Saturday, January 05, 2008
Is Your ‘Buyers Only’ Agent Really on Your Side?
You want to buy a house. You’re tired of renting…want to move to something bigger/smaller…had a job change/relocation… No matter the reason, the first step is to get a Real Estate agent who will work for your best interests, not the seller’s. So, you get a ‘Buyers Only’ agent. Someone dedicated to making sure you get the best end of the deal. Sounds good, but…
Is there really such a thing as a Buyers Only agent? We thought so until our latest house buying experience.
No, this isn’t a gripe column about how we were left hanging, how the agent did not fulfill the promises touted on the company’s website, how our complaints to the agency owner have been responded to with a “we’re not responsible” letter and then total silence. We have already addressed these issues through the proper government regulatory agencies and legal authorities.
This is a column dedicated to helping you avoid the pitfalls we fell into, even after we had been through several experiences both buying and selling houses over the past 10 years.
First, don’t believe the hype on the agent’s (or the agency’s) website. No matter what the claims, the reality that every buyer has to face is that the agent’s goal is to collect a commission. As a laissez-faire capitalist, I am not opposed to people wanting to get paid for their time and energy. You just need to be aware of what their true motivation is. There is no altruistic drive on their part to find you the perfect house in which you and your family will live happily ever after. That is your job – one you should undertake with the utmost seriousness.
Second, realize that any real estate agent is working with multiple clients at a time. Don’t rely on him/her to keep your buying transaction on track and enforce items in the buying contract. Just as the most important feature in a house is “Location! Location! Location!,” your most important job as a buyer in dealing with your agent is: “Follow up! Follow up! Follow up!” In other words, bug ‘em until they holler “Uncle!” Then, bug ‘em some more!
Third, don’t be fooled by the line “I have a whole team working for you.” This, at least in our personal experience, usually means that the agent will hand off your transaction to this team. These aren’t the people you signed on to deal with. You don’t know their background and experience. Ask the agent about them before you even start looking at houses. Also, when you do get into a buying contract, don’t let the agent keep referring you to this “team” with such phrases as “So-and-so is handling that. You can call her/him directly.” Just say, “No, you’re my agent. You’re the one who has a commission at stake. Get me an answer.” (There’s no harm in playing the “motivation” card by bringing up the commission!)
Fourth, NEVER NEVER NEVER let your agent even recommend – let alone select – the house inspector you use, not to mention the pest inspector, the lender, the closing attorney, or anyone else. House inspection has become a joke, at least in North Carolina. It is extremely limited, and most inspectors do a haphazard job at best. Realize that this inspection is your most important protection as a buyer. The report the inspector prepares for you is your tool to negotiate with the seller – whether it’s for getting repairs done, getting a credit in lieu of those repairs, or getting a drop in the purchase price. Remember, your agent gets a commission based on the purchase price, so he/she will not want to pursue the last option, since it would lower the commission the seller pays. You’ll have to be the one to push for what you want.
Fifth, don’t let your agent’s preferences become yours. The agent we used, for example, thinks that programmable thermostats are a waste of money, so when the seller needed to replace the thermostat and we pushed for a digital thermostat, our agent refused to pass this on to the seller. We got stuck with the $10-analog-thermostat-special that the seller chose. (Yes, buyers can specify what they want, but our agent refused to listen to us.) He also refused to ask for a credit in lieu of repairs, even when we had performed a walk-thru to verify the agreed-on repairs had been done and had discovered most were not. Be tough with your agent. You worked hard for the money you are paying down. You will work hard for the money you will use to make your house payments. Stand firm for what you want. And if the agent won’t listen, go directly to the seller. There is no law preventing this (of course, you may start to wonder why you have an agent in the first place).
Sixth, consider not using an agent. I know it can be a little daunting to go it alone when making the most major purchase of your life. However, we found that the seller was much more agreeable to what we were asking for (unfortunately, it was at the closing). It was clearly the real estate agents (keeping our wishes from being presented to the seller), who often seemed to be talking back and forth among themselves without any input from either us or the seller. If you live in a state that uses closing attorneys, often that is all you need. Considering that most house listings are online, you can screen them yourself. Our agent didn’t do any of the leg work. We did it all, even pulling listings off the Internet and letting him set up the schedule (which we could have done ourselves). He even refused to set up a viewing of some, proclaiming himself to be a “housing consultant” and seeing the area in which the houses were located as unsuitable for us (he never did explain exactly what that meant).
By the way, is there anyone out there reading this who, if given the chance to design their own home, would really want to have the laundry facilities in a little closet off of the kitchen? Our agent and his buddy, the house inspector, think it’s a pretty nifty arrangement, even including this non-structural opinion in the inspection report. Personally, the idea of dirty, smelly clothing, plus scented laundry detergent and softener, and the oh- not-so-pleasant industrial smell of bleach doesn’t quite go with the aroma of my fried chicken or pasta dish. Am I being a bit overly sensitive?
Time to put in that load of dirty socks. Ew! Suddenly, I’m not hungry.
Copyright © 2008 A.C. Cargill
Is there really such a thing as a Buyers Only agent? We thought so until our latest house buying experience.
No, this isn’t a gripe column about how we were left hanging, how the agent did not fulfill the promises touted on the company’s website, how our complaints to the agency owner have been responded to with a “we’re not responsible” letter and then total silence. We have already addressed these issues through the proper government regulatory agencies and legal authorities.
This is a column dedicated to helping you avoid the pitfalls we fell into, even after we had been through several experiences both buying and selling houses over the past 10 years.
First, don’t believe the hype on the agent’s (or the agency’s) website. No matter what the claims, the reality that every buyer has to face is that the agent’s goal is to collect a commission. As a laissez-faire capitalist, I am not opposed to people wanting to get paid for their time and energy. You just need to be aware of what their true motivation is. There is no altruistic drive on their part to find you the perfect house in which you and your family will live happily ever after. That is your job – one you should undertake with the utmost seriousness.
Second, realize that any real estate agent is working with multiple clients at a time. Don’t rely on him/her to keep your buying transaction on track and enforce items in the buying contract. Just as the most important feature in a house is “Location! Location! Location!,” your most important job as a buyer in dealing with your agent is: “Follow up! Follow up! Follow up!” In other words, bug ‘em until they holler “Uncle!” Then, bug ‘em some more!
Third, don’t be fooled by the line “I have a whole team working for you.” This, at least in our personal experience, usually means that the agent will hand off your transaction to this team. These aren’t the people you signed on to deal with. You don’t know their background and experience. Ask the agent about them before you even start looking at houses. Also, when you do get into a buying contract, don’t let the agent keep referring you to this “team” with such phrases as “So-and-so is handling that. You can call her/him directly.” Just say, “No, you’re my agent. You’re the one who has a commission at stake. Get me an answer.” (There’s no harm in playing the “motivation” card by bringing up the commission!)
Fourth, NEVER NEVER NEVER let your agent even recommend – let alone select – the house inspector you use, not to mention the pest inspector, the lender, the closing attorney, or anyone else. House inspection has become a joke, at least in North Carolina. It is extremely limited, and most inspectors do a haphazard job at best. Realize that this inspection is your most important protection as a buyer. The report the inspector prepares for you is your tool to negotiate with the seller – whether it’s for getting repairs done, getting a credit in lieu of those repairs, or getting a drop in the purchase price. Remember, your agent gets a commission based on the purchase price, so he/she will not want to pursue the last option, since it would lower the commission the seller pays. You’ll have to be the one to push for what you want.
Fifth, don’t let your agent’s preferences become yours. The agent we used, for example, thinks that programmable thermostats are a waste of money, so when the seller needed to replace the thermostat and we pushed for a digital thermostat, our agent refused to pass this on to the seller. We got stuck with the $10-analog-thermostat-special that the seller chose. (Yes, buyers can specify what they want, but our agent refused to listen to us.) He also refused to ask for a credit in lieu of repairs, even when we had performed a walk-thru to verify the agreed-on repairs had been done and had discovered most were not. Be tough with your agent. You worked hard for the money you are paying down. You will work hard for the money you will use to make your house payments. Stand firm for what you want. And if the agent won’t listen, go directly to the seller. There is no law preventing this (of course, you may start to wonder why you have an agent in the first place).
Sixth, consider not using an agent. I know it can be a little daunting to go it alone when making the most major purchase of your life. However, we found that the seller was much more agreeable to what we were asking for (unfortunately, it was at the closing). It was clearly the real estate agents (keeping our wishes from being presented to the seller), who often seemed to be talking back and forth among themselves without any input from either us or the seller. If you live in a state that uses closing attorneys, often that is all you need. Considering that most house listings are online, you can screen them yourself. Our agent didn’t do any of the leg work. We did it all, even pulling listings off the Internet and letting him set up the schedule (which we could have done ourselves). He even refused to set up a viewing of some, proclaiming himself to be a “housing consultant” and seeing the area in which the houses were located as unsuitable for us (he never did explain exactly what that meant).
By the way, is there anyone out there reading this who, if given the chance to design their own home, would really want to have the laundry facilities in a little closet off of the kitchen? Our agent and his buddy, the house inspector, think it’s a pretty nifty arrangement, even including this non-structural opinion in the inspection report. Personally, the idea of dirty, smelly clothing, plus scented laundry detergent and softener, and the oh- not-so-pleasant industrial smell of bleach doesn’t quite go with the aroma of my fried chicken or pasta dish. Am I being a bit overly sensitive?
Time to put in that load of dirty socks. Ew! Suddenly, I’m not hungry.
Copyright © 2008 A.C. Cargill
Labels: buying, home, home inspection problems, real estate, realtor
