 Why Choose A Buyer Representative? |
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| NOTE: Would you like an updated pamphlet on agency? Send me an email and I'll drop one in the mail. Thank you for visiting our Winchester Virginia Real Estate Online Resource Center at MarketPlace Realty. | ||
| Recent market developments have caused all this to change, as more and more real estate agents and companies are offering to represent the buyer in the real estate transaction. You can now have an agent specifically committed to representing you, from the initial selection of properties, to the contract negotiations, to the settlement table... AND WE PUT IT IN WRITING! | ||
| More than one million people in the United States are licensed to sell real estate. Of those licenses, very few are Buyer Representatives. Consumer advocacy groups have endorsed such representation, and licensing laws in virtually every state are now being reformed to enable and encourage representation for the buyer. | ||
| Whether you're a first time buyer or an experienced buyer, it is good to know that your real estate agent has your best interests in mind as you select a home. | ||
| Put Roger Lamborne, an Experienced Buyer Representative in the Shenandoah Valley, to work for you. | ||
| Property Search | ||
| Market Data | ||
| Purchase Offer | ||
| Negotiating | ||
| Handling Details | ||
| Sellers list their homes with real estate agents to assure professional representation throughout the selling process. As a buyer, you deserve the same kind of service... | ||
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| Standard Selling Representation Standard Buyer Representation Overlapping Brokerage Relationships | ||
| Brokerage Relationships Understanding the Options | ||
| What you should know about a REALTOR'S® role | ||
| Client or customer? | ||
| When dealing with a REALTOR® in a real estate transaction, you are usually either a client or a customer of the REALTOR®. A client is someone who has formed a brokerage relationship with a REALTOR®, usually by signing a contract, and the REALTOR® is their agent. Parties who do not have a brokerage relationship with the REALTOR® are customers. | ||
| When acting as a standard agent, a REALTOR® has certain duties and obligations. The basic duties are defined in Virginia law (see especially Section 54.1, Chapter 21, Article 3), and additional duties can be created by a brokerage agreement with a client, usually in writing. REALTORS® are also governed by a strict Code of Ethics. | ||
| A REALTOR® you choose as your agent will fully represent your best interests. An agent owes first allegiance to his or her client. There are some limits when an agent has two clients in the same transaction (see overlapping brokerage relationships). Brokerage relationships with an individual REALTOR® also bind the other employees of the same real estate company. Among the standard duties a REALTOR® owes a client are: | ||
| Maintain client confidentiality, unless the information is required by law to be disclosed. | ||
| An agent does have duties to a customer, as well. Standard agents must: | ||
| There are limits on what an agent must tell a customer. Customers may wish to look to other sources for information important to their decisions. | ||
| Standard Seller Representation | ||
| If you are selling property or offering it for lease, and sign a listing agreement with a REALTOR®, then the REALTOR® and his or her brokerage firm become your agent and you are their client. Salespersons for other companies who are cooperating with the listing company and showing it to prospective buyers or tenants may also be your agents. Their goal is to seek a transaction on terms acceptable to you, and owe you standard agent duties outlined above. | ||
| If you are a prospective buyer or tenant who is dealing with a REALTOR® who represents the seller or landlord, remember that you are a customer of that REALTOR® and not a client. | ||
| A seller's representative can still provide valuable services to customers - showing the property, preparing and presenting any offers and counter offers, comparing financial alternatives, and disclosing known adverse material facts about the condition of the property. All agents in a transaction must be truthful with all parties, but the seller representative's highest duty is to the client. | ||
| Standard Buyer Representation | ||
| Prospective buyers and tenants have realized in recent years that they may want to have a REALTOR® of their own representing them in a transaction. They do this by forming their own brokerage relationship, usually by written agreement with a REALTOR® who becomes their agent and owes them the duties of a standard agent. A representative for the prospective buyer or tenant can freely advise the buyer-client about all aspects of the property. | ||
| A seller dealing with a buyer's agent should remember that in this relationship, the seller is the customer and the REALTOR® is working for the buyer. In many cases, the listing agent will share the commission with the buyer's representative, but that doesn't diminish the buyer representative's obligation to the buyer. | ||
| Overlapping Brokerage Relationships | ||
| The increasing popularity of buyer representation has increased the number of transactions where a REALTOR® might have overlapping brokerage relationships. | ||
| This happens when a buyer or tenant client of a real estate company wants to buy or rent one of that company's listings. Even if different REALTORS® are working with different clients, their dual loyalties are created through their company, which has legal and contractual obligations to both clients. | ||
| In dealing with these situations, there are two ways for the transaction to proceed: | ||
| The company or salesperson must not disclose information that is confidential or would create a negotiating advantage for either client, such as whether the seller will take a lower price, or the buyer will pay a higher price. Generally, information about the motivations of the parties must also be kept confidential. In effect, dual representation limits the REALTOR® to a neutral role. | ||
| Option 2: Designated/Dual Representation | ||
| The supervising broker will need to maintain the confidentiality of any client information which could be of value in negotiations. The two designated representatives must not share confidential information with each other. But when working with their individual clients, they are free to gather important information from outside sources, free to help with negotiations, and will be thinking first of their clients needs and wishes. | ||
| You are not required to agree to either of these dual representation situations. If you refuse the dual agency relationship or designated representation, the real estate licensee must choose which party to represent, and the other party is free to arrange other representation for that transaction. | ||
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