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Of course you should have your own agent! Buyers agents are a relatively new feature on the real estate landscape and many people just don't understand what they are about. A lot of people have an irrational fear of real estate agents that is extraordinarily counter-productive. In the "old days" (before buyers agency) all agents worked for the seller (even the agent who drove buyers around was contractually obligated to work in the seller's best interest). Buyers didn't usually really understand this relationship so they frequently didn't even realize that they were on their own to look out for their best interests. (This is probably part of the reason why so many people are afraid of real estate agents to this day.) Nowadays, though, buyers are able to enter into a contractual relationship of their own with an agent whose duty is then to work on their behalf and to make certain that their interests are represented. Consequently, unless you are already a real estate expert, you should absolutely, positively have an agent of your own to help you through the process. Buying a home is not as easy as buying a pair of shoes (or even a car!). There are a lot of steps to the process and a lot of regulatory issues that must be handled properly to ensure that ownership of the house is legally transferred and there are no title issues in the future. Having someone who understands the process and is looking out for your interests is both valuable and generally very comforting. A good buyers agent participates in many transactions over the course of a year. Not only does she stay informed about legal issues regarding the purchase and sale of real estate, but she has up-to-date information about market conditions, neighborhoods, and (many times) special opportunities that may not be apparent to the general market. And of course, it is extremely helpful to have a professional helping you negotiate the purchase. Real estate prices are dynamic -- market demand can change from month-to-month and even week-to-week at times. Agents have access to up-to-date information regarding home sales and a wealth of experience both with pricing and with negotiating strategy. So you will be well served to make use of that kind of experience to your benefit because you can bet that the seller will make use of his agent's expertise. I tend to think about a home purchase transaction in the same way as a divorce. In a perfect world perhaps there would be no need for divorce lawyers and every couple could work out an equitable arrangement on their own that would leave all parties satisfied. In reality, that's rarely possible. The stakes are too high and there's too much emotion involved. Buying and selling a home is very similar. Not only is a home generally the biggest investment a person makes, but there is often a very emotional component to it. People become sentimentally attached to their homes and even when they want to sell, that attachment can get in the way during negotiations. In these situations it really helps to have a professional agent on each side of the transaction. They are not emotionally involved and have the benefit of both experience and perspective. But won't I have to pay more if I have my own agent? Generally, the answer is "no". In Georgia, the seller sets the commission that is being offered to both the agent who represents the seller and the agent who represents the buyer when he originally lists the house. The listing agent then advertises the amount of commission that is being offered to the agent who procures the buyer. That is all figured into the sales price and is a contractual obligation of the seller (that's why all agents used to be contractually obligated to the seller). Regardless of whether or not you have an agent representing your interests, the seller is contractually obligated to pay the commission he agreed to. If you don't have an agent, then the seller's agent will receive the entire amount of the commission (unless that agent and the seller agreed to some discount in the case of an unrepresented buyer -- in which case the savings will go to the seller, not you). However, if you have your own agent representing you, the commission being offered by the seller is split between the listing agent and your agent. Your agent is then compensated from the seller's proceeds at the closing. There are rare cases in which you could owe your agent a commission. The most common would be if you decide to buy a house that is being sold by owner and the seller refuses to pay your agent a commission. In that instance, you would be obligated to pay your agent the agreed upon commission over and above the price of the property. This is not a common occurence however. Most FSBOs (for sale by owner) are willing to pay a commission to the agent who brings them a buyer -- they just don't want to pay a commission to an agent to list and market their home. Can't I just work with the listing agent? Well, sure, you can, but it's REALLY not in your best interest, so why on earth would you want to do that? When an agent takes a listing, she signs a contract with the seller guaranteeing that she will work exclusively on the seller's behalf. Virtually any listing agent will be happy to fill out your paperwork for you if you choose not to have an agent to represent you because she will receive the full amount of the commission for that home rather than having to share it with an agent who would be working on your behalf. But that doesn't mean that she is working in your best interest. Any agent has an obligation to be truthful regarding the condition of the house, etc. but unless she is YOUR agent, she doesn't have any obligation to advise you on whether you're paying too much for a house, help you with negotiations, or see to it that your needs are met in any way during the negotiations and through the closing. In fact she is legally prohibited from doing any of those things because that would violate her contract with the seller, and her sole duty is to protect the seller's interests. In Georgia (unlike many other states), it is also legal for agents to practice "dual agency." In such a case, the agent serves as more of an arbitrator working with both sides. The level of duty is much higher in this situation than if the agent is only working for the seller, but the agent still cannot use her knowledge of one party against the other party. Although dual agency is legal and sometimes works fine, there are often problems. Either the buyer or the seller will feel like the agent is "really" working more in the best interest of the other party. Unless everyone has a lot of faith in everyone else and in the process, things can get ugly really fast and an entire transaction can fall to pieces leaving everyone feeling angry and betrayed. By far the easiest solution is to work with your own buyers agent. By the way, although dual agency is legal in Georgia, I don't personally believe that it is in the best interest of either party so I don't enter into dual agency situations. But what exactly does a buyers agent do? A buyers agent will work with you from the beginning of your home search to help you quantify your needs and get you started properly by making sure you get pre-approved for a loan and so have a very specific and realistic idea of the price range in which you should search. Internet-savvy agents (like me!) will set you up with a "client gateway" that will automatically search the multiple listing service every day for listings meeting your criteria and present them to you on a personalized web site so you always have up-to-date information about available homes that meet your needs. Searching for homes is usually very time-consuming, so a good buyers agent will preview properties for you to make sure that they really do meet your needs. Nobody knows better than I do that what you see online may look MUCH different than it does in person. Your agent will help weed out the homes that don't suit you, so you have a higher quality selection to choose from when you actually go out to look at properties in person. Once you find the home you want, your agent will research recent sales of comparable homes in that area to ensure that the price you offer is appropriate to current market conditions. She will also help you with other aspects of your offer and will negotiate on your behalf. Once you are under contract, your agent will work with you to make sure that the contractual obligations under the purchase agreement are met in a timely manner and will assist you through the closing process. Your agent serves as a guide to the local market, an advocate working for your interests, and an impartial sounding board offering advice to help you get the best house to meet your needs and budget (and with an eye to the investment potential and future saleability). And she does all this generally at no cost to you! What's not to love? What to look for in a buyers agent In my opinion, there are 2 really crucial factors in a buyers agent. First, she needs to have experience helping buyers through the process. And second, she needs to be very familiar with the part of town where you are interested in buying. Atlanta is a very large, rambling metropolitan area. It's not "one" market. It's hundreds of little markets all smushed together. If you have an agent who lives and works in Alpharetta negotiating the purchase of your Midtown condo you are not going to be as well represented as if you have an agent who is intimately familiar with the Midtown condo market. Conversely if you work with an intown agent and you are actually looking for a home in Alpharetta, you will be just as poorly served. A lot of agents will disagree with this. They will be happy to tell you that they can show you homes anywhere in the metro area. And of course, they can "show you homes". But that's just not all there is to the process and there is a level of expertise that comes with true familiarity with the micro-market that it is simply in your best interest to take advantage of. This is not to say that you need to have an agent who is so narrowly focused that they only work in a specific subdivision (if you could even find one), just that you'll do better if you have a general idea of where you want to live (intown home or condo versus a house in the outlying suburbs; east side of the city versus west or north or south) and then find an agent who is highly familiar with that part of town. If you are certain that you want a condo in Midtown, that is a very specialized market and it pays to work with an agent who is a true expert (versus agents who sell condos occasionally). There are thousands of agents in the Atlanta area and it's important to make sure you work with one who will really be able to help you. Because you are likely to be spending a good deal of time with your agent -- both in person while viewing properties as well as on the phone and by e-mail, it is also nice to find an agent whose personality is a good match for yours and who has strong communication and organizational skills. The other side of the coin: What your agent has the right to expect from YOU There's a well-known adage in real estate: "Buyers are liars." This applies to many situations. Sometimes a buyer will insist that he or she absolutely, positively wants a certain kind of home, and after you spend weeks researching and showing them dozens of homes meeting those parameters they decide that's not really what they want. That's not so much lying, of course, as simply not knowing what you want. It is in everyone's best interest if you give as much information as possible to your agent at the very beginning of the process about what you truly NEED in a home as well as what you WANT. Then work with the agent to check out a variety of homes that will meet your needs (and hopefully your wants too) to narrow your options efficiently. Remember, your agent may have great ideas but she needs you to effectively communicate both what you need and want AND what you like and dislike about various options presented so that she can help you zero in on the perfect house. This is sometimes hard for buyers because the irrational fear they have of agents tends to make them nervous about disclosing information. However, I am not aware of any psychic real estate agents in the Atlanta market so until one of those pops up, you'll do best to be communicative and realistic in what works for you. And remember as long as you are working with your own buyers agent, she is contractually obligated to work in your best interest. (Of course, if you are in a situation where you are not represented by your own agent then you are quite right to keep your mouth shut around the seller's agent!) Buyers also often have an unrealistic idea of what they can afford and they may also have other "skeletons in the closet" that pull the rug out from under a deal before it closes (for instance, they're in the middle of a divorce or bankruptcy or they are in danger of being laid off from work). This is upsetting to everyone. Remember, your agent is spending lots of time working for you with only the distant promise of getting paid eventually if the she can actually find you a house and it closes. She wants you to find a house and she wants it to close. Everybody wins if you take the time to get your financial house in order, get pre-approved, and let your agent know up front if there are any financial or legal issues that might impede your ability to successfully purchase a house. Many things can be dealt with from the beginning so long as everyone is aware of the situation. Then, of course, there are those people who are secretly working with multiple agents. They are, in effect, milking each of them for their time and expertise perfectly aware of the fact that only one will ever get paid for their efforts. I would be interested to know how many of these people would react favorably to this situation in their job? ("Okay, Bob, Ethel, Tito, and Yuki, I want each of you to spend the next 40 hours working on this project and after you're all done, I'll decide which one of you gets paid for it.") I don't think it would go over terribly well (especially if the boss didn't mention that only one was getting paid from the beginning!). So here's the deal. If you want to "try out" an agent, just let him or her know, up front, that you are not willing to commit to work exclusively with him or her and that you are, in fact, actively working with another agent (or agents). If the agent is okay with that, fine. If not, at least they know up front and they don't waste a lot of time and effort and possibly lose out on other business for which they actually will be compensated. |
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How I can help you I am a marketing specialist and I primarily work as a listing agent. Generally speaking, I only work with buyers who are looking in the "greater Emory area" on the northeast side of Atlanta. However, I'm also an Atlanta native and a super-duper internet whiz so if you have an idea what you want (and can afford) to buy and the general area where you want to live, I will be happy to create an internet gateway for you to help you start your search. If you have questions about the area (particularly the intown neighborhoods to the east of the city from Midtown to Decatur), I will be happy to answer them if I can (or find out the answer for you if I can't). I will work with you to get you started so you can begin narrowing down the possibilities. Once you start zeroing in and are ready to actually start viewing houses in person, if you end up focusing your search on another part of town, I will refer you to an agent who specializes in the area where you are searching. I will make sure that the agent I refer you to has market knowledge about the area where you want to buy as well as the experience to negotiate on your behalf and guide you through the process. Get started by completing this form so that I'll can get a good idea of what you're looking for. |
