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Buyers Agency

Hi I’m Max Schmidt a real estate Broker/Agent in Las Vegas Nevada. I have put together this video in order to help you understand why you need a written contract with an agent to represent your best interests before you start looking at real estate.  The agent that arranged for you to see this video and I feel that it is important that you understand that failing to get a Buyers agent can cost you Thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in many ways. Talk with the agent that made this video available to you and discuss the options available to you in your area concerning this important issue.

Now lets get started.

What is a Buyers Agent

As Buyers we all hate to be bound to anything. We have been taught that we can look freely in the market place and when we find what we want at the price we are willing to pay we can purchase it.  As Buyers we know that all salespeople represent the Sellers of the goods and not the Buyers and we understand this concept, right?  We have all done this for years with everything from cans of tuna fish to cars. If we don’t like the car salesperson and we are not getting the deal we want we can just go find another.  Same thing is true with real estate agents, right?

So why would I as a Buyer want to sign a contract that says I will only buy a peace of real estate through just this ONE specific Agent.  What if the agent doesn’t find what I need or want?   What if they don’t service my needs?  What if I as a Buyers want to go see property but the agent isn’t available right then?  Why would I want to lock myself  down with one agent? And besides all that, why would I want to obligate myself to pay a Buyers agents commission?  That seems crazy! Right?

Wrong! Real Estate is different and much more complex than buying that can of tuna or even a car. In today’s real estate market you need somebody under contract to represent YOU. If you fail to do this it can cost you thousands of dollars or more. You may also be surprised to find out that your freedom is not restricted in as many ways as you think.

Let’s look at a typical example of historic real estate sales.

The first thing you need to understand about real estate is that  historically Real Estate Agents have represented the Sellers NOT the Buyers in Real Estate Sales. If you wanted to buy a home you would  go out and see the homes in the newspaper at open houses. Or just drop by the model home at that new subdivision you always drive by.  The agent Sally that greets you is working for and will be paid by the Seller to secure a home purchaser for the highest and best price.  Now Agent Sally would always be nice to you and act concerned for your interests because she wants to secure you as a purchaser for her Seller with whom she has a contract. Because Agent Sally is NICE and you could tell she is interested in helping you, you tell her that you really love this house and that you thought it was a great deal. You also tell her that you have the down payment and closing costs  in savings but want the Seller contribute $5,000 to your closing costs so that you can do some additional landscaping before you move in. Agent Sally agrees to help you write an offer and writes in the offer that the Seller will contribute $5,000 to your closing costs. You sign the offer and leave it with Agent Sally to present to the Seller. You don’t need a Buyers Agent agreement right?

Agent Sally meets with the Seller. By legal obligation Agent Sally MUST tell the Seller ALL the information that she knows about you. You are just a Customer under the law and the Seller is Agent Sally’s contracted CLIENT. The Seller, as Sally’s client has a legal right to know everything about you the customer that she knows.  So Agent Sally tells the Seller that you have the cash for the down payment and closing costs but that you want to save $5,000 so that you can do some additional landscaping to the house. Agent Sally also tells that Seller that you the Buyer really love the house and will probably purchase it even if the Seller doesn’t contribute $5,000 towards closing costs. Only Agent Sally and the Seller know that he is desperate to sell as this is private information that Sally must keep from you by law. Agent Sally now writes a counter offer for the Seller.

  You the Buyer now meet with Agent Sally and she gives you the Sellers counter offer.  Agent Sally is very apologetic, but just could not get you what you wanted concerning the $5,000.  She explains that the home is still a wonderful deal and would be a shame if you passed it up. You could always improve it as you could afford to, and still have the home you wanted in the end.  You decide to sign the agreement but what you didn’t know is that you could have had the home for not just $5,000 less but maybe you could have saved money in other areas of the deal, if you had just had a Buyers Agreement signed with an Agent representing you!  You also didn’t know that the agreement between the Seller and Agent Sally provided for the Seller to pay the Buyers agent commission so you could have had an Agent represent you for free. But instead you choose to work with Sally the Sellers Agent  and because of that she got the Buyers agent commission as well as the Sellers agent commission and cost you $5,000 or more! But she was nice, right? Wouldn’t you be nice to a Buyer if you could double your income?
If you new that you just paid $5,000 to much for the property in CASH you would be angry and frustrated but you didn’t know so everything should be great, right?

What a Buyers Agent can do for you

If you had signed a Buyers agreement with Bill Buyers Agent then not only would he have helped you save the $5,000. He would have helped you with additional things that ultimately may have saved you a great deal more money. Some examples of this would be inspections and home warranties and possibly a great mortgage company. Bill Buyers Agent has lots of contacts and he is a source of some of the best people in their respective fields.  Your not full time in real estate, do you have all these contacts? You may be left with Agents Sally’s recommendations. Do you think she is representing you? If it cost her Seller $5 do you think she is going to help you? NO. Under the law she has to represent her client and that’s not you.

  Now if you had an agreement signed with Bill Buyers Agent he would have  counseled you about revealing information to outsiders. He also would have told you to tell other Sellers and their agents that you have a written agreement with him and that it would have to be honored by the Sellers.  This tells the Sellers agents that they must respect the previous contract that you have with your Buyers Representative or they could be liable for damages under the law.  Simply by notifying the Sellers or their Agents of this you now have the freedom to look all you want but also have a Buyers Agent to look after your best interests.  You have Bill Buyers Agent write the offer for you reserving your $5,000 for improvements. He also sees that the inspections, warranties, disclosures and all other paperwork are in and with the offer to purchase. Bill presents your offer to the Sellers and   sells them on you and your offer. He gets the Seller to agree to your terms.  He also helps represent you through the whole process all the way to closing and takes a great deal of pressure and responsibility off your shoulders. * He even delivers the keys!
Now because of Sally’s contract with the Seller, Bill is paid by the Seller, so you get represented for FREE. And best of all Bill helped you keep your $5,000 for landscaping and saved you even more money besides that!

We aren’t covering everything that Bill Buyers Agent can help you save as this would call for a much larger more detailed description than we have time for here.

At this point let’s review our list of original objections to signing a Buyers Agent Agreement.

1. Why would I want to obligate myself to pay a Buyers Agent commission? Because you will save more than it costs. Because usually (over 95% of the time) the Seller has already made arrangements to pay it in the listing commission. If you don’t have a Buyers Agent the Sellers agent will be paid that commission and you will not get it by way of a discount because it doesn’t allow for that in the terms of the Sellers listing agreement.
2. Why would I want to lock myself down with one agent? Because you need someone who knows real estate laws and can protect your interests and be your advocate.  YOU need someone in today’s real estate market that you can rely on to help you achieve your goals. You need professional representation to get you to closing.
3. What if I as a Buyers want to go see property but the agent isn’t available right then?  You are NOT locked down to your Agent. You still have your freedom but you have even more freedom because   if you find a property you already have someone to help you and represent you to get it at the right price and terms and protect your interests throughout the transaction!
4. What if they don’t service our needs?  Under the terms of a Buyers agreement a Buyers Agent is obligated to service your needs. A Buyers Agency Agreement creates a legal obligation for the Agent to perform specific services.   If they fail to do so you may ask for a termination of the agreement and then you are free to choose another agent. 
5. What if the agent doesn’t find what we need or want?  Sometimes Buyers Agents can’t find what you need or want. But that is why you and your Agent work together as a team to determine if your wants and needs are obtainable. Finding your new home is a TEAM effort. Sometimes you may find it before your Agent, but generally your Buyers agent sees far more homes than you do.  Besides finding the home is just the beginning of the process of disclosures, negotiating, re-negotiating, additional disclosures, inspections, re-negotiating, mortgage entitlement, title disclosures, warranties, insurance requirements, final inspections, escrow deadlines, closing document review, settlement and finally moving. A Buyers agent helps you with all these tasks and much more.
6. So why would I as Buyer want to sign a contract that says I will only buy a peace of real estate through just this ONE specific Agent. Because if you have not signed a legally binding Buyers Agency Agreement with an Agent before you start looking.  And you walk into a new home subdivision or an open house or call on a sign. You have just stepped into a mine field that could cost you thousands of dollars.  Did you know that in many States that if you are not under contract with a Buyers Agent before you view a property then the Buyers Agent cannot subsequently represent you if you want to make an offer on that property!  That could cost you many thousands of dollars. Get your Buyers Agent Agreement signed up front before you start looking and save yourself the hassle from other agents and a great deal of frustration, time and money.

We all by insurance because we know it protects us.  What you need to know about buying real estate is that a signed Buyers Agreement between you and your Agent protects you too.  It generally costs you nothing and can save you thousands of dollars and protect you through all the twists and turns of purchasing a peace of real estate.

Be a smart Buyer, hire a professional Buyers Agent to represent you.

Prudential Americana Group, Realtors®
Max Schmidt P.C. dba Max Schmidt
Broker/Salesman
871 Coronado Center Dr., suite 100
Henderson, Nevada 89052
 (702) 334-2200

Las Vegas Buyers Agent

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