Buyer’s Choice Realty blog

In Massachusetts any real estate company that lists property and represents sellers and also represents buyers in the purchase of one of the company’s listings is in Dual Agency. That means the brokerage firm has a conflict of interest. In our state it could be called either Dual Agency or Designated Agency depending on the office policy of the real estate company. Dual Agency recognizes the conflict and limits the level of service to both clients.

In a Designated Agency company both agents are allowed to represent their respective seller and buyer clients without being a Dual Agent. However, they are still in a dual agency transaction and their broker is considered a Dual Agent. The real estate company still profits more when a higher purchase price is negotiated. This also benefits the seller. But where does that leave the buyer?

Some Buyer Agents in Designated Agency offices think of themselves as Exclusive Buyer Agents. But by definition an Exclusive Buyer Agents works for an office that does not take listings of any kind and represents only buyers. The National Association of REALTORS defines Exclusive Buyer Agency as “the practice of representing only buyers, and never sellers in a transaction. The company never lists a seller’s property and thus never has a seller as a client.”

Any company that represents both sellers and buyers runs the risk of dual agency. Designated Agency is the primary choice for real estate companies in Massachusetts. Any Buyer’s Agent representing a purchaser in a buying a company listing is in Dual Agency.

Most true Exclusive Buyer’s Agents belong to NAEBA (National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents). What kind of office does your Buyer’s Agent work in? Are they members of NAEBA?

Ronn Huth 800 25-BUYER

A very dear Exclusive Buyer’s Agent and friend since 1989 died this past Monday. Her funeral service was today at 4:00 EST. I first met Becky Swann at an NAR convention in 1989 before I had established myself as an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent. Becky was part of a group called Buyer’s View and a handful of us met with her at that convention to talk about how much buyer advocacy is needed in real estate. That was a time when no one was representing home buyers. The entire industry was focused only on seller representation. Becky was a vital part of NAEBA in the early years.

Becky founded IRED, The International Real Estate Directory. Becky and IRED have gotten many accolades over the years. Some of you may remember that Pat Rioux, another good friend and one-time manager of our Buyer’s Choice Andover Office, was a writer for IRED for a number of years.

One of our Dallas friends, Earle Rawlins, conferenced with a small group of us after the funeral service and shared the experience with us. Earle was the first in the country to open a Buyer’s Resource office. That was the franchise that Buyer’s Choice belonged to for a number of years.

Becky’s niece is an ordained minister and shared the eulogy which was very uplifting. In our conference call we celebrated Becky’s life and shared the fun experiences we had together. During one of the conventions in Dallas Becky was driving a group of us around in her RV. She ran right over a curb and when we mentioned it she laughed so hard we weren’t sure we would arrive anywhere safely. (People shouldn’t laugh and drive. LOL)

Anyway, she was another one of the early pioneers in our EBA movement. Inman wrote a brief article on Becky. Here is the link http://www.inman.com/news/2011/03/25/becky-swann-real-estate-web-pioneer-dies

Here is a link to the on-line guest book if you would care to see a few comments written. Visit Guest Book

I just got back from the NAEBA annual convention in Tucson, Arizona. One of the featured speakers was Dick Betts. Dick says that real estate agents will need as many places to reach the consumer as possible and the essential resource to service them is in the palm of their hands. It’s not just a Smart Phone; it’s a Super Phone.

Imagine consumers finding the specific properties they want to see and calling you to be their Buyer’s Agent to show them the property. Oh, by the way they have already driven by the property and read the the QR barcode on the yard sign with their mobile barcode reader and gotten a lot of detail already, including a virtual tour.

You confirm the showings with the Listing Agent and without ever printing out a listing sheet, when your arrive at the property you hand your new client your iPad which opens the listing sheet and all the public and a lot of proprietary information they want to see.

The out-of-town buyer you have been in touch with decides they want to walk through a number of the listings you have sent them. They are still on the other coast, but want you to set up an appointment and Skype the walk through with them so they can pause to ask you specific questions, and focus in on things that interest them just as though they are right there with you. Actually, visually and audibly they are!

All of this is available today; we don’t need to wait, the future is now. You can retrieve any mandatory disclosures, offer forms, etc. on your mobile device, send them to the buyer on the other coast or for the local buyer, print them out on any printer anywhere including the one in the trunk of your car. When the offer is completed and signed by the buyer you scan it with your mobile device and send it immediately to the Listing Agent.

Got a lot of catching up to do? Me too. For the return plane trip I had no way to print out my boarding pass. But just for a quick test I downloaded the JotNot app into my iPhone, pulled up the boarding pass on my lap top, scanned it with JotNot. I now had a paperless boarding pass that the airline’s bar code reader could read and grant me entry to the plane. Mobile Cloud Technology! Thanks Dick Betts.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently updated their helpful Settlement Cost Booklet, a publication aimed at helping consumers shop for a home loan. This resource also provides basic tips about the entire home buying process.

In the ‘Shopping for a House’ section, a necessary update has finally happened: HUD mentions the importance of hiring a real estate agent who actually works for you.

“It is your responsibility to search for an agent who will represent your interests in the real estate transaction. If you want someone to represent only your interests, consider hiring an “exclusive buyer’s agent”, who will be working for you. “

Please visit the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA) press release to learn more about why this is such an important step for the government to take, and see a few reasons why consumers will realize and experience tremendous benefits if they hire an EBA to represent them in any real estate transaction.

Click here to download a free copy of Shopping for Your Home Loan - HUD’s Settlement Cost Booklet

Ben Clark will be leading NAEBA in 2010. If you are unaware, all members of NAEBA work exclusively on behalf of real estate buyers. I encourage you to help me welcome Ben to the role of President of this organization, and take a moment to read some of his salient thoughts about our side of the industry.

Here is what the man himself has to say: I’ll be President-Elect through all of 2009 in preparation for 1 year as President in 2010 and 1 year as Immediate Past President in 2011.

Also, I view the postition of President to be “Chairman of the Board” which means that although I may be the “face” and/or “voice” of NAEBA, the Board will be what truly is leading NAEBA. That doesn’t mean I won’t do my best to lead and inspire the Board to good things, though!

Thanks for the words of congratulations everyone!

John Sullivan will be the President in 2009. Good man with great plans and a great Board of Directors behind him.

Good things are on the horizon for Exclusive Buyer Agency!

If you are thinking about purchasing a home in Massachusetts, talk with someone who only works for buyers and only has your interests in mind. Call 1.800.25.BUYER and ask for John, or email me.