When I wrote about the new paradigm for real estate agents back in July, I promised to expand on why buyers truly need their own advocate in real estate purchases. The first thing to understand is that a “Buyer’s Agent” is different than merely a real estate licensee. In Colorado, real estate licensees are allowed to sell real estate without representing either party of the transaction, which is known as transaction brokerage. They represent the sale only. That is the default status in the absence of an agency agreement. The two agency agreements we use are, 1) The Exclusive Right-To-Sell Listing Contract, also known as the Listing Agreement, which grants the licensee the authority to represent a property seller in a fiduciary capacity, which is the same as an attorney’s responsibility to their client. And 2) The Exclusive Right-To-Buy Listing Contract, also known as the Buyer Agency, which grants the same fiduciary duties to an agent representing a buyer. The most hazardous scenario is an unrepresented buyer who is using the seller’s agent (wolf in sheep’s clothes) to “help” them buy the house. The risk is substantial in that scenario.
Representation aside for the moment, consider also that while the services of a listing agent are relatively evident in the marketing of the home and finding a ready, willing, and able buyer (and a LOT more), the services of a buyer’s agent are more subtle on the surface but every bit as critical to the process of helping a buyer to succeed effectively in their objective. That is not so much just to find a good house, although there is a good amount of value that’s provided in that process. But when a home is identified that meets the prospective buyer’s wants and needs, there is much yet to be known and much yet to be done before that home buyer attains the quiet enjoyment of their new house that they endeavored to make their home.
“Like what” you say. Okay, let’s get back to that. You surely would not go into a courtroom where the opposing party is represented by legal counsel, without a lawyer of your own who understands the language and what can be lost by not fully understanding what you’re up against. So, preparing an offer to purchase, including preparation of the many adjunct documents involved is much more likely to succeed with the savvy assistance of one who has been around that block many times. You could even involve an attorney and still not have the degree of experience and insight of an agent who has done this hundreds, if not thousands, of times and does this and only this as their full-time profession. A good buyer’s agent, and preferably a Realtor who has additional commitment and accountability to a strict code of ethics, will guide you to not only make a good contract with the seller, but to work through the many details of that contract with the least risk of losing the property or worse. Beyond the 24, small-print pages of the Contract To Buy And Sell Real Estate aka CBS, many types of disclosures and addendums will apply and they are different for every property. Overlooking one or more of the many, seemingly small details can cause you to lose the property or, heaven forbid, to obtain the property with many serious problems and no recourse. And countless problems can also arise amid the escrow period, causing great mental and emotional anguish, and financial loss.
I don’t wish to focus on the downside of not knowing or misunderstanding these intricacies but that IS the reality of what you hire a Buyer’s Agent to help you to avoid. To reframe it, the real benefit lies in all there is to be gained by being professionally and competently advised and represented. I often think of doing my job as that of a duck who is smoothly gliding across a glassy pond when beneath the surface his feet are paddling like the Dickens! I think I can speak for many professional real estate agents out there when I say that a great deal of our reward comes from helping our buyers successfully acquire that new home, building site, investment property, or commercial property as it may be, and enjoy these fruits that they have worked so hard to ultimately afford.
Short recap: There’s finding a good home and contracting to purchase it which occasionally requires more than one offer on more than one home; there’s navigating the contract documents and all of the contract obligations; interfacing with lenders, appraisers, title examiners, closers and transaction managers, and sometimes surveyors, well and septic contractors, and arborists, plus multiple types of inspectors, insurance providers, sometimes attorneys, city and county officials, homeowner associations, the seller’s agent and their broker, family members and more. When inspection issues arise, we know the most efficient and effective way of addressing them. And all of that says nothing about the various contractors that often become involved for repairs. When appraisal issues arise, we know how to manage them. When work needs to be done, we often know the best contractor. We are fully managing the 40-plus dates and deadlines involved so that everything moves along smoothly. And if we’re really good at what we do we even know how to manage the inevitable emotions that arise when those curveballs come out of left field or just when you’re struggling to fully comprehend all that’s happening. Buying a home is the largest investment most people will ever make and the gravity of that is never lost on a true real estate professional who earns every dollar of their professional fee, a fee which is discussed right up front and fully understood before services ensue.
As always, the KC Butler “Home” Team wishes all of you Happy Homes.
