With all the online tools widely available to search for a new home, some people are reluctant to form a relationship with a buyer’s agent. Such buyers rationalize that they can call up any listing agent associated with a house of interest and get through the door that way rather than going through their own agent. If they don’t like the house, they move on to another house and yet another listing agent to show them the next house. There are a number of problems with this mode of searching and buyers choosing this method are taking the risk of missing out on expertise and personal representation. To clarify, a buyer’s agent is the Realtor® who represents you as a buyer. A listing or seller’s agent is the Realtor® who markets the home and represents the seller.
Problems with Searching On Your Own
1. You must communicate with multiple agents who don’t know you. The first major problem with declining to work with a buyer’s agent is that you’ll have to call up multiple agents to see multiple houses. None of those agents has a relationship with you and they know nothing about your ability to afford the house they’ve listed or whether it appropriately fits your criteria. Many won’t show you the house until you’ve given them a copy of your pre-approval letter or some other proof of qualification. They don’t want to waste time showing a house to someone who can’t afford it. If you have your own agent, he or she will go through one initial phase of finding out what you can afford and your criteria in a home—you won’t need to repeat the process with every house you want to view. Also, your own agent is able to set up the viewings online in a more efficient fashion than your ability to contact multiple agents on your own.
2. You might get more follow up than you want. Most listing agents that you approach will view you as an opportunity to gain a new client, even if you do not buy the house they’ve listed. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you’ve decided not to form a relationship with a Realtor®, you may grow tired with each agent trying to win your business.
3. You could miss out on a home that’s right for you. Even though you have access to search for homes online, a Realtor® has both refinement and automated tools to help widen a search to ensure you’re seeing the breadth of what’s available in your price range. If you’re only sporadically checking a site or two, you could miss seeing something that’s perfect for you. Your own agent will keep tabs on the status of properties, whether the price goes down, and sees what’s brand new to the market as soon as it’s available.
4. You could make a costly error because you had no representation. If you sign a purchase contract without agent representation, there’s the possibility that you’ll overlook something in the contract, fail to meet a deadline, or even pay too much.
Advantages of Using a Buyer’s Agent
1. You receive free representation. Realtor commissions for both the listing and buyer agents come out of the seller’s sold price, so you aren’t charged for getting a buyer’s help.
2. You receive a great resource for knowledge and expertise. As informed as you might be, a local expert who deals in real estate everyday is bound to surprise you with something you didn’t know. That can help you avoid pitfalls of wasted time and money.
3. You have an advocate looking out for you. Your agent has a legal and ethical responsibility to represent your best interest at all times. If you deal directly with a seller’s agent, their duty is to look after the seller’s interest at all times, unless they agree to be a dual agent, representing both of you simultaneously. Your own agent has a duty to be loyal to you, promote your best interests, disclose known material facts, maintain confidential information, and account for any money they handle in the transaction. If your agent finds out something about the seller that might influence your decision to buy, not buy, or to alter your offering price, they have a duty to disclose that to you, subject to federal and fair housing laws.
4. You have someone negotiating on your behalf. A Realtor® is trained to focus on the business negotiation of your home purchase and move past the emotional issues. Sometimes a buyer’s emotions can affect the process, so having someone to negotiate for you can be beneficial. Also, a buyer’s agent will have experience dealing with negotiating tactics. You still own the offer decisions, but he can give you advice on your strategy.
5. Your agent takes care of the paperwork. Your agent writes up the offer, reviews seller disclosures, fills out escrow instructions, and reviews title work and closing documents. It’s comforting to have a professional by your side, help answer questions, and ensure paperwork follow up and deadlines are in order.
6. You save time and reduce stress. Your agent takes on the responsibility of searching for viable options based on your criteria, setting showing appointments, keeping tabs on price reductions and inventory, communicating offers and counteroffers, as well as many transactional duties prior to closing. That’s a lot of time that you’d have to spend yourself without professional guidance. And saving time always means reducing a degree of stress.
The upsides of having a buyer’s agent are too plentiful to ignore. Your agent gets to know your likes and dislikes, as well as your priorities, and therefore helps you gain clarity on how to conduct your search. Even if you enjoy spending time searching for homes online, you can work in tandem with your agent to ensure you’re making a team effort, while receiving all the benefits of having an advocate take you through the buying process.