Episode 26: Listen Up Homebuyers – What is an Exclusive Buyers Agent?

Episode Summary

What is an Exclusive Buyers Agent? Rich Rosa the President of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents talks with Victoria Ray Henderson. What is the difference between a buyer’s agent and an exclusive buyer’s agent? What is designated and dual agency in real estate?

Episode Notes

On this episode of Listen Up Homebuyers! We talk about exclusive buyer agents. What is an exclusive buyer brokerage? How is this different from traditional real estate brokerages?

Rich Rosa is co-founder and co-owner of Buyers Brokers Only, LLC, an exclusive buyer agent real estate firm with offices throughout the Greater Boston area, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Rich is the president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents. He talks with Victoria Ray Henderson, a broker with The Buyer Brokerage in McLean Virginia.

1:00 How does the real estate industry work? There are buyers and sellers and sellers hire listing agents to sell their homes. Buyers can hire a buyer’s agent. There are different types of buyer agents. So there are buyers, sellers, listing agents, and buyer agents.

1:03 How does the real estate system work? There are buyers and sellers. There are listing agents and buyer agents.

1:57 Most traditional real estate firms focus on getting listings. They have agents that represent both buyers and sellers. This is dual agency and it happens with either a single agent working with both seller and buyer or two agents in the same brokerage working with a buyer client and a seller client.

2:45 Designated agency is when two agents in the same brokerage represent a buyer client and a seller client

3:34 more on designated agency when the broker designates one agent to represent the seller and one to represent the buyer

4:12 What is a buyer’s agent?  Found in traditional real estate brokerages you could be buying a home where a listing agent is representing the seller.

4:50 Exclusive buyer agents only represent home buyers. They work with brokerages that do not represent sellers and therefore avoid the potential conflict of interests that arises when you are buying a house listed by the brokerage where someone is representing the seller.

6:20 When a brokerage can have both the buyer and listing agent commissions in-house

7:04 An example of the conflict of interest in real estate transactions

7:30 this type of representation in law is illegal -not allowed due to the conflict of interest

8:05 Why avoid dual and designated agency?

9:01 The listing agent is obligated to get the highest price and best terms for their client, the seller

9:30 Have an experienced agent who will ask questions and look out for homebuyers

10:25 Advice for people attending an open house-don’t tell the person there anything about your personal needs

10:48 If you have an agent, tell the person at the open house you are represented.

11:25 Ask questions but don’t get into why you like the house etc.

12:20 What is a fiduciary? A term used in the financial industry and means that person is obedient to you the homebuyer, duty to disclose, 100 loyal to you the homebuyer

13:00 In-house bonuses for agents to sell their brokerage listings

13:50 Working with a friend who works for a traditional brokerage-same situation as not working with a friend. The conflicts of interest are still there in these situations

14:40 Do your research, interview agents, find someone who won’t be afraid to tell you not to buy a house.

Episode Keywords