| Call the Listing Agent or Get Your Own
Agent? Suppose you call the
Realtor who is listing the property you "might" be interested in and it turns
out that the house is absolutely perfect and affordable and you want to make an offer? Do
you want the same agent who listed the home for sale and represents the seller to also
represent you? The odds are that everything would be okay if you did, but it is risky. It
would be like both the husband and the wife using the same attorney to represent each of
them in a divorce. A more extreme example would be if you sued somebody and agreed to let
the opposing lawyer represent you, too.
When you make an offer to buy a house, you are entering a
negotiation. The seller wants as high a price as possible and the buyer wants the lowest
price possible. If a Realtor represents both sides, there is a conflict of interest,
though an ethical Realtor can equally represent both sides. Most Realtors are very ethical
and take their responsibilities seriously. However, If the listing Realtor knows how
much you are willing to pay for a home or the loan amount you have been qualified for, and
that information gets somehow passed on to the seller even though they are also
representing you as the homebuyer, you are at a disadvantage.
There are other ways that having the same Realtor represent both
sides of the transaction can be a negative as well.
Finding
Your Own Realtor
Actually, the best thing for you to do when you see an advertisement
in the paper is to call your own Realtor and tell them about the ad. Since addresses
usually do not appear in advertisements, your Realtor will call the listing agent and find
out which property is featured in the ad. It may be a great home for you, but it may also
be a property the Realtor has already disregarded because it backed up to a busy noisy
street and you have told your Realtor you wanted a quiet neighborhood.
First you have to have a Realtor you can call. How do you find one?
Referrals are always a good way to go. Perhaps a friend, co-worker,
or family member recently bought a house in the same community and had a good experience.
However, if they bought a house twenty miles from where you want to move, it may not be a
good idea to use the same Realtor. You want one who knows the area in detail, and has
already previewed many of the homes available for sale in that community. Community
knowledge should be important to you because you are not just buying a house. You
are buying a home.
Every Realtor can show you every property available for sale in the
Multiple Listing Service. Since that is true, you can call any real estate office and find
a Realtor willing to show you houses for sale. The problem is that you do not know if you
are talking to an excellent Realtor or a lazy inactive one. Your first step should be to
shop for a Realtor, not to shop for property. Shop for a Realtor the way you would shop
for a good attorney, accountant, mechanic, plumber, doctor, financial advisor, or other
professional.
copyright
1999 by Terry
Light and RealEstate ABC |
