Did you know that utilizing a Buyer Specialist does not increase the sales price of a home or cost you any out of pocket money? ?Most agents act as either a buyers agent or a listing agent. Some agents represent both parties in the sale transaction which are considered ?Dual Agency?* but, that is way more complicated than we need to address here. ?A VERY important reason to utilize a Buyer Specialist for your home purchase is they protect YOUR best interest.
A realtor?s duties to their Client (buyer or seller) include:?Obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, and reasonable care. ?These duties apply whether you are representing the buyer or the seller. ?You probably already understand that realtors are paid a commission from the proceeds of the sale of the home. The sellers pay the commission, the rate of commission is agreed upon when the seller signs the listing agreement. Essentially, the buyer?s agent is paid by the sellers. ?Your purchase price does not go down if you do not have your own representation and they do not go up if you DO have your own representation (and the sellers expenses do not change). ?The sellers and the listing agent predetermine the commission for buyer?s agents. If you are buying a home, it does not cost YOU anything to have a buyer?s agent.
A fairly new type of agent in our real estate market is a ?Buyer Specialist? (like ME!). ?A buyer specialist only focuses on buyers. ?Our entire purpose is to uphold the interest of the buyer. ?We are responsible to present your offer in a timely manner, help you determine a fair offer price, disclose known adverse material facts, advise you regarding inspections, exercise reasonable skill and care and act in and adopt all regulations, federal, state and local laws regarding real estate transactions.
You, as the buyer, should only buy a house that feels like home to you, therefore our motivation is finding you the best possible house available. ?We do the leg work and free up your time to spend with your family, go to work, that team practice or school performance. ?I am not doing my job right if you are looking at 20 homes, I am doing my job right if, after a buyers consultation, I have gathered enough specific information about your needs that I can show you fewer more ?right? homes and one of them is going to be the perfect match!
Why is it important to have a Buyers Agent? ?Because if you have a ?Buyer Agency Agreement? with a realtor to represent you in the purchase of a home, they owe YOU obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, and reasonable care. ?Every realtor you speak to, that does not have a signed ?Buyer Agency Agreement? with you, represents the seller, whether they are the listing agent or not. ?You read that right; by law, the realtor protects the SELLER, if they are not specifically representing YOU.
If you have been thinking about buying or selling let me know. ?I can help you define what it is that is most important to you and why. ?If you have a home to sell, we have agents that specialize in listings. ?The Miller Realty Group has specialists for every step of the process but my driving force, my ?big why,? is driven by making a difference for you. ?Contact me today if you have ANY questions at all about the home purchase process.
*You should know that ?Dual Agency? MUST be disclosed to both parties in writing (in SC ? laws can vary from state to state). If you and the seller are represented by the same realtor, neither of you are getting full representation. ?The agent is limited in what they can disclose to both parties regarding the transaction. ?In many transactions, this is no problem at all and proceeding with a ?disclosed dual agency? is perfectly acceptable to both buyer and seller, but what if your purchase is the one that needed full disclosure?
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