An Exclusive Buyer's Agent Offers Protection, Loyalty, and Expertise
The concept of Exclusive Buyer Representation is fairly new to the Long Island area and many people ask me, "so how are you different from a traditional agent?"
The benefits of working with an Exclusive Buyer's Agent (EBA) are many:
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Brian Gumbel of Today's Money interviews Jean Shatzky from Smart Money about the different types of real estate agents. |
Only an Exclusive Buyer's Agent (EBA) can GUARANTEE to represent only you in your home purchase and negotiate only for you.
An EBA provides the true facts as to value, market/neighborhood conditions, and obvious physical defects. The high level of negotiation training and expertise of an EBA truly levels the playing field during the negotiation process.
Any information you provide to your EBA is always kept confidential and never provided to the seller (with a traditional agent, all your information must be provided to the seller).
Prior to negotiating, we give you our opinion of value for the home and discuss negotiating strategies. We then negotiate to get the home at the price you want to pay.
An EBA will recommend that the buyer utilize a qualified home inspector.
Listing agents (the ones with the "For Sale" sign in the front yard) and the company that they work for represent the SELLER, not the buyer. Their job is to get the SELLER the highest price on the best terms.
An EBA's job is to get the BUYER the lowest price on the best terms.
EBAs will do a better job for transferees than anyone else. They will give you the facts, good and bad. A listing agent cannot tell you about many things that would be detrimental for the BUYER because they work for the SELLER.
EBA's have a legal and ethical obligation to put your interests first!
First Step – Who Works For You?
Choosing the Right Agent = Buying a Better Home.
Buying a home is much more complicated than appears on the surface. Most people think that all they have to do is walk into any real estate office, see some homes, make an offer, get financing and close. I wish it were that simple, but it is not.
The choice of a real estate agent to work with is your first challenge. In New York State you have choices.
- You can work with a real estate firm who works for the seller only.
- You can work with a real estate firm who works for the buyer only.
- You can work with a real estate firm who works for both sellers and buyers.
Home buyers should understand that it does matter who your agent is working for. When an agent is working for you, that agent is required to protect your interests, keep your information confidential, investigate and report back to you any information you need to make an informed intelligent decision and answers all your questions in a way that help you, not anyone else. Your agent owes you complete loyalty.
You have a choice, you can work with a real estate agent who represents you and owes you 100% loyalty as their CLIENT, or you can work with the agent as a CUSTOMER, and the agent only owes you HONESTY. Most home buyers fall into CUSTOMER status.
If you, as a buyer, choose to work with an agent working for the seller, that agent owes all the above duties to the seller and is actually working against you while helping the seller achieve their goal (i.e. more money for their home). Your choice of an agent will determine how much extra money you will spend, or how much money you will save on your purchase.
In addition, there are always at least two answers to every real estate question. You want your agent to give you the answer that helps you, not the seller, always. You should never feel as if you did not get the full answer, that something was missing or that the answer didn't really fit the question.
Your goal should be to build a team of people you can rely on to always suggest and recommend what is best for you. These should be people you can trust to always work in your best interest.
| Testimonial As most first-time homebuyers will come to realize, purchasing a new home can be quite a daunting and arduous experience. Those apprehensions can be laid to rest if you decide to work with Ira. While searching for an apartment, Ira worked diligently to send us property listings that were within our price range and in the neighborhoods that we were interested in buying. And when we saw listings that piqued our interest, Ira would set up appointments for us to view the properties. During the property viewings, Ira would meticulously point out the pros and cons of the unit, which we thought was very helpful as well as insightful. Ira coached us and educated us on the entire homebuying process. We are certain, that without his help, we would not have been able to successfully purchase a new home that we absolutely love. It is very difficult to find an honest and reliable buyer's broker that looks out for the buyer's interest, but Ira does it all. And since Ira is an exclusive buyer's broker, he works only for the buyer. There is no need to worry about conflict of interest as is the case with many real estate brokers out there. It was such a pleasure to work with him and we highly recommend him. — Silver & Jackson L., Kew Gardens |
In my opinion, home buyers always get screwed, so I need your help. . .
As an Exclusive Buyer Agent, I love
helping people find a better home
at the price they want to pay.
But there's a problem. . .
Many home buyers have never even heard of an Exclusive Buyer Agent. In the past, they have chosen a real estate agent based solely on the agent's listings or company name. That would be a big mistake!
Buyers don't know what representation mean unless you have an agreement that the agent works for you. The Real Estate Agent only owes you the duty of honesty while he owes his client (the seller) loyalty, confidentiality, and the obligation to research and to disclose everything. In New York State, if you don't have an agreement that the agent works for you, the agent works for the opponent.
One of my goals is to educate home buyers on the benefits of working with an Exclusive Buyer Agent. Another goal is to have a homeowner never say to me, "I wish I had met you before I bought my home!"
An Exclusive Buyer Agent will:
- Represent the Buyer and work 100% with the Buyer and not the Seller
- Disclose pertinent information and point out the pros and cons of interested properties
- Negotiate with the Seller and the Seller's Agent to obtain the best price and terms for the Buyer
- Guide you, advise you and protect you throughout the entire home-buying process
- Provide complete loyalty and confidentiality
I'm currently putting the finishing touches on an E-book to help home buyers avoid making 13 common mistakes when buying a home. Some of these mistakes include:
- Making the Wrong Offer
- Working With the Wrong Agent
- Choosing the Wrong Lawyer
- Telling Your Real Estate Agent Everything
To be sure I've included everything, I need to ask you a favor. Would you please tell me. . .
What is Your Most Burning Question
About the Home Buying Process?
Please ask me the question below, and when the E-book is done, I'll send you a copy free of charge. How's that for a great deal!