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People get nervous when they sign stuff they don't want to bother to read. That is reasonable.
No one on the face of the earth comes "from a time before contracts."
No one. Not one mortal soul. Nowhere. No how.
jbiggs,
With an exclusive buyer's agency agreement in place, you had recourse against that agent for rolling over on you. Yes, proof would be an issue.
Without it, she was just doing her job, and recourse would have been moot.
Contracts do not make parties honest. They just offer parameters, obligations to both parties, and recourse to aggrieved parties.
Lack of a contract absolutely, definitely, does not create honesty either. It just removes documentation of understanding and limits recourse for perceived slights.
Great comfort to the victims to have someone whisper to them, "(Trust me.) Oh, we don't have to sign anything. (Just... Trust me.) "
Why do agents insist on lengthy, binding representation contracts? rmxcarol above has provided a very good reason why binding contracts are not needed.
Carol has offered one business strategy. Poor reasoning in my corner of the world, particularly if she is less than about 8,000 years old.
I would recommend that a buyer get an agent under contract ASAP, and never sign an agency agreement that does not include something like:
"Either party may terminate this agreement at any time prior to location of a suitable property."
And a lot of confusion from consumers would be eliminated if they would pay agency fees as they go, or up front, instead of loading them into the loan, or looking for free services.
Getting over that awkward hump would offer a lot of clarity into the relationships.
Carol has offered one business strategy. Poor reasoning in my corner of the world, particularly if she is less than about 8,000 years old.
I would recommend that a buyer get an agent under contract ASAP, and never sign an agency agreement that does not include something like:
"Either party may terminate this agreement at any time prior to location of a suitable property."
And a lot of confusion from consumers would be eliminated if they would pay agency fees as they go, or up front, instead of loading them into the loan, or looking for free services.
Getting over that awkward hump would offer a lot of clarity into the relationships.
Agreed. They protect buyers from unscrupulous agents and agents from unscrupulous buyers.
JBiggs, I offer a service guarantee that if I fail to perform they can void the Buyer Agency. I was #8 in my market of about 2100 agents on buyer sides closed in 2010 and never had a single one refuse to sign nor did a single one void the agency agreement. You say it's not transparent? With a buyer agency everything is spelled out and very transparent. If you think it isn't, perhaps you're just not hiring the right agents and hopefully you'll do a better job of interviewing next time.
You also said you want more agents like RmxCarol. Now I don't her and she may or may not be a fine agent. Her only statement on this thread is she doesn't use a buyer agency agreement (which would actually violate agency laws in SC and put her in a position to be sued). What, in your opinion, qualifies her as a good agent based on that one comment? It has nothing to do with skill, knowledge, morals, work ethic, or consumer protection yet you feel it makes her a good agent? I'd just like to understand how you feel it makes her a good agent.
Why would I commit hours of time and money to some who won't make a commitment back to me?
Hours of time and money? Are you kidding me? You mean running a 5 minute search on the MLS and meeting me to unlock some doors? This is the arrogance I am talking about.
If you realestate agents want loyalty you need to communicate better what you are doing for the buyer. My experience with agents has been throw some MLS links at me and meet me for an open house. Then let's write up an offer. Give me a break.
I think, based on the statements you're making and giving you the benefit of the doubt, you may be confused about the purpose of a buyer's agent. If you actually looked at the buyer's rep agreement that you were asked to sign, just like any contract between two parties, it most likely spelled out the responsibilities and privileges of each party and what services the buyer's agent is providing, which go WAY beyond "five minutes on the MLS" for even the most minor of cases. The lion's share of the work STARTS once the house is found, but any given buyer can be anything from one day looking at homes (with someone who really does know what they want instead of just thinks they do - more people than you would imagine fall into that later category and the procedure of them figuring it out can take many days of showing) to someone who takes a couple of years to make a decision during which time you're taking them out often and not making a penny.
The risk is all on the buyer's agent's side, you do realize? They are giving you, up front, their time and expertise and money spent on gas (not just when they're out with you but when they're previewing homes, etc.) and MLS fees and all the other things needed to stay in business, and they only get paid IF and when you find a home you like and actually close on it. If you change your mind six months down the road, if you turn out not to be as financially solvent as you claimed and they didn't make you get a pre-approval letter before putting you in the car, if you simply change your mind about buying, they're out all that expense and time that could have been spent with an actual paying client.
So, if you're so terrified of commitment that you have to denigrate an entire profession and badmouth the very idea of using one person as your agent and signing an agreement to that effect (and many agreements, and agents, do have a "get out of jail free" clause included that will let either party - yes, agents can, and do, decline to work with particular clients, bet you didn't realize that, did you? - get out of the agreement under specific conditions), how on earth are you going to commit to actually purchasing a house? You have to sign paperwork then, too, you know, and it's a heck of a lot scarier than a buyer's rep agreement!
Hours of time and money? Are you kidding me? You mean running a 5 minute search on the MLS and meeting me to unlock some doors? This is the arrogance I am talking about.
If you realestate agents want loyalty you need to communicate better what you are doing for the buyer. My experience with agents has been throw some MLS links at me and meet me for an open house. Then let's write up an offer. Give me a break.
You always have the choice to go it alone, but you have no idea what an agent really does.
I'm sure there is some value in having a buyer's rep, but it's not 3% of the value of the home I'm buying. I have been involved in multi-million dollar commercial real estate deals, and some of those brokers earned every penny, but none of them took a 3% scrape.
As far as "wasting" one's time showing homes to a prospective client, that's the cost of doing business. You're a sales person, and you must show people some value before they sign a contract with you.
Hours of time and money? Are you kidding me? You mean running a 5 minute search on the MLS and meeting me to unlock some doors? This is the arrogance I am talking about.
If you realestate agents want loyalty you need to communicate better what you are doing for the buyer. My experience with agents has been throw some MLS links at me and meet me for an open house. Then let's write up an offer. Give me a break.
If this is your experience and your belief then you are fine in not signing any kind of buyer agency agreement, but just know that you haven't met a really good buyer agent during your experience house hunting though.
You can think it is arrogance, but buyers take a lot of time. You don't think so, but they really do. As such, most agents, that actually want to make money, have to pick and choose their buyers carefully. One of the ways to screen out less serious buyers is buyer agency agreements. I know I can only work with 4-6 actively looking buyers at any one time. I can't take on more than that otherwise I can't give them good service. As such, I want buyers that are committed to working with me so I know that one of my "buyer spots" is with someone that I will close a transaction with me at some point in the future.
You have a choice. You don't have to sign anything and you will find an agent to open a door, fill out paperwork and get you to closing. That might be the right choice for you. Other consumers might want to work with an agent that actually advises them. These agents are fewer and farther between in the real estate pool. Most of them will require some kind of buyer agency agreement.
You can always negotiate the terms of the buyer agency agreement. Mine allow either party to cancel at any time. I have many clients that are attorneys and they have zero trouble signing it. Just because you are asked to sign an agreement it doesn't mean anything horrible. If you find an agent you like and you don't like the terms of their agreement then negotiate it.
I'm sure there is some value in having a buyer's rep, but it's not 3% of the value of the home I'm buying. I have been involved in multi-million dollar commercial real estate deals, and some of those brokers earned every penny, but none of them took a 3% scrape.
As far as "wasting" one's time showing homes to a prospective client, that's the cost of doing business. You're a sales person, and you must show people some value before they sign a contract with you.
In my area, million dollar listings don't give 3%. The commission tends to go down as the home price goes up. At least in my area.
Hours of time and money? Are you kidding me? You mean running a 5 minute search on the MLS and meeting me to unlock some doors? This is the arrogance I am talking about.
If you real estate agents want loyalty you need to communicate better what you are doing for the buyer. My experience with agents has been throw some MLS links at me and meet me for an open house. Then let's write up an offer. Give me a break.
Geez.. Tell that to the couple I was out with today. Been working with them for 5 months showing houses and working with a lender to get their credit cleared so they could qualify for the kind of house they wanted. Started looking at the 130K range and nothing in town was right for them. They now qualify for 175K and I think I found them the house they want today. They appreciate that I treated them with respect and patience. I have not pushed them but laid out all the pluses and minuses of each choice. When we finally get them into the house of thier dreams I bet we get a customer for life and a few referrals to boot. You need to find the right kind of buyers agent.
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