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In almost every transaction, the Realtors on both sides of a transaction
will earn a substantial commission when you buy a home. Due to this
large economic motivation, it is human nature that your buyer agent
will be very happy when you decide to write an offer on a home.
Make sure that when you make an offer it is because you are ready,
not because you are being pressured by your agent.
Most Realtors/Brokers retain the entire Buyers Agent Commission
offered by the listing office when they represent you as a Buyers
Agent. Additionally, many of these Realtors/Brokers Buyer Contracts
will state that you agree to pay them the amount stipulated in the
contract even if that amount exceeds the commission offered
for the Buyers Agent Compensation as stated in the MLS. For example,
if you have a Buyers Agency contract for 3% with your Buyer Agent
and the Seller is only offering a 2% or 2.5% cooperating Broker
commission, you are responsible for the difference.
Not only would the above scenario never happen at cityservice, our
Buyers are actually eligible for a Cash Rebate.
Buyer Agency Agreement
It is advisable to sign an agency agreement with a Realtor. These
agreements protect you and the Realtor that is working on your behalf.
You will find real estate agents work harder for people that are
loyal customers. Loyalty is a two way street. Your agent will also
have a legal responsibility to represent your best interests
under the agency agreement.
You should make sure your Realtor shows you all homes for sale,
not just the ones that earn them the most commission. A Realtor
can show you every home listed in the Realtor's Multiple Listing
Service and For Sale By Owner (FSBO) homes, as well as brand new
homes.
When you are looking for an agent to represent you, do your homework.
Selecting a full time agent is important. In an active market, it
is difficult for even a full time agent to inform you in
a timely fashion about every new listing that hits the market. Unfortunately,
part-time agents make up a huge percentage of the industry. If you
are a serious buyer, you will want a full time Realtor working for
you.
Buyer "To Do's":
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 Ask
your agent if you will be shown ALL of the homes for sale
that match your criteria, even FSBO's.
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Ask
your agent if you will be shown all the homes that match your
criteria no matter what the cooperating commission being
offered is. You don't want an agent to not show you your
potential dream house just because the agent doesn't think
the cooperating commission is high enough. Fortunately, most
agents put their client's interests above their own financial
gain, but it is still important to ask up front. Does it ever
happen that an agent will show a buyer a 3% CoOp listing but
not a 2% or 2.5% even though the latter 2 may be better matched
for the buyer? The answer, unfortunately, is "absolutely".
So ask up front.
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Most
traditional real estate office's "exclusive" Buyer
Agency contracts require the Buyer to pay the balance of
a commission if the selling agent's cooperating commission
is less than what the Buyer Agency contract specifies. Ask
you agent if he/she would require you to pay the difference.
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Demand
to be signed up on the MLS Automatic Notify System - or simply
sign up on our Automatic Notification System and receive email
notice of ALL new listings within your criteria. (Learn how
to receive home listings by
e-mail).
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Keep
an eye out for all properties in which you may have an interest.
Read the newspaper and ask your agent about signs you see
in the neighborhood when you are driving around.
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Remember,
the agents you meet at open houses and new construction sites
represent the interest of the seller of those properties -
NOT YOU!
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Do
not succumb to commission driven pressure to write an offer
on a home that you are not satisfied with.
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Many
traditional Buyer Agency contracts are binding for
a certain length of time - usually several months. That means
you are obligated to pay that agent if you buy a home even
if you had a falling out and found a house on your own or
with another agent. You could literally put yourself in the
position of having to pay two commissions only because
you did not want to work with your first agent!
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cityservice will show a buyer every home that matched his/her
search criteria, no matter what the cooperating commission is.
cityservice will always accept the cooperating commission
as "payment in full" so a buyer will never owe
cityservice a "commission shortfall".
Additionally cityservice will pay
the buyer back 20% of the cooperating commission cityservice
receives.
The cityservice "No Pressure" contract is cancelable
at any time. No questions asked!
For more about the cityservice "Buy Smart" approach to
buying a home, check out our Buyer FAQ's
section.
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