Buying Strategies in Today's Market

When you sell a property, you interview different brokers, pick one and give them an exclusive right to represent you in the sale of your property. Why should buying a property be any different?

Typically buyers go from ad to ad calling different brokers about their listings. They tell each broker about their needs and expect that broker to call them first when he or she finds a building.

Why not instead interview these brokers and again pick one to work with exclusively. Sign an exclusive Buyer-Broker agreement with that person and let them go to work for you. That agent will perform with the knowledge that you are working as a team and that when you buy they will get paid. It is worth their time to explore every possible lead in locating a building for you.

What is a Buyer-Broker Agreement?

Almost always the Seller pays the real estate commission in a sale, typically one-half to the Listing agent and one-half to the Selling agent. With a Buyer-Broker agreement you additionally agree to pay your agent his portion of the commission (usually 2.5%) on transactions where there is no built-in commission or a reduced commission being paid to him by the Seller. You guarantee that he will be paid 2.5%. In almost all transactions, the Seller pays the commission and there is no additional cost to you.

With this agreement, your agent can go after properties that you would not normally hear about; unlisted properties or properties that for one reason or another do not have a commission built into the pricing. If you have to pay the commission or a part of it, you will know this before you make your offer and you can adjust your offering price accordingly. The key is you are looking at properties that you might not otherwise have found out about.

Most importantly you have an agent that is going beyond the call of duty to locate a building for you because you have given him the written assurance that he will get paid if successful. Yes, you will be the first to hear about it now!