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Please pay close attention to second page and Types of Agency Representation, try to understand what each means and then decide what kind of RE agent you are most comfortable with.
For folks who are new to the area and buying home in general, I do recommend checking with Exclusive Buyers Agent for undivided attention, loyalty and disclosure. They are generally lot more patient and ready to educate, especially FTHB.
Some (not all) might ask you for a retainer (think about it as earnest money which shows you are serious home buyer), that you will get back, once you have located home you would like to purchase.
For those of you who would like to meet some Exclusive Buyer Agents and do not know where to go, I am providing couple of links below that I hope it can help someone.
Do not be shy of contacting any agent, even if they do not "cover" geographic area you are interested in, as MA network of Exclusive Buyers Agents is relatively small and most are very willing to help, and recommend a colleague that works in your area.
Good luck !
Last edited by CaseyB; 01-25-2013 at 03:28 PM..
Reason: links to outside blogs or realtor sites are not permitted
Everyone should be getting a copy of this form upon their first meeting with a real estate agent. If this doesn't happen, there's a problem. A good agent wants you to fully understand what's happening at all times and handing you this form and explaining it to you is part of that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingeorge
Please pay close attention to second page and Types of Agency Representation, try to understand what each means and then decide what kind of RE agent you are most comfortable with.
For folks who are new to the area and buying home in general, I do recommend checking with Exclusive Buyers Agent for undivided attention, loyalty and disclosure. They are generally lot more patient and ready to educate, especially FTHB.
First, I want to clarify that the linked form does not address what an exclusive buyers agent is. So, just to briefly explain for those who don't know . . . this is a real estate agent that only works with buyers. They never ever work with sellers. A typical real estate agent can act as a buyer's agent or a seller's agent or even both (dual agent) in a transaction depending upon who their client is (i.e. the buyer, seller, or both).
Second, I want to reiterate my stance that in a competitive market working with a buyer's only agent puts you at a competitive disadvantage.
Third, I want to state that there is no service or benefit that buyer's only agents provide which a typical agent cannot. Buyer's only agents are not the only ones who are patient, just ask the FTHB that I met with last week for nearly 3 hours in my office. We barely looked at a single listing. Mostly we just educated each other. I educated him on the real estate process and he educated me on his needs in regard to his new home. Also, everyone should be aware that hiring a buyer's only agent in no way guarantees that you are hiring a hard working and ethical agent. Even if you are hiring a buyer's only agent you should interview more than one and hire the agent who is the best fit. Also, do not be afraid to terminate your relationship with an agent who is not pulling their weight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingeorge
Do not be shy of contacting any agent, even if they do not "cover" geographic area you are interested in, as MA network of Exclusive Buyers Agents is relatively small and most are very willing to help, and recommend a colleague that works in your area.
Hire an agent not familiar with the area you're buying in at your own peril. In a state where the onus is on the buyer to do almost all the discovery work why would you hire someone with no knowledge of the area? You're just taking an uphill battle and making the incline steeper. What your agent doesn't know you'll have to spend time uncovering yourself or alternatively you'll unhappily uncover the information later after you already own the home.
I am in no way saying you can't have a good real estate buying experience with a buyer's only agent. I'm merely saying hiring this type of agent does not guarantee a good experience and in some cases will actually be detrimental to your chances of success. Buyer's only agents are merely a subset of real estate agents and there are just as many mediocre agents of this type as there are in the general populace of agents.
MikePRU,
first of all this is not your forum, nor you are our forum's designated RE agent, as much as you like to see yourself in that role. I also find not in good taste for person who has ulterior motive (namely fishing for possible clients) to dispense advice in RE area.
Secondly, you should spend some time looking at resume of some of the people you want to bash, and learn that they were in RE before many of today's FTHB were out of diapers.
Third, most of Exclusive Byers RE agents are simply put, people who been there and done that (traditional and dying form of doing RE) and decided that this way of doing RE business is more honest, and overall suits better their client's needs. Most people who are good buyers, are not necessarily good sellers as well. You might disagree, because you are by your own claim super successful at both, but thank God that traditional way of doing RE is not the only way, and your way.
Which leads me to fourth point here. After RE bubble, that plunged our country in economic crisis of epic proportions, and where most traditional "double dip" RE agents were active and willing participants in plenty of deals that plunged whole generation of buyers in financial abyss of the worst kind, I do not have much respect for RE industry as a whole. RE agents during bubble years, and even beyond, showed profound lack of common sense and care, and in essence made themselves rich and richer while playing "monopoly game" with other people's money. Very few showed some restraint.
This is why dual agency should be outlawed. That is is still in existence has nothing with common sense and good service to client's need, but strong RE lobby in Washington. For those interested why I say this info check Office of General Counsel which is a nice summary of evils of dual agency. I can not believe that anyone can advocate for that!
Fifth, entry bar for RE agents is extremely low, one weekend of your time, and $300. Anybody with half brain can get license to handle and be handed over, huge sums of money (for majority of people biggest financial transaction of their lives), and all of that for actually adding very little value for same transaction. Yes, I am perfectly capable of opening the door and seeing without needing to be told that this is indeed kitchen, and that this is bath, and yes, I can recognize back yard and deck when I see it, thank you very much. How that translates into someone being paid thousands dollars in fees, is becoming an important question for many younger buyers and sellers (who by default will not have huge budgets to begin with). Yes, sellers pay fees but they need to hit the right number before they can sell, so it is often up to buyer to meet sellers magic number (RE fees are included in the price).
Which is why traditional RE is on its last legs. This model is so outdated, and doesn't correspond to 21st century, and our new internet/fast paced reality. Hence, so many different ways to buy or sell. Buyers rebate, lower fees, or salaried agents, specialized agents etc. Idea that Exclusive Byers Agents are somehow below traditional RE agents is silly. Thank god there are people with different sets of skills and priorities.
Since entry bar is very low I would argue that in general, in MA, there are too many of RE agents (especially low life kind). There are few and far in between good honest and hardworking people. Some of them happen to be Exclusive Buyers Agents by their own choice. What is your issue with that is beyond me.
Lastly, if you re-read my post you will see that nowhere in my post I was advocating that people should be working with agent out of their comfort zone and geographic area, quite the opposite. I do advocate asking people you can trust for recommendation and then do your due diligence. I do not recommend however meeting with your agent at the open house--which is why open homes are truly conducted for--not for sellers benefit, but for the traditional agent to get some exposure and "fresh meat".
Knowledge is power! Young buyers/sellers should be aware of all the options. To sum it all up, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts!
Buyers beware!
MikePRU,
first of all this is not your forum, nor you are our forum's designated RE agent, as much as you like to see yourself in that role. I also find not in good taste for person who has ulterior motive (namely fishing for possible clients) to dispense advice in RE area.
I'm not sure what your problem is with me. I do not think this is my forum nor do I think I am the official agent of the forum. Apparently, you think this is your forum though as this is not the first time you've felt it was OK for you to tell me what I can and cannot do here.
I have no ulterior motive at all in posting on this forum. As much as you think I'm here to fish for clients, I'm actually not here for that. I'm here to offer advice and my opinion which I'm entitled to do and so are you. I don't even post entirely in threads about real estate, but unlike a lot of people on the internet I try to stick to talking about subjects I have some knowledge about. For instance, I'm sure I'm going to make TONS of money off my posts in the Stop & Shop vs Roche Bros supermarket thread or from the advice I gave someone about marketing their home in Western MA in a recent thread just to name a few. I should be able to retire in no time off the questions I answer for tourists who post here constantly during the summer.
It's unclear to me why every time I enter into a discussion with you it immediately devolves into you throwing mud at me and hurling accussations about my motives which you know nothing about.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingeorge
Secondly, you should spend some time looking at resume of some of the people you want to bash, and learn that they were in RE before many of today's FTHB were out of diapers.
I never ever bashed anyone. I think you should go back and read what I said again. I merely pointed out what I see as a problem for clients who choose to work with agents that use this business model.
Also, long term involvement in this business is not necessarily an indicator of a good agent. I know a lot of older agents that have been doing this for decades and they don't care squat about their clients. They just want to earn a commission and move on to the next one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingeorge
Third, most of Exclusive Byers RE agents are simply put, people who been there and done that (traditional and dying form of doing RE) and decided that this way of doing RE business is more honest, and overall suits better their client's needs. Most people who are good buyers, are not necessarily good sellers as well. You might disagree, because you are by your own claim super successful at both, but thank God that traditional way of doing RE is not the only way, and your way.
See, here's a great example of where you're continually wrong about me. I don't disagree with you. Everyone has their own talents. Exclusive buyers agents can be great agents. There's no reason why someone should be driven out of this business because they are good at working with buyers but not sellers. I'm all for having more good, honest agents in this business. It can only help to improve the reputation of this profession.
What I take issue with here is the broad brush you're painting with. To imply all exclusive buyers agents are hard working and honest would be ludicrous. To also imply that all traditional agents are unethical would be equally ludicrous. Each type of agent has their own share of mediocre and bad practitioners.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingeorge
Which leads me to fourth point here. After RE bubble, that plunged our country in economic crisis of epic proportions, and where most traditional "double dip" RE agents were active and willing participants in plenty of deals that plunged whole generation of buyers in financial abyss of the worst kind, I do not have much respect for RE industry as a whole. RE agents during bubble years, and even beyond, showed profound lack of common sense and care, and in essence made themselves rich and richer while playing "monopoly game" with other people's money. Very few showed some restraint.
It's a little hard to follow your point as your english is a little broken, but it sounds like you're blaming real estate agents for the real estate bubble. If that's your point, you are way off base. We don't determine values and we don't sign the checks. We also don't lend any money. You don't think banks that were giving out "no doc" loans where people didn't even have to prove their income levels were mroe than a little bit at fault? I counsel my clients constantly to not stretch themselves too thin. In the end, I can't force people to take my advice and if they can find a lender that's willing to give them that money then there's not much else I can do about it. In the end, agents are just not the one making any of the decisions which is really the bottom line.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingeorge
This is why dual agency should be outlawed. That is is still in existence has nothing with common sense and good service to client's need, but strong RE lobby in Washington. For those interested why I say this info check Office of General Counsel which is a nice summary of evils of dual agency. I can not believe that anyone can advocate for that!
I don't love dual agency. Personally, I strongly prefer a transaction where each party has their own designated agent. It's much easier to make sure a transaction goes smoothly if there are two qualified agents involved rather than just one. Of course, as the link you provided shows, there can be two agents in the transaction but still a dual agent situation.
The bottom line is if you're working with an agent you can trust then how do they suddenly become less trustworthy if their role in the transaction changes? If you can't trust someone to be a dual agent then you probably can't trust them to be your buyer's or seller's agent either. Time to find a new agent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingeorge
Fifth, entry bar for RE agents is extremely low, one weekend of your time, and $300. Anybody with half brain can get license to handle and be handed over, huge sums of money (for majority of people biggest financial transaction of their lives), and all of that for actually adding very little value for same transaction.
It's actually two weekends now.
Regardless, the licensing class I took was a joke. It's way too easy to become a real estate agent and because of this there are a lot of people that drop out of the profession very quickly (but not before doing some harm to a client) and there are still plenty who manage to remain in the profession who are unethical, bad at what they do, or are just generally mediocre practitioners. There are entirely too many people who hold a license as well compared to the number of transactions available to be serviced.
Thank God for the licensing test, because there are actually people who take it and fail. So, at least it's filtering out some of the worst applicants although there are plenty of bad licensees which shows that it's not tough enough.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingeorge
Yes, I am perfectly capable of opening the door and seeing without needing to be told that this is indeed kitchen, and that this is bath, and yes, I can recognize back yard and deck when I see it, thank you very much. How that translates into someone being paid thousands dollars in fees, is becoming an important question for many younger buyers and sellers (who by default will not have huge budgets to begin with). Yes, sellers pay fees but they need to hit the right number before they can sell, so it is often up to buyer to meet sellers magic number (RE fees are included in the price).
Yes, this is all you think I do. However, it's a very very small part of what I do. If you don't think an agent adds value, then you are free to not use one. The fact that an overwhelming majority of real estate transactions are brokered by an agent says that your opinion is in the minority.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingeorge
Which is why traditional RE is on its last legs. This model is so outdated, and doesn't correspond to 21st century, and our new internet/fast paced reality. Hence, so many different ways to buy or sell. Buyers rebate, lower fees, or salaried agents, specialized agents etc. Idea that Exclusive Byers Agents are somehow below traditional RE agents is silly. Thank god there are people with different sets of skills and priorities.
People have been saying for over a decade now that the internet meant the end of real estate agents. Guess what . . . in the last five years the use of a real estate agent has actually grown not shrunk. The job has certainly changed, but I don't think the profession is going anywhere.
Again, I never said EBA's are "below" traditional agents. What I said is that working with an EBA puts you at a competitive disadvantage in a highly competitive market. Traditional agents take in listings. Often, those listings are not put into MLS immediately for whatever reason like the seller wants time to clean the house, paint, the seller wants to wait for a certain date, or whatever. Knowing this listing is coming or even being able to preview it because you're working with someone in the listing office gives you an advantage over other buyers. As EBA's never take in listings their clients will never see this advantage. Yes, this can bring into play dual agency but again if you're working with someone worthy of your trust then this should not be an issue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingeorge
Since entry bar is very low I would argue that in general, in MA, there are too many of RE agents (especially low life kind). There are few and far in between good honest and hardworking people. Some of them happen to be Exclusive Buyers Agents by their own choice. What is your issue with that is beyond me.
Another instance where you have got me completely wrong. I couldn't agree with you more on every single point you made in this paragraph. I never ever had a problem with EBA's but I did point out an issue with using an EBA that I felt people should be aware of. I'm sure there are plenty of good EBA's out there just as there are plenty of good traditional agents. There also an abundance of bad and mediocre agents of both type as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingeorge
Lastly, if you re-read my post you will see that nowhere in my post I was advocating that people should be working with agent out of their comfort zone and geographic area, quite the opposite. I do advocate asking people you can trust for recommendation and then do your due diligence. I do not recommend however meeting with your agent at the open house--which is why open homes are truly conducted for--not for sellers benefit, but for the traditional agent to get some exposure and "fresh meat".
I apologize if there was a misunderstanding on this point. I'm glad to hear that you advocate people using an agent familiar with the area. I wouldn't recommend someone using an agent from Braintree to buy in Salem anymore than I would recommend an agent in Newton for a transaction in Hyannis. I'm glad to hear we're on the same page about this.
An open house is a great place to meet an agent if you're thinking of selling your own home. Where else are you going to see an agent in their "natural environment" so to speak? Go in, pretend you're a buyer, and see how they treat you. If they're more interested in picking you up as a client than selling the house then perhaps this is not an agent you want to hire. You can get a really great idea of how well the agent knows the area by asking some questions about it during the OH as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingeorge
Knowledge is power! Young buyers/sellers should be aware of all the options.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingeorge
To sum it all up, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts!
Buyers beware!
Ironic that you start your post by essentially telling me to get lost but then end your post in this way.
Regardless, I couldn't agree more with your sentiments.
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