topic Re: An interesting Real Estate concept in Home

An interesting Real Estate concept

Elom — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 21:45:29 GMT

Today I had a showing for my house and the firm showing it Was buyers best choice.

i looked it up and apparently they are in a lot of states and only represent buyers, they don't list houses. I thought this might be a good one to keep in mind as they only represent the buyer so no issues. Has anyone heard of this Company? The people looking today were from Wisconsin and I am in a small town in TN.

Re: An interesting Real Estate concept

daisyk — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 22:02:03 GMT

I haven't heard of them, but I like the concept! I always felt the buyers were at a disadvantage often times.

Re: An interesting Real Estate concept

TeezNu — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 03:08:00 GMT

Keep in mind that they don't get paid unless you buy a house, even if they don't list houses. So, you still have to be careful and wary. Unfortunately, I learned this from personal experience, when I used a "buyer only rep" 18 years ago.

Re: An interesting Real Estate concept

BirkiLady — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 06:14:15 GMT

Wouldn't risk working with Buyers Choice. Use either your bank for help or a reputable Realtor. Don't try to save a few dollars on such a large investment. It's the buyers who will win in the end . . . they will sock it to YOU with such things as repairs found during their inspection, financing fees which may not be necessary, and a host of other meaningless things. A Realtor is a professional you cannot afford NOT to have represent you for a variety of legal and financial reasons. .

Offering to represent the buyer is like placing your money in their pocket. What are you thinking?

Of course Buyers Choice doesn't want to represent the seller! The gravy train is made on the buyer's end in the financing deals. Do you want to mess with that? Make sure the deal doesn't fall through; have a reputable Realtor make sure the client is pre-approved before touring your home. Eliminates things missing or break-ins at a later date. If a break-in should happen, your Realtor knows exactly whom to contact. How would you contact Buyers Choice to find out who had been through your home? They aren't going to provide any information - they are not representating you. Beware of them. You do not want to be involved in such a situation ever.

Re: An interesting Real Estate concept

Dash — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 06:53:21 GMT

@BirkiLady wrote:
Wouldn't risk working with Buyers Choice. Use either your bank for help or a reputable Realtor. Don't try to save a few dollars on such a large investment. It's the buyers who will win in the end . . . they will sock it to YOU with such things as repairs found during their inspection, financing fees which may not be necessary, and a host of other meaningless things. A Realtor is a professional you cannot afford NOT to have represent you for a variety of legal and financial reasons. .

Offering to represent the buyer is like placing your money in their pocket. What are you thinking?

Of course Buyers Choice doesn't want to represent the seller! The gravy train is made on the buyer's end in the financing deals. Do you want to mess with that? Make sure the deal doesn't fall through; have a reputable Realtor make sure the client is pre-approved before touring your home. Eliminates things missing or break-ins at a later date. If a break-in should happen, your Realtor knows exactly whom to contact. How would you contact Buyers Choice to find out who had been through your home? They aren't going to provide any information - they are not representating you. Beware of them. You do not want to be involved in such a situation ever.

I don't understand your issue. I researched Buyer's Choice. They are licenced realtors, but they only represent the buyers in the transaction. They do not list houses. In the OP's case, Buyer's Coice showed OP's home to a potential buyer. I assume the OP has her own listing agent. Buyer's agents are quite common.

Re: An interesting Real Estate concept

RealtyGal2 — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 07:50:08 GMT

Buyer Brokerages have been around since the eighties and even earlier in some states. A Buyer Broker is a reputable real estate agent just like a traditional agent that represents buyers and sellers.

In the old days the agent who listed the property represented the seller and the buyer's agent was a sub-agent of the listing agent and represented the seller as well. This all changed in the late eighties (in my state) because the courts were tired of litigating cases in which the buyers were not aware that they had no representation. Now, both the buyer and seller sign a document that discloses who is representing them.

Whether a buyer is using a Buyer Broker, who does not do listings, or a traditional real estate agent, who does both, but is representing the buyer in a particular transaction, the buyer is getting the same kind of representation. The only exception to this is if the traditional agents' company has the listing as well. In that case it may become a dual agency situation in which neither party is being represented, but both buyer and seller are to be treated fairly. Dual agency is very tricky from an agent's perspective.

I hope this clarifies some of the previous misinformation. My best advice to prospective buyers and sellers is to thoroughly read all documents and ask a lot of questions. It is the buyer's responsibility to learn as much as they can about the neighborhood (crime, traffic, noise such as air traffic, child predators, etc.) as well as having the home thoroughly inspected. Buyers should ask their lender questions as well and do some comparison shopping. Usually your realtor wil know of one or two honest lenders that will close your loan on time.

Re: An interesting Real Estate concept

Elom — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 10:56:02 GMT

Thank you all for the feedback on the buyers agent. I do have my home listed with a national firm but thought I needed to research this idea when I buy my next house. I think because of my situation, I better just stick to Plan A and a conventional realtor.

Re: An interesting Real Estate concept

KathyPet — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 12:34:00 GMT

There are many agents who advertise themselves as "buyer's agents". They purport to only represent the buyer but do they really? DOn't forget it the seller who is paying their commission. If push comes to shove during a real estate transaction and things might go down the tubes whose side do you really think the agent is going to take? The buyer who is paying the agent nothing or the seller?

Re: An interesting Real Estate concept

missy1 — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 13:14:05 GMT

I love it went the same Real Estate Firm gets the commissions for the buyer and seller of the same home.

Re: An interesting Real Estate concept

Dash — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 13:55:18 GMT

@Limbo4now wrote:
Thank you all for the feedback on the buyers agent. I do have my home listed with a national firm but thought I needed to research this idea when I buy my next house. I think because of my situation, I better just stick to Plan A and a conventional realtor.

Actually, when you buy you next house, you should choose a real estate agent who represents you, the buyer. They are "conventional realtors" in the sense that they are licenced real estate agents, but unlike traditional agents, these agents represent you, not the seller.

Re: An interesting Real Estate concept

Dash — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 14:01:03 GMT

@KathyPet wrote:
There are many agents who advertise themselves as "buyer's agents". They purport to only represent the buyer but do they really? DOn't forget it the seller who is paying their commission. If push comes to shove during a real estate transaction and things might go down the tubes whose side do you really think the agent is going to take? The buyer who is paying the agent nothing or the seller?

The funds for the commission come out of what the buyer pays at closing. The issue of who represents whom is a very important in terms of the legal duties the agent owes to the buyer. A seller's agent has legal duties only to the seller, the buyer has no legal recourse against the seller's agent, generally speaking.

Re: An interesting Real Estate concept

SahmIam — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 01:56:33 GMT

I haven't heard of them but have no issue using a Buyers Broker. That's what we used for our past few purchases. When I sold real estate, I worked ONLY as a buyer broker. If I every go back in to the field, I'll only work with buyers.

One of the nice things for a buyer from out of town is if their relocation office contracts with a local agency who has buyer brokers in their office. That was my gig and the number of relo packages I sent out....wow...hundreds-thousands of them. I know myself that moving to a new place you're terrified of buying somewhere you won't be happy. You're stressed, you're in a time crunch...it's not fun. A GOOD buyer broker can help relieve those issues with information, listings, etc sent ahead of time.

Good luck in selling your home! : )

Re: An interesting Real Estate concept

Elom — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 04:41:59 GMT

I have appreciated the suggestions and thoughts. Going forward they will help. First the house has to sell and I pray this is the last one I ever have to sell. Well I know it will be!!

Re: An interesting Real Estate concept

novamc1 — Mon, 24 Jul 2017 18:53:47 GMT

The seller seldom really pays the commission, no matter how the transaction goes down. And there is nothing modern or new about a company or an agent serving only buyers.

In reality, the buyer almost always pays all commission to both buying and selling agent via the contract price. Think about that for a while if you've ever bought or sold a home, and you will understand why and how this is true.

My husband and I are probably some of the few people I know who actually took money out of our own pocket back in the 1970s to pay a broker who represented us in the purchase of a home that we eventually found ourselves , which was being sold by its owner.

There is nothing new about "buyer agency". It is a very old concept of English common law, which forms the basis of a great deal of real estate law in general. It just wasn't understood and practiced CORRECTLY very often in the U.S. until state laws were passed and disclosure forms were created by lawyers so that buyers and sellers could understand and agree to who was representing whose best interests in a transaction.

There's a lot more that could be explained here, but I doubt anyone is very much interested in plowing through the complexities of who pays what (and actually knows they are doing it).

If in doubt, always consult a lawyer or an experienced real estate professional to fully and intelligently explain fiduciary duties and what each state requires of all parties under its individual real estate laws and regulations.