Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? Anytime someone puts something in front of me with a pen, my palms start to sweat a little. An agreement? With the word buyer in it??? Does that mean that I’m agreeing to buy something??? WAIT! I just wanted to look at that home, remember? I’m not ready to move into it yet! I have to sell my home first, I have to fix a few things in my home first. (Picture me running away)
Let’s clear up the Agency Agreement . Follow along…
First and foremost, the “Buyer’s Agency Agreement” is for YOUR protection if you even want to look at a home for sale. If I were queen for a day, I would probably change the wording of the form. Perhaps it would be “Buying Prospect” or “Looker”. You and I both know that if you are taking time from your busy schedule, and taking me away from my busy schedule to look at a home or two, you are going to buy when you find the right home for you, we just don’t need an official looking form to tell us so.
“Buyer’s Agency” and what it entails can be best cleared up with the form – Working With Real Estate Agents. The important thing to recognize is that if an real estate agent takes you to see a home and you haven’t signed an Agency Agreement before any of the information is presented to you, that real estate agent defaults to working for the seller. Let’s look at this scenario:
You, the “Looker”, have had your eye on a home for about 5 years now. Every time you drive by the home you know it’s the perfect home for your family, without even seeing the inside or knowing the condition of the home. You are in envy of the large wrap around front porch and the quaint flower garden protected by a picket fence. The neighborhood is well known to be fabulous and all the neighbors wave as you drive by (twice a week). By now, you are a regular fixture of the neighborhood.
One day, as you are on your semi-stalking mission, you see a for sale sign in the front yard. Your heart does a little leap in your chest and you’re suddenly thankful you kept my number in your mobile phone’s speed dial.
I know you love the home, because every time I speak with you or see you, it’s all you talk about. If I don’t have you sign the Buyer’s Agency Agreement before going to see the home, I’m obligated to tell the seller how much you love the home and how you would pay ANY asking price and more. I’m working for the seller, it’s my job. However, with a signed agency agreement, I’m obligated to keep all your secrets just that, secret. I’ll be working for you, working to get your dream home at a fair price with fair terms.
Now signing the aforementioned Buyer’s Agency Agreement doesn’t seem quite as daunting, does it?
One more thing to keep in mind, when you are working with a real estate agent (either buying or selling) your agent should be able to educate you on each and every form. A real estate professional should be able to competently answer any question you might have regarding any of many forms they are using.
Categories: Buy a Home in Wilmington NC, Relocating to Wilmington NC, Wilmington NC Real Estate Agency, Wilmington NC Real Estate Agents, Wilmington NC real estate listings, Wilmington Real Estate
posted by Karen on 12.29.10 @ 9:35 am | 0 comments

