There is another option. You can work with an exclusive buyer’s agent. They don’t list homes and specialize in working with buyers. Here are the benefits to working with an exclusive buyer’s agent;

-         They will always be your agent and they never switch

-         They will always work in your best interest to get you the best home at the best price and terms

-         They won’t have an incentive to “sell you “a home. Since they don’t list homes they don’t have an incentive for you to buy one home over another.

-         It doesn’t cost you anything extra. The seller will pay them and you get to have your own agent

I was representing a buyer who was in contract to buy a 1950’s ranch house with an older finished basement, complete with red shag carpet and cheap paneling brown paneling that was starting to peel off the walls. His plan was to gut the basement and refinish it. During the home inspection we actually saw live termites behind the paneling. Here is the fun part of just representing one side and simply trying to get them the best deal possible:

·        First we negotiated to have the seller treat the house for the termites. But because of the situation we got the superior treatment and an extended warranty.

·        To make sure there wasn’t any structural damage they totally gutted the basement. This saved my client money since they were going to gut it anyways. Now my client had a freshly treated house, an extended warranty and a gutted basement for no additional expense.

·        But the buyer also wanted me to do more. So at his request I told the listing agent, “Part of the value of the home was the finished basement. The price we negotiated included a finished basement and now it’s not.” The seller ended up crediting my buyer another $3,000 for the value of the finished basement.

If I was the listing agent I could never do or suggest most of these items. I would either have to remain neutral or be working only for the seller.

WHAT THEY AREN’T TELLING YOU: There are two phrases used by real estate agents that best describes their views of buyers. “Buyers are liars” and “you live to list”.

AN INSIDERS TIP;  When working  with an exclusive buyers agent you never have to worry about who’s side your agent is on. This guarantees you won’t have someone trying to sell you a home.