As a licensee going on three decades with nearly that amount of concurrent legal experience as well (much of it in the field of land use), I can tell you that there is NO substitute for contracting with a buyers agent who knows like the back of their hand the area you are seeking to purchase in, to help you locate and negotiate the purchase of an acceptable property. Better yet, they should possess a photographic memory of intersections of and major thoroughfares in their market area and be familiar with the nuances of all its subdivisions, no matter what their age. It’s also helpful if they are familiar with the original houseplans as they were built, longtime small businesses in the area and their owners, locations of the premium lots, exact school attendance boundaries, what lies over the ground, what lies under the ground (easements), which complexes were/are in litigation and what the outcome of it was, etc. . . and this is only inventory knowledge. If you are using an agent without inventory and market knowledge of the particular area you want to purchase in, you are doing yourself a HUGE disservice, as there are MANY agents who have lived and/or worked in that particular area all of their lives.
There are many things in a RE transaction that can be easily hidden from a buyer and/or their non-astute agent. There is A LOT of disclosure that needs to be demanded of a private seller. ALL KINDS of things can go wrong in an escrow . . . too numerous to mention here. To name a few, if your agent is incompetent and/or doesn’t possess the requisite knowledge to properly complete your transaction, you can easily lose your earnest money deposit, pay too much for the property, never get your offer presented or presented properly, be in “perpetual escrow” waiting for a lender to agree to sell “short enough” (which will never take place), take possession without the agreed-upon items fixed, get taken to the cleaners by your mortgage broker, sign away your contingencies before they are met or satisfied . . . the list goes on . . . and on.
Much of the history and knowledge of particular subdivisions and properties in a market area can only be gleaned by working the same streets over a long period of time. You can’t get it any other way and you, as a buyer, can’t possibly know these things yourself, nor could an out-of-area agent possibly know it.
I DO NOT BELIEVE IN DUAL AGENCY AND BELIEVE THE LEGISLATURE SHOULD REPEAL THIS SECTION. And I am not alone here. There is NO WAY a listing agent can properly represent a buyer for his/her listed property. THIS IS A CONFLICT OF INTEREST! A listing agent’s fiduciary duty is to the seller. This is the first contract they sign and even if you later sign a buyer agency agreement with them, their FIRST CONTRACT TRUMPS IT. Therefore, they are unable to represent the buyer’s best interests.
matt-waiting, as an unlicensed principal representing yourself, I don’t see you legally being able to claim ANY COMMISSION when placing your own offer. The right to your commission and percentage thereof has to be invoked when you make your offer and you can’t legally ask for any. Commission can only be paid to licensed RE brokers. An agent is paid pursuant to the contract they have with their broker. Brokers and agents are free to distribute any part of their commission back to a buyer at the close of escrow in the form of a rebate. However, this agreement for a commission rebate would be separate from any offer you place and should be executed in writing PRIOR to the acceptance of any offer, if you want to assure your payment upon the successful close of escrow.
I recommend you find a very knowledgeable LOCAL RE agent whose primary market is the exact neighborhood or area you are seeking to purchase in. You HAVE EVERYTHING TO GAIN and NOTHING TO LOSE by being properly represented. A competent and knowledgable agent can save you from making a mistake from which there would be no recovery.
