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What is a Buyer's Agent? How can they help you with your purchase?
As if the real estate buying process wasn't difficult enough to navigate you also have a lot of jargon to decipher to understand who is who and what do they do. You'll come across various terms for the different agents involved in a property transaction and, to keep it simple, here's a rundown of who's who:
- Listing Agent - solely represents the seller of the property and lists the property for sale. Also known as Seller's Agent.
- Buyer's Agent - solely represents the buyer of a property and, here's where it becomes a little counterintuitive, also known as the Selling Agent once a contract for purchase has been entered into. The thought process being that it is the Buyer's Agent who brought the buyer and actually "sold" the property.
- Transaction Broker - provides limited representation to either a buyer, seller or both in a transaction with no fiduciary obligations to either party. Fiduciary duties include full confidentiality, lawful obedience, loyalty and full disclosure. Dual agency is illegal in Florida as an agent cannot provide fiduciary responsibility to both the buyer and seller simultaneously. A Transaction Broker acts as an impartial intermediary to facilitate the transaction.
- Realtor® - a registered trademark term for a licensed real estate agent who is also a member of the National Association of Realtors ("NAR") and adheres to the NAR Code of Ethics; a higher standard of professional practice.
With the above in mind you can see a Buyer's Agent is just that; an agent who will solely represent you and owes a legal, fiduciary duty to you as their client. Once you have found an agent you trust, and are comfortable working with, it is worth considering entering into an Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Agreement. It costs you nothing (the Seller is still responsible for their commission) but you secure full representation from a professional working solely on your behalf to achieve the best possible purchase terms for you.
If you would like to have a no obligation chat please complete the above Buyer Form. We can then set up a time to talk about the type of property you are looking for, what you would like to achieve and how I can help. Selecting your agent representative is an important first step in your home buying journey. Let's talk and explore how we can work well together.