Exclusive Buyer Agency

Why a special section on Buyer Agency?

Many visitors to this site do not have a clear understanding of agency. They, like many home buyers before them, believe that the Agent with whom they are working, on a sometimes daily basis, is representing them and their interests. Here in Georgia, unless explicitly expressed otherwise in writing, this definitely is not the case.

When you hire an Exclusive Buyer Agent, however, you are certain that the Agent with whom you are working is your representative and will put your interests above all others. If you do not specifically request Buyer Agency though, then in all probability you will just be the "buying customer" of a Seller's Agent. Even if you specifically ask for Buyer Agency, if the company takes listings, then there is a chance that you could end up without full representation.

For example, you see a house advertised in the newspaper, a home magazine, or the internet. You contact the Agent who is advertising the home and make an appointment to see the house. The Agent is friendly, informative, and tells you what you believe to be everything about the house. You end up working with this Agent who shows you a dozen houses over the next few weeks. This Agent buys you lunch a few times, knows all your children by name and has done well at learning all your likes and dislikes. You become quite comfortable with this Agent and reveal important personal information in order to assist in your search. However, this Agent has not offered Buyer Agency and without it, "your" Agent is most likely disclosing all that information to the owner of each house you express interest in. This Agent represents the seller, not you.

Or, this Agent does offer Buyer Agency, and eventually you find a house that is one of this Agent's office listings. At that point, you end up without full representation. This is either a case of Dual Agency which you and the seller will be made aware of, or it is a case of Designated Agency which could go undisclosed to you and/or the seller. In either case, you are lead to think that this is ok because the seller doesn't have full representation either. But, in all likelyhood, the seller has already been coached on how to deal with buyers regarding this house, but you are not benefitting from specific information with respect to the same house.

You might be asking "What's the big deal if the Agent represents the seller? Does it really matter anyway?" Maybe not, but if the Agent represents the seller, there are things that they cannot reveal to you, the buyer, without express permission from the seller. Things like:

• Any conversations they have had with the seller.
• The reason for selling.
• Concessions in price, or anything else, that the seller may be willing to give up.
• Any information that could be detrimental to the seller, or give you, the buyer, an advantage, such as a CMA, or the recommendation of buyer oriented inspectors. (In some states listing agents are not allowed to recommend to buyers a specific vendor for other services, only a state approved list of all vendors for a particular service. In these states, however, Buyer Agents can recommend specific vendors.)

Exclusive Buyer Agency changes everthing! If you have an Exclusive Buyer Agency agreement, the Agent with whom you are working represents you, not the seller. Some of the potential benefits of Exclusive Buyer Agency include:

• The Agent must reveal all information that they can ascertain about the seller, including but not limited to such things as the reason for selling, concessions the seller is willing to make, or anything else that strengthens your position.
• The Agent can prepare a CMA on the property for you.
• The Agent can prepare information about trends in property value that may help you make a decision about purchasing in a certain area.
• The Agent can point out reasons not to buy.
• The Agent can recommend buyer oriented inspection services.
• The Agent can point out that the price is too high.
• The Agent can point out items or stuations that will enhance your negotiating position.

So, is having a Buyer Agent really necessary? No. Plenty of home buyers for many years have done well without a Buyer Agent. But, it is important that you understand your options, that you don't mistakenly accept less representation than you think you are getting.