April Office Meeting

How to convince your buyers to sign one of these….

Customer vs. Client The biggest reason to sign a Buyer Agreement is that it makes you the agent’s client. If you don’t sign one, you are just a customer. What’s the difference, you ask? Everything! As a customer, the agent has no fiduciary duty to you. As a client, they do. As a client, the agent is required to operate, negotiate, disclose and otherwise work on your behalf. As a customer, especially if they are showing their own listing, they owe that fiduciary duty to the Seller.

Benefits of Signing The Buyer’s Representation Agreement Obviously, the fiduciary duty is the big one! Really, when you break it down, that should be the only one, but there are others. 1) You get the full attention, care, accountability, and disclosure of an agent because they know they are dealing with a client. 2) Loyalty I must put the client's interest above all others, including myself. I must make my client aware of all available properties that come on the market or I hear of via any other source that fit their criteria. Unlike many Agents I will show you any FSBO, “List Only” and discounted commission listings. 3) You get your best interests serviced at all times during search, negotiation, closing and beyond.

4) I will provide my client with a comprehensive market analysis of the home before making an offer to purchase. 5) Obedience: I must obey all lawful instructions of my client. 6) Confidentiality: Unless unlawful, I must keep meaningful personal information about my client secret, for the benefit of my client throughout negotiations and all of our business dealings. 7) I will continue to work with my client until the right home is found and without pressure. 8) There is a greater peace of mind that you have an expert on your side making sure that your needs are going to be met. 9) Your overall level of satisfaction with the home buying process will be increased because you will have little or no doubt that you made the right decision and got the best deal.

Client Commitment 1) To work only with me until the right home is found. 2) To inform me of any concerns and changes in the home needs during this period. 4) To inform me when the right home is found. 5) To pay my Agent’s Broker in the unlikely event that a FSBO seller refuses to pay my fee of 2.5% of the sale price or a discounted MLS listing that falls short of 2.5% you agree to pay the difference between the 2.5% fee and the MLS offering. (Both of these instances combined account for less than 5% of the time and in most cases we can offset any Buyer Client fees by further discounting the offer.)

Buyer Agreement Benefits If you're looking at a buyer representation (agency) agreement only as protection for the real estate agent or broker, you're missing a good deal of its value. There are significant values that can accrue to the buyer client as well. If you have trouble broaching the subject with buyers or asking for a signature on this document, here's some help. 1. The Buyer is Assured of Your Best Efforts If a buyer might be working with multiple agents, or they're out cruising open houses, you are at risk of losing them at any time. It's only logical that you would have a significantly higher level of comfort with a representation agreement, and thus you'd be willing to spend more time and effort in scouring the market for the right properties for your buyer clients. To help you put this in front of your buyer prospect in a positive way, you might say that you do pre-showing drive-by of properties for your agreement clients. Due to the time and expense requirements, you're unable to offer this to non-clients.

2. Your Buyer Representation Clients are Exposed to Every Eligible Property This is a big one for them. If this doesn't get them into the mode to sign the agreement, then nothing else is likely to do so. This might also indicate a less- than-serious buyer. Basically, "Mr. & Mrs. Buyers, I am aware of some properties that might possibly meet your requirements but are not listed in the MLS. I feel it's in your best interests, and my duty, to look for FSBO properties that you might want to see. But we'll need to agree that I'll get paid a minimum commission if one of these properties turns out to be the right one for you. You can negotiate its payment as part of the transaction." 3. Last, But Not Least, You Get Paid for Sure This one is for your mental and financial comfort level. It's a whole lot nicer going to the office each day knowing that you'll be showing properties to buyers who are serious enough to guarantee that you'll get paid. There's also that better feeling you'll get, knowing that you were able to show them all the homes that met their requirements, as well as having them well-informed as to their choices in representation. It's not fun having a buyer ask you after a purchase why they didn't see the home three streets over at a better price.