working with buyers' agents in multiple areas (Camden: houses, price)

[cmcfarland]

Hello, we are soon-to-be first-time home buyers and are looking at homes in northern NJ. We've narrowed our list down to 5 towns which are spread out in 4 different counties. I've read that buyer's agents generally require you to sign an exclusivity contract for a specific period of time. It also seems that most agents only cover 1-4 adjacent towns. My questions are:

1) Are exclusivity contracts the norm in northern NJ?

2) Assuming the answer to above is "yes", is it possible to have the contract only valid for a specific township, meaning that we could use another agent over an overlapping period of time for another town in a different county?

3) Any other suggestions regarding this dilemma?

I'm guessing somebody will suggest that we only focus on one town (or a couple of adjacent towns covered by the same agent). I would really prefer not to....

Thanks in advance!

[VeradoDan]

I would refuse to sign a contract with anyone whose commission gets larger as my price goes up.

[davenj08]

there are no exclusivity contracts. if one asks for it, laugh at him/her and walk. you may look in as many towns as you wish and deal with as many buyer's agent as you wish as long as they are in mutually exclusive towns i.e. only one realtor is showing you houses in one town. things get messy only when you see the same house with more than one realtor.

[Hal Jalikeakick]

you saw it coming but im going to say it anway

looking in 5 towns, in 4 different counties with realtors sounds to me like it would be confusing, exausting, and take a tremendous amount of time and effort on your part. I would consider doing some more driving around on your own, and doing a bit more research first.

[nemmert]

Originally Posted by cmcfarland

Hello, we are soon-to-be first-time home buyers and are looking at homes in northern NJ. We've narrowed our list down to 5 towns which are spread out in 4 different counties. I've read that buyer's agents generally require you to sign an exclusivity contract for a specific period of time. It also seems that most agents only cover 1-4 adjacent towns. My questions are:

1) Are exclusivity contracts the norm in northern NJ?

2) Assuming the answer to above is "yes", is it possible to have the contract only valid for a specific township, meaning that we could use another agent over an overlapping period of time for another town in a different county?

3) Any other suggestions regarding this dilemma?

I'm guessing somebody will suggest that we only focus on one town (or a couple of adjacent towns covered by the same agent). I would really prefer not to....

Thanks in advance!

I had the same issue in moving to South Jersey... I knew nothing about the area and intended to look in South Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware because they are all commutable to Camden. My NJ realtor presented me with a contract but I refused to sign it. It would have entitled him to a commission no matter where I purchased a property, or if he had shown me the property or I had found it on my own. I wasn't prepared to make him that guarantee so I didn't sign it, he didn't push it.

Frankly, it's in their best interest to get you to try to sign it. It's in your best interest not to. If the realtor refuses to work with you move on, there are others that will.

[Bill Keegan]

Originally Posted by cmcfarland

Hello, we are soon-to-be first-time home buyers and are looking at homes in northern NJ. We've narrowed our list down to 5 towns which are spread out in 4 different counties. I've read that buyer's agents generally require you to sign an exclusivity contract for a specific period of time. It also seems that most agents only cover 1-4 adjacent towns. My questions are:

1) Are exclusivity contracts the norm in northern NJ?

2) Assuming the answer to above is "yes", is it possible to have the contract only valid for a specific township, meaning that we could use another agent over an overlapping period of time for another town in a different county?

3) Any other suggestions regarding this dilemma?

I'm guessing somebody will suggest that we only focus on one town (or a couple of adjacent towns covered by the same agent). I would really prefer not to....

Thanks in advance!

Yes, there are exclusivity contracts, though most agents will not ask for one, or will simply back away if you say dou don't want to sign one.
Yes, you can work with one agent in one town and another agent in another town. What I would suggest is that an agent is likely going to have a market area of several towns, in come cases several counties, that they know well. So you may need fewer agents than you think to cover a fairly large area.