Buyer representation is probably the most significant change in real estate in the last fifteen years. Real estate agents that claim "They can’t do anything for you that I can’t do" are either deluded or deceptive. In fact, traditional agents would lose their license if they did what we do for buyers because their legal responsibilities lie 180 degrees in the opposite direction.
Keeping in mind that the relationship between buyer agents and seller agents is one of cordiality and cooperation, I am going to frame my comments in a we/they format, both for simplicity and to emphasize that we are on opposite sides of the table. What can we do that they cannot?
They can’t even try to get you the best price and terms in a real estate transaction. Their loyalty must lie with the seller, even though they may never have met. National surveys have shown that buyers using Buyer Agents save an average of 5% of the purchase price. So, those who say "Stick with me, I’ll get you a good deal" are not operating legally and ethically in the best interest of their seller clients. We focus on getting you a good deal and have been successful at it.
They can’t keep confidential anything you tell them. This includes pertinent financial information. Everything they know about you they must pass on to the seller. If you tell your agent your bottom line, by law they must tell it to the seller. If you tell them you would go to such-and-such a price but want to begin by offering so-and-so, they must pass their knowledge on to the seller. But confidentiality extends to more than just financial information; for example, we’ve had many buyers who are in the trades. When we negotiate plumbing issues in a home and our buyer is a plumber, we will not tell the seller this information, but they must. Any information that would hurt our buyers’ negotiating position we hold in confidence; they can’t do that. There are many such issues.
They can’t relay information to you that would enhance your bargaining position. We must relay and disclose anything we can find out about the sellers or the neighborhood. Without the seller’s permission, they can’t tell you about circumstances that are forcing a quick or distressed sale, but we probe for those kinds of issues. We scout the town hall, the registry, the MLS, and the neighborhood. When we have discovered the seller’s bottom line through a buyer who has walked, we will tell our next buyer about it. They can’t do that.
They can’t prepare a price comparison study for properties that interest you. They can’t even tell you what to offer. We can tell you what the value of similar properties are in the same town, and what most of the houses on the street have sold for. We can tell you what the current owners paid for the house and how much they owe on it. We can tell you what we think you should offer and develop a negotiating strategy with you.
They can’t point out reasons why not to buy a particular property. Their obligation is to every seller who has listed property in the MLS. We give 100% commitment to buyers 100% of the time. We will privately point out the various weaknesses of a particular property. It may be dated, it may have a poor floor plan, it may have inferior construction, it may have septic issues, or there may be future development or betterment issues. It’s our job to find out and tell you.
For More Information Contact us at 781.279.3015 OR E-mail us at homebuyeragent.com