came up.

Of course, your experience will depend 100% on the person you get. We talked to a couple agents and chose ours based on recommendations from some people we know.

And, I do know something about bad realtors. When my girlfriend sold her house a couple years ago her realtor was horrible and did try to pressure her into making the sale. We had to push back and tell her the way we were going to do things.

 

[99Saturn]

Personally, I don't feel that I have a high opinion of real estate agents, but I think a lot of the feedback here is a bit harsh. Yes, any agent is trying to make a sale, and the agents commission is higher the more money you pay for the property. Given those facts, I understand that an agent has every incentive to get you to pay more than you may want to for a house, using tactics like, "If you like this one you don't want it to get away." "What's another few $1K over 30 years?"

However, you as the buyer can turn the situation around. The commission checks at closing may come out of the sellers pocket, but only because you paid the seller. The buyer has all the power to say no, I think that price is too high. If you make it clear you're not paying more for this house than X, than both agents have to work on the seller since the buyer isn't budging in their price.

I'm not saying your agent is your best friend, but if say the agent gets you to spend $20K more than you want, their 3% is an extra $600. If you make it clear that you're not adjusting your purchase price, I supposed your agent can make their point and let you lose the house, but how many more hours does the agent then have to invest in the transaction.

A buyer needs to be educated about the market they are in, what reasonable prices are, school districts, expected resale value, etc. I assume most of us do some research on our own before we go buy a car, same goes for a home.

As for a buyers agent or not, I would certainly have a dedicated agent, and I wouldn't get involved in any deals with dual agency, even if the agent you are using than says I can have my other agent friend represent you. I don't think you need to have a dedicated buyers agent, just be conscious of who the listing agent is on the house you're looking at.

 

[hattaresguy]

Unless you buy and sell a lot of real estate its very helpful to have a good agent to guide you threw the process.

Having a good agent look with you helps, also they have access to the MLS and other resources that could help you.

The challenge is finding a good one because 95% are horrible.

More so if your an investor like me, than that percentage is cut down to .05%. But that .05% can make you a few bucks.

 

[youdontwannaknow]

so it sounds like as long as you are an informed buyer and also watchful that the agent is not pushing to make the sale happen or being slack about things like inspection, disclosure etc.. then any agent should be ok.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: 99Saturn

I'm not saying your agent is your best friend, but if say the agent gets you to spend $20K more than you want, their 3% is an extra $600. If you make it clear that you're not adjusting your purchase price, I supposed your agent can make their point and let you lose the house, but how many more hours does the agent then have to invest in the transaction.


My experience say they usually try to close the deal instead of trying to squeeze an extra $600 risk losing it.

As I said before, I had agents that were willing to pay for small differences that couldn't be agreed upon between the buyer and seller to help close it. When considering that the typical habit of your agent buying you a TV as a move in present (at least in my area in the last couple decades), this $600 extra to lose a deal just doesn't make sense.

 

[99Saturn]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Originally Posted By: 99Saturn

I'm not saying your agent is your best friend, but if say the agent gets you to spend $20K more than you want, their 3% is an extra $600. If you make it clear that you're not adjusting your purchase price, I supposed your agent can make their point and let you lose the house, but how many more hours does the agent then have to invest in the transaction.


My experience say they usually try to close the deal instead of trying to squeeze an extra $600 risk losing it.

As I said before, I had agents that were willing to pay for small differences that couldn't be agreed upon between the buyer and seller to help close it. When considering that the typical habit of your agent buying you a TV as a move in present (at least in my area in the last couple decades), this $600 extra to lose a deal just doesn't make sense.


^Agreed. I'd add, IMO, that there are numerous ways an agent can attempt to expedite the transaction/get the buyer/seller hooked to the transaction that can be much more detrimental than influencing the purchase price.