Buying Agent - NOT awesome experience (Madison: for sale, real estate, broker) - Huntsville-Madison-Decatur area - Alabama (AL) - City-Data Forum

Rayd8 · 02-15-2015, 07:37 AM

My wife and I just moved to HSV and are looking for a home in the Madison area. Our buyers agent was recommended by my employer and we haven't been too happy with them. They seem to be more focused on their social agenda than helping us. Anyway, I feel like we are doing a lot of the leg work to find a home as well as do the research on builders and areas (flood zone, schools, traffic, etc). They have a valleymls search running that sends us homes, but we can do that online too....

We did sign a contract, which will expire soon. Are buying agent contracts necessary in AL? I've never signed them in previous states.

What should I expect my buying agent to do? Print out an MLS sheet, take us to a few homes and comment that "X builder is good" or "X$ per sq. ft. is great"?

I've read through a lot of the comments here and several agents appear to be very tuned into the property situation and what buyers need to be aware of. I think I want an agent like that....

Thanks for your help.

Keeper · 02-15-2015, 07:46 AM

Welcome to HSV.. We do have some really good agents on CD that offer advice for free...

Of course we have some members who are also very knowledgeable about the area. So much depends on what you are looking for in an area and many things to beware of especially in some areas. There are some really weird things that are allowed here especially in new subdivisions. A few builders can also be of concern however we do not allow specific complaints others can tell you they don't recommend them.

LCTMadison · 02-15-2015, 09:32 AM

Yes, in AL the agency relationship between you and your agent MUST be in writing so we cannot "legally" represent you as a single agent without it. We would be simply a transaction broker that works for the transaction, not the parties involved and we cannot advise you.

The MLS search is a great tool to use, especially with our new Paragon system that sends out updates every 15 minutes. Most of us are not able to sit on our computer all day watching for new listings to pop up so to have them auto sent to the clients is great. Its not something that should be used as the ONLY method of searching for client's properties, but it is a vital part IMO.

Have you talked to your agent about this? Maybe there needs to be an understanding between the two of you on what you expect from your agent in regards to your home search. I have some clients who want to take on the "research" aspect and some that I need to do that more for. I have some buyers who insist on driving by properties before we even look at it and some that don't do that. Every buyer is different and should be handled that way.

You should feel your agent is your "advocate" and should be not just someone that opens doors for you, but someone who is "teaching" you throughout the process. And to be honest, our real job begins after we find the property....that is typically the easy part of our job. Again, some buyers need this more than others and the agents have to learn how to manage the different personalities and expectations of different buyers.

One other piece of advise. Always make sure you are dealing with a full time Realtor. There are people who think that they can dabble in it as a fun little hobby for extra money but the client always plays second fiddle to the full time job and suffers because of it. Its a very demanding, very serious career that takes up more time than a typical 40 hour a week job.

HB2HSV · 02-15-2015, 10:34 AM

That's weird. We did not sign a contract with a buyer's agent when we were house hunting. We have had a couple of corporate "relocation specialists" showed us around. It was not until we found the house we like and ready to make an offer did we sign any papers.

Seth Parker · 02-15-2015, 10:38 AM

Real estate agents are a lot like other professions in many ways; you have people that are good at their job.......and you have those that are not. Sometimes, you can have a great agent.....but your personalities don't mesh well. Other times, the opposite is true. Either way, that's one thing that can make an agent "seem" better or worse at their job.

I think LCT gave the best advice. Speak with your agent about it. Selling homes isn't a 9-5 job and you can't "leave it all at work". Work creeps in to home life and home life creeps in to work life. Tell the agent what your issues are. Ask them if they can meet your expectations from this point forward. If they say they can, great. If not, ask them to release you from your contract and move on.

Seth Parker · 02-15-2015, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

That's weird. We did not sign a contract with a buyer's agent when we were house hunting. We have had a couple of corporate "relocation specialists" showed us around. It was not until we found the house we like and ready to make an offer did we sign any papers.

If you didn't sign a buyer agency agreement, then technically speaking, they were not "your" agent. They definitely could have acted like your agent and did all of the things they should have, but that's an important piece of paper.

Emptynester1 · 02-15-2015, 11:14 AM

I have been home shopping as well. In part, I expect an agent to-
Be knowledgeable about various communities - not just their favorite community or builder.
Ask for my priorities, really do the homework, and then guide me to properties that match.
Value my time by and theirs- by screening ( both of us) properties for matches before we visit.
Point me to the best resell properties if that is a priority.
Not represent themselves as full time if they are not. ( have other daytime obligations to work around). In my opinion- someone who has child care responsibilities cannot work full time.
Be VERY technologically savvy.
Have a great network with other realtors, and related professions that lead to closing.
Be a great communicator.
Patience with the search.
I do not ever expect to sign a contract with an agent. So maybe I would have to work with transactional agents. Their time is not exclusive to me, and I see no reason why I need to be exclusive to them. I am honest about who I am taking to and why, and work with one primary realtor at a time, and am careful not to have a new realtor reshow me a property. Full disclosure to everyone so there are no misunderstandings, otherwise it can get messy. Some will disagree with this, which is very understandable.

Best to you in your search. In my opinion, most of your search relates to decisions only you can make. After that a realtor can help you. List of what you need and then want in a home, where you want to live and why, how much you can spend and then how much you are willing to spend, and be preapproved.

lhall85917 · 02-15-2015, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

That's weird. We did not sign a contract with a buyer's agent when we were house hunting. We have had a couple of corporate "relocation specialists" showed us around. It was not until we found the house we like and ready to make an offer did we sign any papers.

This was our experience 4 years ago too. In fact, we have someone that has made an offer on our house that is now for sale and it was first shown to them by our listing agent. They wanted to use a friend as their buyers agent instead our agent and he agreed to that so I would assume they didn't sign anything before being shown our home.

HB2HSV · 02-15-2015, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seth Parker

If you didn't sign a buyer agency agreement, then technically speaking, they were not "your" agent. They definitely could have acted like your agent and did all of the things they should have, but that's an important piece of paper.

I would be reluctant to sign with ANY agent as "exclusive" when we are shopping for a home. If the agent is proven and finds a house we are ready to make an offer, i'd be happy to have him/ her to earn that commission, even if we found the house on our own.

Seth Parker · 02-15-2015, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

I would be reluctant to sign with ANY agent as "exclusive" when we are shopping for a home. If the agent is proven and finds a house we are ready to make an offer, i'd be happy to have him/ her to earn that commission, even if we found the house on our own.

The way it should/is supposed to work: Call agent, look at homes. Agent works as a transaction broker/seller's agent until a point you deem that you want that agent to be "your" agent. At that point, you sign buyer brokerage agreement and then agent is able to treat you as their client by providing the things that only a buyer's agent should. Before that point, though, there is a line that agents aren't supposed to cross in regards to the information that they divulge and the amount of advice they give.