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My wife and I are planning on buying a home in the Clayton area of NC. We are currently renting in NJ. Being property virgins, we have alot to get educated on as far as real estate and the whole house hunting and purchasing process. With this in mind, I think its a good idea if we get a buyer's agent. I just found out about buyer agents so there's alot I need to learn about them and their responsibilties. My understanding is that the buyer's agent is actually paid by the seller. I dont know how this works, but say we look at 20 houses, does the same buyer's agent represent us for all of these homes? Any info on buyer agents and how we could find a reputable one in our house hunting area would be very much appreciated. Thanks!
A buyer's agent is a real estate professional who represents you exclusively. He/she will show you the homes you want to see, will negotiate on your behalf, draft the contract, monitor all contingencies and see the transaction through to closing. If you don't know how to go about finding an agent, visit activerain.com and check out the profiles, blogs and comments of the agents in the area you're moving to. Good luck!
My wife and I are planning on buying a home in the Clayton area of NC. We are currently renting in NJ. Being property virgins, we have alot to get educated on as far as real estate and the whole house hunting and purchasing process. With this in mind, I think its a good idea if we get a buyer's agent. I just found out about buyer agents so there's alot I need to learn about them and their responsibilties. My understanding is that the buyer's agent is actually paid by the seller. I dont know how this works, but say we look at 20 houses, does the same buyer's agent represent us for all of these homes? Any info on buyer agents and how we could find a reputable one in our house hunting area would be very much appreciated. Thanks!
A buyer's agent represents you AND him or herself!!!!
Why?
Because the higher the price of the home you buy the more money they make.
Don't be deceived.
Well, no doubt we are in business to make money. However, we have a fiduciary duty to work in the best interest of our client. This includes getting the best deal we can. Some are better at it than others, so you should check out agents as Sandy advised, and get recommendations.
I bought 30 and sold 29 properties before becoming a licensed agent. The best buyer's agents I had took the time to conduct an upfront interview which was all about me, what I wanted, needed and why. They made sure our financial ducks were in order so that when the time came, our offer was strong.
They were also specialists in the area I wanted to buy and knew the dirt and local inventory and why a property closed for what it did, when it did.
The net difference in commission to a typical buyer's agent on a $225K versus $250K property amounts to about $300.
Couldn't rep you, so just going to ditto you. Poppycock (plus let's not forget the agent doesn't even receive all of that massive amount of money). As well as previous posters mentioning under Buyer Agency an agent has a fiduciary responsibility to the buyer to promote and protect their best interests - which does include helping them find a home they can actually afford and qualify for.
You can call it poppycock all you want. I've been there and back as both a realtor & an appraiser- I know how the game is played. I've heard realtors say things so unethical as to make one cringe.
No buyer's agent will knock themselves out fighting for the lowest possible price on a house because all they'll be doing is lowering their own commission. $300 or whatever. That's not poppycock- it's common sense.
And, I've never encountered a realtor who truly cared whether or not the buyer could ultimately afford a property.
A sales person is a sales person, whether selling cars or houses or anything else.
You can call it poppycock all you want. I've been there and back as both a realtor & an appraiser- I know how the game is played. I've heard realtors say things so unethical as to make one cringe.
No buyer's agent will knock themselves out fighting for the lowest possible price on a house because all they'll be doing is lowering their own commission. $300 or whatever. That's not poppycock- it's common sense.
And, I've never encountered a realtor who truly cared whether or not the buyer could ultimately afford a property.
A sales person is a sales person, whether selling cars or houses or anything else.
I'm glad you know me so well . Tell that to my client qualified for $200k (actually more if they wanted to) looking at a $199K listed home. After looking at comps I advised starting at $165K, settled higher but considerably lower than list with closing costs thrown in. My goal is to get a good deal for my client, keep them happy and hope for future referral business.
I'm sure there are some Realtors only looking after themselves, but I wouldn't classify all to be the same. Most I know would do all they can for their clients.
Regarding affordability, I'm not a financial planner. They can decide for themselves along with their lender. I will though, look for houses in the range they want and can qualify for and again, try to get them a fair deal on the purchase.
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). As well as previous posters mentioning under Buyer Agency an agent has a fiduciary responsibility to the buyer to promote and protect their best interests - which does include helping them find a home they can actually afford and qualify for.
