- In the market to purchase property or a home? Do you have an agent representing you as a buyer? As a buyer in the real estate market it is essential to have a qualified buyer’s agent represent you and protect your best interests, whether you are purchasing an existing home listed for sale by another agent, purchasing a lot for sale, or looking to build or purchase from a new home builder. A good real estate agent does a lot more than just find a property for you and open doors. They provide professional representation and expertise to get you through the sometimes complicated negations that follow an offer to purchase. Here are 5 fast facts about buyer agency that can help you decide if you need a buyer’s agent:
- A buyer’s (aka selling agent) agent is a real estate agent that has a fiduciary duty to represent the interests of the buyer. A seller’s agent (aka listing agent) has a fiduciary duty to represent the interests of the seller.
- In simple terms, Fiduciary means involving TRUST. When we refer to the fiduciary responsibilities an agent has to a buyer or seller we refer to the duties of care, confidentiality, loyalty, obedience, full accounting, and full disclosure that agent owes his or her client.
- So what does all this fiduciary business mean? It means that the listing agent (or new homes salesperson) has a duty to look out for the best interests of the seller (or builder) they are representing. A lot of new home buyers walk into builder model homes without representation. Don’t get me wrong, builders and their sales reps aren’t necessarily bad people. New home salespeople do a good job selling homes and have a duty to look out for the interests of their builder, not yours. A buyer’s agent has a duty to look out for your best interest if they are representing you. Not to mention that builders not only pay commissions to realtors representing new home buyers, they often offer bonuses on top of commissions to realtors because they want more buyer business. So bringing a real estate agent on to represent your new construction purchase brings benefits to all parties.
- If you are working towards a purchase without your own buyer’s agent please understand that the listing agent (or builder salesperson) has an obligation to disclose anything you say or do that could help the seller or builder they represent. If you are okay with that you might be ready for Dual Agency. Not okay? Then you need to get your own agent to represent you independently from the seller or builder as a buyer.
- What is this Dual Agency business? Dual agency means the agent is representing both the buyer and the seller. In most states this type of agency requires written disclosure and acceptance by both the buyer and seller agreeing to representation by the same agent. Essentially both parties to the sale are agreeing to forgo the duties of full disclosure and undivided loyalty. The agent will fill out the necessary paperwork and provide necessary comps to both sides while providing both parties with duties of obedience, confidentiality, and full accounting. As a real estate agent I’ve represented both the buyer and the seller multiple times through disclosed dual agency with written consent from both parties. Real estate agents often love and benefit from dual agency by receiving double the commission. Please understand that for the purposes of this post I’m referring directly to the type of dual agency created when an individual agent represents both the buyer and the seller on the purchase and sale of the same property. Another type of dual agency called Broker Dual Agency is common and created when the listing and buyer agents are both part of the same brokerage company (for example both agents work for the same Coldwell Banker or Remax or independently owned firm).
I hope this post has been valuable and helps you decide if you need buyer representation in the future.
Xoxo,
Sarah
P.s. I’m a licensed Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker Alfonso Realty. If you’re looking for property on the Mississippi Gulf Coast I’d love to be your realtor! I can also refer you to the most qualified agents in this growing global market. Please share your buying experiences in the comments and contact me with any questions.
Gratitude goes great with generosity. Try to use “I appreciate…” in your communications with others. Keeping a journal to jot down what you appreciate in your life and what you notice others appreciating will help create more connections.
3. Write more handwritten notes. If you don’t write handwritten notes, start. In the age of texting, email and social media handwritten snail mail stands out. Use personal, non branded stationary to write these notes. 
Be personal and optimistic when you write a note. Avoid using “I and Me” when you communicate. Try to be relational and focus on the person you are writing to. Human beings love to hear positive things about themselves. Writing handwritten notes that are positive and effective in expressing appreciation will set you up to be a great connector.
If you are a realtor that might mean photos of you in front of properties you are selling or funny anecdotes about what happened while showing houses to buyers. If you are selling face products or lip gloss take a picture of yourself using the product. While it’s tempting and might feel safe to only share ready made marketing materials from your company or links about your business you run the risk of spamming your friends and audience. 
Which brings us to truth number..
I’m at the beginning of this social media journey and I’m making plenty of mistakes. My apologies to anyone I’ve spammed. It’s easy to get excited about a company offering or rate drop and just hide behind a canned image or statistic. How many skincare posts about paste did you see today? Which ones actually caught your interest? 
Which brings me to truth number…
Be active and SOCIAL before and after you post. Don’t post and run. With new algorithm changes the first 15 minutes after you post are critical for likes to appear at the top of feeds. Take advantage of new features offered by the platform you’re using to boost your post for FREE. On Facebook this means going live, using messenger and and options like Gifs and Stickers. Helpful hint for anyone who isn’t seeing posts from the friends they want to see in their feed…Send them a messenger message and have a conversation and you will see them pop up to the top of your Facebook feed because Facebook thinks you are FRIENDS. Instagram is all about telling stories through pictures and using hashtags. It’s a great way to build a following with people you’ve never met by showcasing your style.
These hard to resist cakes are topped with icing and sugar in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of green, gold and purple. The official colors were designated by the Krewe of Rex in 1872 and represent faith, power and justice. If you get depressed thinking about taking down Christmas decorations try decorating your home in these festive Mardi Gras colors and you’ll have an excuse to leave everything up until Ash Wednesday. 
Mystic societies in Mobile present parades and balls for members and the public to participate in during carnival season. Kings and Queens are crowned and balls are a great excuse to bust out your best black tie formals. Similar societies called Krewes were modeled after the mystics in New Orleans and along the Coast. Members are assessed fees to fund events and parading members are usually responsible for providing their own throws, aka beads and trinkets thrown out to the crowd. 
Grab your favorite broad spectrum SPF and some shades. It’s time to start shopping.
One Coast Living 