Kim Climer, Realtor: The Buyer/Agent relationship also known as...."Why Should I Sign that Buyer Representation Agreement?"

by Kim Climer

So you've decided to take the plunge and buy your first home! Nothing is more exciting and at the same time scary as buying a home. After all this IS the biggest purchase you are probably ever going to make. It stands to reason there is some apprehension going into it. Once you have made the decision to purchase the next logical place to go is to the internet to look for homes! Right? Well, while that is a good starting point, the reality is, you probably aren't going to get into a home without an real estate agent coming into the picture. This is where it is important to understand the broker/client relationship.

Prior to 1990 all real estate agents represented the seller. Buyers were customers and had no one to help them in the negotiating or to advise them during the buying process. Sometime in the early 1990's states began passing laws creating the Buyer's Agency which gave the buyer the ability to become a client and receive the same fiduciary duty that sellers had been receiving for years. But in order to receive that duty, an agreement must be met and a contract signed. Hence the "Buyer Representation Agreement". Until that agreement is signed, the agent is a subagent to the listing agent and essentially is representing the seller and owes the buyer, no fiduciary duties at all. The buyer is merely a customer in the transaction.

Real estate is a job where one must meet every deadline, dot every I and cross every T, before the agent is paid. If at any time, something goes awry, there is no compensation for the time spent. Imagine, if you will, what it is like for the agent who works hard to help a buyer find a lender, spends time searching for the perfect properties and puts countless hours driving them around showing homes, only to find out that the buyer has decided to go to a builder unrepresented. Or worse, they have chosen to use a different agent altogether!

The Buyer Representation Agreement protects both the buyer and the agent and lays out the duties both parties offer in the buying process and gives the buyer the same level of agent trust as the seller has with the listing agent. Just like the listing agreement, the Buyer Representation Agreement can be cancelled by either party, at any time.

Just a little caveat here. I am not an attorney, nor do I play one on Television. So I strongly encourage everyone who has questions about any contract or agreement, to seek the advise of an attorney.

If you are looking to buy a home, click here to read more about the process.

Find Homes in The Colony, Little Elm or anywhere in the DFW area!