What A Home Buyer Needs To Know About Using A Real Estate Agent

I have had the two opposite ends of the spectrum come across my desk in the last 10 hours.

Last night while at a St Paddy's Day party I had a great chat with a local Cambridge real estate agent. One that I had yet to really meet, but was bound to eventually as our kids go to the same school. We had a great chat over the food table (where else would I be) about how she approaches sellers and how she coaches her buyers that are looking to purchase a home that is listed with PropertyGuys.com. It was refreshing to hear a proactive approach where she explains to her clients that she is getting paid by them, whether it is included in the asking price or not, and she advises them to pay her directly through the lawyer so they can better negotiate the purchase with the seller.  She doesn't call the seller to ask "Will you compensate me?" She calls and asks if she can show it to her buyers. She brings up commission if and only when they are discussing an offer. Usually she is able to say her buyers are paying the commission so they don't have to worry about negotiating the rate. An agent that is progressive and doesn't hide behind the numbers.

Today I hear from one of the clients I listed last week that were happy to report they had an offer. It turns out in their negotiations with the buyer's agent the agent wanted 3% instead of the traditional 2.5% a buyer's agent typically starts at.  Our sellers were very clear that if the real estate agent wanted 3% that his buyers would have to pay more for the house. The agent proceeded to advise his clients to put in a higher offer to maintain his high commissions. So I ask you this, who's best interest is this agent looking out for? Last time I checked taking money from unsuspecting people was thievery.

IF you are going to use an agent to buy a home I will give you a few suggestions.

• First, don't sign a Buyer's Representation Agreement unless it is specific to A house and for a short period of time (7 days). 
• Second, discuss commissions up front with your agent.
•  How are they getting paid? 
• Will the agent drop their commission if they can't negotiate a price that is acceptable to buyer and seller? 
• How much commission are you willing to pay?
• If you end up buying an agent listed house will they pay you back a portion of the commissions? 
• Third, know that if you are using an agent to buy a house, it is not free. You are paying more for the house because your agent gets paid through the purchase.

At the end of the day, you the home buyer decide if you want to use an agent. We coach PropertyGuys.com clients on how to interact with your agent and show them that if they maintain their bottom line (or more) and you are satisfied paying more because you brought an extra mouth to feed, why not entertain the offer?

M