STEP 4
CHOOSE A REAL ESTATE AGENT
When you’re ready to look for a home, choosing a real estate agent is a very important step. To make a good decision you must have realistic expectations about the size of the home, location and type of home you want, and be aware of the different roles a real estate professional can play in your home search.
Assess Your Needs
Fill out the “Assessing Your Needs” form in the Resources & Forms section of this booklet. (If you are married, both you and your spouse should fill it out then compare your answers.) What you think is important might not be as important to someone else.
Choose a Real Estate Professional
Ask your friends who they worked with when purchasing their home. Agency referrals are a good way to narrow the list of real estate professionals. Consider an agent who is a member of the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS (http://www.nhar.com/). Members pride themselves on adhering to a strict code of ethics and responsibility to the consumer. When you find a real estate agent, give them as much information about your housing needs as possible. But remember, unless you have a written buyer agency agreement, the agent may be working for the seller.
Disclosure of Agency Relationship
Once you begin working with a real estate professional they will give you a number of disclosures that they are legally obligated to provide. If you do not understand the disclosures, ask the agent to explain them. Ignorance is no excuse once a legally binding contract is signed! One of the first things a real estate professional must disclose to you is the Disclosure of Agency Relationship In Real Estate Brokerage. This tells you who the real estate agent is working for. There are a number of agency relationships such as, but not limited to, the following:
Seller Agency:When the real estate agent is a Seller’s Agent, they represent the seller’s interest. They are working to get the seller the best possible price for the sale of the property. Information, like your financial position, maybe conveyed to the seller and negatively influences your position in negotiating the purchase price.
Buyer Agency:A real estate professional acting as a Buyer’s Agent represents you in the real estate transaction. You hire the real estate agent for a certain time period for a fee which is negotiated in the Exclusive Buyer Agency Agreement. They will assist you in locating a property and in negotiating in the purchase of that property. Their loyalty is with you, the buyer. They cannot discuss anything with the seller that may adversely affect your negotiation of the purchase of a property. If you break the Exclusive Buyer Agency Agreement prior to the expiration date on the contract you may still be responsible for paying the real estate agents fee.
Sub-Agency:In a Sub-Agency relationship the real estate professional acts as an agent for another real estate person or agency. The real estate agent working in a Sub-Agency relationship must represent the client’s best interest whether that client is the seller or you, the buyer.Disclosed Dual Agency:This happens when an agency is representing both sides of the real estate transaction, the seller’s and the buyer’s interest. If this happens, the real estate agent must immediately notify both parties and disclose Dual Agency. If the seller and the buyer agree to proceed with negotiations, the real estate agent may continue with the transaction. However, the real estate agent must remain a neutral party throughout the transaction. Undisclosed Dual Agency is illegal.
Beginning Your Search