The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA) has opened a service to provide home buyers with a listing of Exclusive Buyer Agents in their area. As buyers get more savvy about the reasons to hire a real estate agent, they are searching for someone who will represent them, negotiating for them throughout the transaction, rather than simply someone who will find them a house. Exclusive Buyer Agencies never take listings nor represent sellers and therefore, don’t have any vested interest in any homes for sale so they will remain on the buyer’s side throughout the transaction negotiating the best price and terms possible.
As an organization whose mission is to “protect the interest of real estate consumers,” this was a natural next step. According to NAEBA President Chris Whitehead, “Our national headquarters often receives phone calls or emails from home buyers who are unhappy with their real estate agent. One of the most common complaints is that their agent is only showing them homes listed with their agent’s brokerage. We know that won’t happen if their agent is an Exclusive Buyer Agent.”
This service is completely free to the consumer. After providing some basic information on their website, www.naeba.org, home buyers are provided a list of all Exclusive Buyer Agents, or in the few areas of the U.S. where there are no Exclusive Buyer Agents, other agents who match their criteria. “Unfortunately, there are some areas of the country where there aren’t Exclusive Buyer Agents,” says Executive Director Kimberly Kahl, CAE. “In those cases, we have contracted with brokerages who appear to have buyers’ interests at heart by holding buyer-centric certifications and designations or who agree to fully represent buyers referred by us. This way, we’ve at least taken some of the ‘leg work’ out of researching agents.”
Beginning on June 9, buyers will be able to receive a list of agents if there is a match within minutes of their online request 24/7 through an automated system; however, as a small organization, NAEBA will still provide a personal touch. Adds President Whitehead, “Our phones are still answered by a real person during daytime hours seven days a week. You won’t have to punch a whole bunch of numbers to get your questions answered.”