If you are thinking about buying real property,
it is in your best interest to seek out and hire an Exclusive Buyer's Real
Estate Broker and his/her team of agents as an Exclusive Buyer's Agent.
The definition of an
Exclusive Buyer's Agent is an agent who never
takes listings and who acts solely on behalf of the
buyer, and that all agents of their brokerage
firm do not take any listings.
What
Does it Mean to Say
"I Represent the Buyer Exclusively"
No
Salesmanship:
Buyer's Agents do not sell real
estate. They deliver a service. The Buyer's
Agent must deliver all pertinent information for the buyer-client to be able
to make an informed decision on whether or not to purchase the proposed home.
No Pressure: Buyer's Agents are
paid professional consultants. They never pressure
their client to make a decision to purchase
a particular property. Nonetheless, when appropriate, and still without exerting
undue pressure, the broker must advise the buyer-client of the ramifications
of such acts as delaying decisions and making inappropriate offers.
Reasonable Care and Diligence: A Buyer's
Agent is responsible for researching a targeted property and its surroundings
to discover all material information prior to a buyer-client making an offer
to purchase.
Negotiator: The buyer broker
has assumed the responsibility to make sure their buyer-clients never unknowingly
overpay for the home being purchased. It is the Buyer's Agents job to do
a market analysis on every home the buyer-client intends to make an offer
on.
If the Buyer's Agent knows of any information regarding
the sellers willingness to accept less than the listed price, it is their
fiduciary responsibility to inform the buyer-client of such facts.
Loyalty:
A Buyer's Broker must always think
of the buyer-client before him or herself, even
when it may not be in the Buyer's Agent's best interest.
A Buyer's Agent must always be loyal, to the buyer,
never doing anything that would intentionally jeopardize the buyer-client's
best interests.
Obedience: A Buyer's Agent owes
absolute obedience to the buyer client provided that the Buyer's Agent is
not asked to violate any State or Federal statutes or regulations.
The buyer broker has the job to search out the entire
area to the best of his/her ability for the homes that best meet their clients
needs and not to waste time showing their clients home that does not meet
their criteria. Doing otherwise would be a breach of contract between the
buyer broker and the client.
Disclosure: A Buyer's Agent must
disclose any information he/she knows about the seller to the buyer-client.
A Buyer's Agent must disclose any pertinent facts
about the property and the immediate area known to him/her or, which should
be reasonably expected to be known as the representative of the buyer-client.
Confidentiality: A Buyer's Agent
must keep all sensitive information concerning his/her client confidential,
unless the client has given the Buyer's Agent permission to disclose such
information.
The Contract:
The Buyer's Agent is bound by contract to perform
in behalf of the buyer. A buyer should always insist on having a contractual
relationship with the Buyer's Agent. This contract fully obligates and defines
the legal responsibilities of the buyer broker. The buyer client now can
have recourse against his/her real estate agent if in fact the agent has
not done his/her job thoroughly.
In dealings with the seller, an Exclusive Buyer's
Agent should exercise reasonable skill and care in performance of the agent's
duties, deal honestly, fairly and in good faith and disclose all facts known
to the agent materially affecting the buyer's ability and/or willingness
to perform a contract to acquire seller's property that are not inconsistent
with the agent's fiduciary duties to the buyer.
Beware of the real estate agent that takes listings
and calls him/herself a buyers agent without properly advising you of the
fact. We consider this a type of "bait and switch."