Is there really such a thing as a "buyer's agent", if so are they really working for the buyer? (disclosure, recommendation)
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In short I consider "buyer's" agency as it is currently typically practiced nothing more than government sanctioned fraud.
If buyer's "agents" were paid based on how much they SAVED their clients, I wouldn't be so skeptical about their motivations. As it stands, buyers agents primarily add an additional and entirely unnecessary expense to what is otherwise a fairly straightforward transaction.
If buyer's "agents" were paid based on how much they SAVED their clients, I wouldn't be so skeptical about their motivations. As it stands, buyers agents primarily add an additional and entirely unnecessary expense to what is otherwise a fairly straightforward transaction.
So don't use one. I don't understand why people are upset if someone else chooses to use one.
Buyer's agency came into existence (I remember when it did, I wasn't an agent but a buyer then and for many years afterwards) because before it existed there were only listing agents, but buyers persisted, no matter what they were told, in thinking that the listing agents worked for them and represented their interests when the listing agents were bound legally (and still are) to protect the fiduciary interests of their actual clients, the sellers.
So, buyer's agency, with a contract that specifies that that agent has a fiduciary responsibility to that buyer and represents their interests on properties they are buying, was created to protect the consumer from themselves, in essence.
But there are always people who judge everyone else by themselves and what THEY would do and why THEY would do it in a particular situation. Sad that it's always somehow negative, for those people.
So don't use one. I don't understand why people are upset if someone else chooses to use one.
It pushes up the prices for buyers everywhere. Realtors can say "there's no standard commission" all they want. But we all know that's it's 3% for the listing agent and 3% for the buyer's agent. There are exceptions. But 6% is the rule of thumb. On a good house, that can run into a large stack of money. On our first house, I got around this by getting my own license and paying myself the commission. I now know that this wasn't necessary. I can usually just swing a deal with the listing agent. I don't even have to negotiate with the seller. The listing agent will do that for me*.
The listing agent wants the house to sell today more than he or she wants the house to sell for the maximum possible price. (A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.)
Cynical? No. Just realistic. That's how it works here.
* I will grant you that this has improved in the last year now that the market is on the upswing. But when the market was in the toilet, this was standard operating procedure. Make a low-ball offer and let the listing agent sell it to his or her clients. So excuse me if I'm skeptical about an agent's "duties owed."
I bought an expensive house. It was worth it. (I used a discount broker and worked out the broker fees in advance.) I took the pre-licence class online and completed it in a matter of hours. I took the pre-license test, then the state exam (ridiculously easy). The background check is what took ALL the time.
And what I learned is that a real estate license doesn't teach a real estate agent ANYTHING useful. I learned everything there is to know about redlining, steering, blockbusting, the mansard roof and how many square feet in an acre. But nothing at all about actually conducting a real estate transaction. Agents are supposed to learn THAT by osmosis, I suppose.
I took the pre-licence class online and completed it in a matter of hours. I took the pre-license test, then the state exam (ridiculously easy). The background check is what took ALL the time.
And what I learned is that a real estate license doesn't teach a real estate agent ANYTHING useful. I learned everything there is to know about redlining, steering, blockbusting, the mansard roof and how many square feet in an acre. But nothing at all about actually conducting a real estate transaction. Agents are supposed to learn THAT by osmosis, I suppose.
I couldn't agree with you more. Just having a license means you've learned absolutely NOTHING to that point. In my homes state, they really do a very poor job preparing new agents to be . . . well . . . agents. I can't say it's particularly important to being an agent to know how many square feet are in an acre.
This being said . . . there's a reason why you can't just run off and start your own brokerage anymore. You have to start out here with a sales license and in order to do business you'll need to hang that license with a broker. While the state does a poor job preparing agents, they've forced agents to work with a broker and the expectation is that the broker will teach you what you need to know. Of course, this is a great theory but in practice it doesn't always work out well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoopLV
It pushes up the prices for buyers everywhere.
I would tend to disagree with this. If you hire an appraiser to value your home, he doesn't ask did you sell with an agent or not? He values the home based on what other homes have sold for whether that was by FSBO or with an agent. I've never known anyone who didn't want to sell their house for full value.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoopLV
Realtors can say "there's no standard commission" all they want. But we all know that's it's 3% for the listing agent and 3% for the buyer's agent. There are exceptions. But 6% is the rule of thumb.
You were right. Just having your license doesn't mean you know anything. This statement shows that in fact your knowledge of real estate is fairly limited.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoopLV
The listing agent wants the house to sell today more than he or she wants the house to sell for the maximum possible price. (A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.)
Cynical? No. Just realistic. That's how it works here.
* I will grant you that this has improved in the last year now that the market is on the upswing. But when the market was in the toilet, this was standard operating procedure. Make a low-ball offer and let the listing agent sell it to his or her clients. So excuse me if I'm skeptical about an agent's "duties owed."
Interesting that you say that as the market has improved that you feel listing agents are less willing to work for you as the buyer.
Hmmmm . . . is it possible that in a slower market the listing agent was actually encouraging the seller to take your offer because it was a reasonable offer? Is it perhaps conceivable that the reason why it appeared that the listing agent was negotiating on your behalf in a worse market is because that seller (like most sellers of the time) was utterly unrealistic about the value of their house so if they didn't take your offer the next offer likely would be even lower?
I'm thinking what you thought you saw was not actually what was going on.
I'm thinking what you thought you saw was not actually what was going on.
What I saw was real estate agents throwing their clients under the bus in order to get the deal done so that they could get their almighty commission check. If I was the seller instead of the buyer, I would be appalled and disgusted by what the listing agent said in order to facilitate a deal. Hell, I'm appalled and disgusted as it is. But at least I was the beneficiary of shady real estate practices. My goal is to pay as little as possible. There were many listing agents who were quite willing to help me out with that.
I learned enough about the real estate business to know that I want no part of it.
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