Trying to figure out Real Estate Agent relationship (West Palm Beach, Palm City: flat fee, sales)

[db4570]

I'm heading down to Florida next week to look for a nice house to buy and then rent out, probably in the Sebastian or maybe Vero area.

Originally I thought I would wing it on my own, looking at houses listed by different realtors, without "working" specifically with one exclusively. My reasoning was that an agent that didn't have to split their commission would work a little harder to make a deal work.

But I understand that an agent represents only their selling client, and that I might like to have an agent on my side watching my back, even though I consider myself pretty savvy as far as houses, contracts, etc.

Let's say I meet an agent that I would like to work with, and as it works out I decide to buy one of that agent's listings. Who is on my side, then? Their duty is to their selling client, right?

What method works best? I know I'm making this more complicated than is necessary. Any clarification appreciated!

David

[PortStLucieWater]

All agents represent the seller unless you specifically sign a "buyers agent agreement". If you go to a random real estate company telling them you want to look at houses and they don't have you sign a buyers agent agreement they are obligated to work in the sellers best interests.

However, it is totally possible to buy without a realtor representing you. Do your homework. It requires a lot of research and probably a real estate attorney. Biggest thing is when talking with any listing agents disclose as little about your situation as possible (including how much you are willing to spend / got approved for) When you start trying to make an offer if you are not paying cash they will generally want a copy of your pre-approval letter from the bank. What I did and would recommend the same for you is to make a copy and "black out" the amount. If they ask why you sent it blacked out explain to them that you will disclose the loan approval amount after the seller 'accepts' your offer. This will allow them to know you are pre-approved but won't show them your cards. In my situation this was important to me as I was approved for double the purchase price.

Also, keep your ears open when talking to the listing agent. Sometimes they put their clients cards on the table "by accident" and if you can catch that it can help in negotiations. For example -- in my situation the listing agent slipped and told me that they had somebody under contract before I came for about 30 days and their loan fell through and the investor who owned the house was getting anxious to sell quickly. I used that to my advantage in my offer.

Find your own home inspector do not let any realtor select one for you. I used a man named Bob Bales [ Home Check Inspections Palm City, Stuart, Port St Lucie, West Palm Beach ]. His prices were reasonable and he was extremely professional and did a great job explaining his findings.

Biggest thing is research, research, research. It took me about 3-4 weeks of daily research to feel comfortable enough to start shopping "on my own".

[runswithscissors]

In Philly I used a RE attorney, never heard of a "buyer's agent".

Here in FL I got lucky because my condo had a seller's agent that lives in the HOA. She had her reputation on the line if she screwed me over. And she did a ton of sales here. Also almost everything in the condo was brand new due to a recent hurricane AND the owners really never lived in it after it was rebuilt.

I signed something that stipulated she was representing both buyer and seller - I forget the name of it.

BUT not until after they accepted my offer and gave a deposit. I would never get locked into an agent for just shopping around.

I had no problems everything went smoothly. I asked for repairs simply because I didn't know anyone here and didn't want the aggravation and they did them within a week of the inspection.

AC outside needed to be bolted down, air cleaner up on a shelf needed the shelf rebuilt - it was sagging, kitchen sprayer didn't work, and closets slider doors were sliding off the tracks.

I also appreciated she let me in as many times as I asked (they weren't living there) to measure, take photos, etc. It was cash, no contingencies but I wanted a two month closing. I don't know what's customary in FL but I didn't pay anything for closing, only the inspection; and I MAY have had to pay a couple months pro-rated RE tax.

Yes get your own inspector NOT one from the realtor or one who "always does our neighborhood".

I did THAT wrong and paid the price with an AC system that was incorrectly stated to be 10 years younger than it really was and it cost me 5K 4 years later. DUH I didn't even know the date of the unit was embedded into a number right on the thing.

I did use the Homeowners insurance company she recommended since they write for alot of people here.

But I'm sure it'll be much more challenging with a single house in a regular non HOA neighborhood.

[gv28]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

No disrespect, nothing personal, but thinking that having a buyer’s agent and signing something are related, is way off course.

Just because some agents ask for a buyer broker agreement to be signed does not mean an agent can't be a buyer's agent if nothing is signed. It's just a contract, like a listing agreement is a contract. Some buyer's agents may choose to work without the contract.


There was something written about buyer agency recently in another thread and I wanted to share and I didn’t have time, and I don’t have time now, and City Data servers are not big enough for what needs to be written, but, to OP: you are not going to learn all the facts from any one person, so enjoy the opinions with some salt and know you will have to keep researching, learning and make your best educated choices.

And to statements that all agents are working for the Seller unless the buyer signs something with the agent:
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!


Here’s a thought: if you found yourself having to go through a divorce, heaven forbid, would you trust and use your spouse’s attorney because the attorney wouldn’t have to split the fee?


….. and before someone brings up ‘sub-agency’, there is virtually no sub-agency in Florida.


So, yes, you will need to do a LOT of study!



And…. regarding a pre-approval letter, would we think that when Donald Trump makes an offer of 1 million on a golf course that his pre-approval letter says 1 million? NO! It says 18,465 Million. Just because one has financial strength does not mean they are going to over pay. The opposite is closer to reality.


There are many misconceptions in real estate.


I would like to share what a buyer's agent is, but C-D servers are not up to the trillobytes


Good luck!




-

[runswithscissors]

Ok no disrespect but I have no idea what this sentence means.

No disrespect, nothing personal, but thinking that having a buyer’s agent and signing something are related, is way off course.

It's a LEGAL MATTER and there's language in the statute about the protocol for a "dual agent" and the disclosures.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/.../0475.278.html

As used in this section, the term “dual agent” means a broker who represents as a fiduciary both the prospective buyer and the prospective seller in a real estate transaction. This part does not prevent a licensee from changing from one brokerage relationship to the other as long as the buyer or the seller, or both, gives consent as required by subparagraph (3)(c)2. before the change and the appropriate disclosure of duties as provided in this part is made to the buyer or seller. This part does not require a customer to enter into a brokerage relationship with any real estate licensee.

CONSENT TO TRANSITION TO
TRANSACTION BROKER
FLORIDA LAW ALLOWS REAL ESTATE LICENSEES WHO REPRESENT A BUYER OR SELLER AS A SINGLE AGENT TO CHANGE FROM A SINGLE AGENT RELATIONSHIP TO A TRANSACTION BROKERAGE RELATIONSHIP IN ORDER FOR THE LICENSEE TO ASSIST BOTH PARTIES IN A REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION BY PROVIDING A LIMITED FORM OF REPRESENTATION TO BOTH THE BUYER AND THE SELLER. THIS CHANGE IN RELATIONSHIP CANNOT OCCUR WITHOUT YOUR PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT.

Limited representation means that a buyer or seller is not responsible for the acts of the licensee. Additionally, parties are giving up their rights to the undivided loyalty of the licensee. This aspect of limited representation allows a licensee to facilitate a real estate transaction by assisting both the buyer and the seller, but a licensee will not work to represent one party to the detriment of the other party when acting as a transaction broker to both parties.

And...."it's just a contract"??? Said nobody ever LOL.

[SeaLark7]

I think a good real estate agent will not automatically be working more for the seller than the buyer, if you use him/her to find a house. In fact, towards the end of our transaction of selling our house in Ohio (when we were already in Florida), I felt like our agent there was working more for the buyer than for us ! He was obviously tired of dealing with a "long distance seller" and just wanted to sell our house, no matter what. We had used this same agent when we bought this Ohio house, and it was an entirely different (and less pleasant) experience using him to sell the house. When we needed a plumber for a last minute repair before the closing, he chose one that charged an outrageous price just to get the job done; if we'd still been in Ohio I am quite sure we could have found someone a lot cheaper, even on short notice. His price was so high that we wondered if our agent was getting a "cut" from it. It wasn't the Realtor's money so he certainly didn't care what we were charged. My point being, you can't just assume that a Realtor is automatically only working with the seller's interest in mind. It really does depend on the person and the circumstances.

[quattrohead]

I am a cheap control freak !!!!
However, I found working with an agent very useful during my first effort in buying property in a new area to me.
She had great local knowledge and I think knew a few contacts and strings to pull.
After I had renovated she had it rented out for me in a flash and for more than she initially indicated to me.
I am all for DIY, but in this case she was worth every penny she earned off the 2 transactions.

[FlaLadyB]

Interesting reading from my side. If anyone is coming in to an area to look and has a limited amount of time to answer a TON of questions about the area and houses, does't know a thing about where to look, running around looking by yourself is going to be time consuming to no end. Actually it's a huge waste of your time.

If you think you can stop in front of a house that "looks nice" and then have to call the per son who's name is on the sign - hope to get an answer- and then find out the price is way out of your range in the first place or its already sold.....why do that?

If you think working with 10 different Realtors is going to make it better for you so you won't miss "a deal!" ...REALLY WRONG. We all have access to the same MLS and we can all show you the exact same houses. If you have a Realtor who will only show you their listings - find another one that will show you ALL the listings.

As far as who I work for? The SELLER pays us. But if you pay attention to reality -- we dont get paid at all if we don't find YOU a home that you like. That means I pay attention to your wants and needs and who you are first!

By Florida Real Estate LAW- we are ALL Transaction Realtors - which means we work for both sides. We can't disclose important information about either party, that may affect a purchase, to the other.

A Buyers Broker is only working for you. And you promise to only work with them. Thats only fair when we do all the work for free till a house closes.

You are all making it way more complicated than it is.

[FlaLadyB]

oh.. and blacking out the approval amount...are you kidding me?? We HAVE to know you have been approved to pay for the house - end of story.

As far as inspectors...we use them all the time. Do you not think we know who does a good job and who doesn't? We don't get anything out of it but a through inspection for YOU - use who you want. We don't really care.

Oh .. and a SINGLE AGENT- dont even go there. That restricts SO much of what that agent can show or not show you would not believe!!!

NOBODY that I have ever known has ever used a LIMITED REP --- unless its to list a house for a flat fee- and do nothing.

reality people...reality

[SeaLark7]

Originally Posted by FlaLadyB

As far as who I work for? The SELLER pays us. But if you pay attention to reality -- we dont get paid at all if we don't find YOU a home that you like. That means I pay attention to your wants and needs and who you are first!

You summed it up perfectly, Barbara. I cannot imagine finding a house on my own in an unfamiliar area. We had a friend who already lives here recommend an agent, and we were very pleased with her - we never felt that she was representing the seller's interests more than ours.