If you’re in the market to buy a home or you are considering the purchase of a home, there is a good chance you have contacted a real estate agent. A lot of the times, you contacted a listing agent that has a home on the market you were interested in, or maybe you contacted an agent through the internet. However you you find a real estate agent, it’s important to know what a real estate agent does.
Listing Agents - These agents are selling a home for a client. They have a signed contractual agreement with the seller to represent their best interests, and they try to get the most money with the best terms on the sell of their clients home. As a buyer, it may not be in your best interest to use the listing agent of a home that you may be interested in buying.
Buyer’s Agent - A buyer’s agent works exclusively with a potential home buyer. They have a fiduciary duty to the home buyer, and are obligated to represent the buyers best interests. The buyer’s agent is motivated to get you the very best deal on the purchase of a home, and will negotiate on your behalf with the seller’s agent.
Dual Agency - Dual agency is where one agent represents both parties in a real estate transaction. Dual agency usually happens when a buyer calls a listing agent and wants to right an offer, but they are not represented by an agent of their own. In that case the seller’s agent will have to act as a neutral party to both parties. However, the selling agent already has a signed contract to get the seller the best possible deal in the transaction. Which means, although the agent is suppose to be neutral in the transaction, this isn’t always the case.
There is a lot of discussion on dual agency, and whether or not it should be permitted. Most states require a full disclosure agreement to be signed in dual agency, and must be explained thoroughly to both parties involved. But that doesn’t mean there are some agents that take advantage of one of the parties in the deal, especially if it’s someone that doesn’t have experience buying or selling real estate.
When buying a home, be sure to have your own representation, and a buyer’s agent is the best way to do that. If you think that working with a sellers agent to buy a home they have listed is going to save you money, remember one thing. The sellers agent has a signed contract to represent the sellers best interest’s and not yours!
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