Dear
Home Buyer,
Welcome to
the world of buyer agency. You will now have the opportunity
to purchase your new home with the utmost confidence never
before imagined. You will experience an amazing difference in
your house hunt and purchase. No pressure, no pushing, no
steering, just smart advising and consulting along with great
negotiating skills are what you can expect from
us.
Never before could making the final decision on the
purchase of your new home be done with such assurance,
enthusiasm, and level of comfort.
As a home
buyer, you will be taking the opportunity of having a real
estate agent represent your best interest when purchasing a
home. All services can be provided at
no additional cost to you.
We can provide all of the following services* as a buyer's
agent:
*subject to
rules and regulations pertaining to Dual Agency. Contact Nina
Deeb for more detailed info.
•Furnish you
with information about your chosen city
•Enter into a written contract with you to represent only your
interest (something few real estate agents are willing to do)
•Advise you of the pros and cons of each home you look at
(something a seller's agent is not allowed to do)
•Show you all the housing possibilities, not just a few homes
(including for sale by owner and new construction)
•Give you a professional opinion of the actual value of the
home you choose before you make the offer
•Help you negotiate the best price for the house you choose
•Help you find the lowest loan rate available
•Help you choose a reputable home inspector
•Be available to assist you with details needed for closing
the transaction
•Assist you in many other matters concerning the purchase of
your new home
In summary,
we
will be your
personal advisor, consultant,
and negotiator
in every step of your house hunt and purchase. If any other
real estate agent should contact you, you can advise them that
you have hired your own personal real estate agent to work for
you. Our job is to protect your best interest and to make your
purchase process as easy as possible.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS OF THE BUYER'S AGENT
How much does this service cost me?
In most cases
there is no additional costs to you for the service of a
buyer's agent. Although technically you are hiring the buyer
agent, the compensation can come from the real estate
transaction. When a home is listed for sale with a real estate
agent, the seller generally allows for a commission big enough
for the listing agent to share50/50 with the real estate agent
that brings in the buyer.
What if I want to purchase a for sale by owner or a new
construction property?
A similar
process would apply. In the offer to purchase, the agent
simply tells the seller that instead of having to pay a full
commission to a listing real estate firm, the buyer is
requesting that his/her half of the real estate commission be
paid from the proceeds of the transaction. With this method
both the buyer and the seller can save on commission by
dealing directly with a buyer agent.
If the agent usually works on a commission, what is the agents
incentive to save me money when negotiating on my behalf?
One simple
answer, "Repeat Business". The better the job that agents do
for home buyers the more the word gets out. There simply would
be no growth in one's Real Estate business or career if they
didn't do a great job advising home buyers. In addition, it
would be a violation of a written contract between the buyer
and the agent if the agent knowingly did an injustice to the
buyer.
How does the buyer agent find out about all the homes that
might meet my needs?
The same
methods apply here. Access to the M.L.S. provides for most of the data. Buyer
agents also stay on top of for sale by owner and new
construction properties as well.
When working with a Real Estate agent am I a client or a
customer?
A buyer who
is a customer of a real estate agent is working with an agent
whose loyalty lies with the seller. You must be a client of
the agent in order to get any kind of representation. Be sure
it is in writing from your agent. Do not assume. Many home
buyers have always thought the agent working with them was
working for them.
I heard that buyer agents want me to sign a contract that
would tie me up to only work with them. What if I wanted to
work with other agents?
The contract
between you and a buyer agent is very important to be aware
of. Buyer agents offer the contract as protection for you the
buyer as well as the Agent. It allows you to have recourse
against a buyer agent who does not perform to your best
interests. It also ensures that you will work with that agent
for the duration of the contract. Contracts are written for x
number of days. The decision is yours. Keep the contract short
at first. After such time, you will have been able to decide
whether or not the agent you are working with will live up to
your standards. At that time you have the option of extending
the contract or, you may decide to choose to work with another
agent.
An agent will
go to work for you spending many ours of research, scouring
the market place continuously looking for the homes that best
suits your needs, financially as well as physically. A buyer
agents need to know that you are committed to them during the
time they are committed to work for you.
What can I expect from a buyer agent?
NO PRESSURE:
Buyer brokers 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
broker is responsible for researching any property of you
choice 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 over pay for the home being
purchased. It is the buyer brokers job to do a market analysis
on every home the buyer-client intends to make an offer on. If
the buyer broker 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 broker must always think of the buyer-client before
him or herself, even when it may not be in the buyer brokers
best interest. A buyer broker must always be loyal, to the
buyer, never doing anything that would intentionally
jeopardize the buyer-client's best interests.
OBEDIENCE:
A buyer broker owes absolute obedience to the buyer client
provided that the buyer broker is not asked to violate any
Provincial or Federal statutes or regulations. The buyer
broker has the job to search out the entire area to the best
of his/her ability including for sale by owner and new
construction 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
broker must disclose any information he/she knows about the
seller to the buyer-client. A buyer broker 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 broker must keep all sensitive information concerning
his/her client confidential, unless the client has given the
buyer broker permission to disclose such information.
THE CONTRACT:
The buyer broker is bound by contract to perform on behalf of
the buyer. A buyer should always insist on having a
contractual relationship with the buyer broker. 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, a 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 consistent 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.
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You now have a choice of representation as a buyer. |
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You may
choose to be represented as a customer or as a client and
to have the agent represent your best interests and work
for you. |
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