Am I "required" to use only one agent? If I work with more than one, must I disclose them to each other?

Finding a decent realtor sucks. Freakin' used car salesmen.

You'll sign a contract with whichever you pick.

A seller will contract with a broker to list a property for sale. The custom is that the listing broker will split the commission on some basis with another broker who produces a ready willing and able buyer.

A buyer may work with any broker, or use one for one property and another for another property.

It is incredible what a broker will use to claim credit for part of a commission. Looking through the listings on the computer, attending an open house, driving around pointing to a sign, almost any act drawing attention to the property you end up buying can set off a vigorous, hideous argument between claimants. Using one broker on the buy side probably saves a lot of indignitude.

There is some practice to sign a contract with a broker when you are buying. It’s not widespread yet, but in use by some brokers. They show you properties and take a commission on any one you might buy.

If you are a buyer, you may inquire with any number of agents/brokers when looking for a property to buy. That agent will be paid a percentage of the selling agent's fee for turning up a buyer and introducing you to the seller through the seller's agent, as described by JAllen. This fee doesn't come directly from you, the buyer. It comes out of the sales price, and represents a sharing of the fee paid to the seller's agent.

Seller's agents generally will insist on an exclusive relationship with respect to any particular piece of property. So sellers will typically have only one agent, as a matter of the agency agreement.

Remember that the seller's agent owes you no duty and is not looking out for the buyer's best interests. The seller's agent is working for the seller, not for the buyer.

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
Am I "required" to use only one agent? If I work with more than one, must I disclose them to each other?

Finding a decent realtor sucks. Freakin' used car salesmen.

A little more information would be helpful in answering that question.
Buyer, seller, etc.?

You're right, I wasn't specific enough; I was venting as well as inquiring. I am currently looking as a buyer, one asked me to sign an exclusive agreement but I did not. I told one to piss off, she showed me 3 properties and said I was "all over the maps," and I'd just have to clearly define what I wanted. I told her I had, she just hadn't shown me any similar to what I wanted. A simply inquiry is like throwing raw meat in a pirahana tank. I haven't bought or sold in nearly 30 years, I guess I forgot. Thanks for all the good info, I'l be listing my house soon so perspective from both points of view is of great value.

You've got mail.

She is very good. We used her on the selling end and the inlaws have used her both selling and buying.

I sympathize with you trying to find a decent realtor. There aren’t many who have the technical training in building, title, appraisal and real estate law to know what they are doing. Many are mere salesmen, charming, social, pleasant and some are reasonably honest, but who cannot be relied on for technicalities. I made a lot of money early in my legal career from the antics of people like that.

I know a very few who can be trusted, have mastered the technicalities of contracts, titles, building trade stuff so they can recognize what kind of roof, built in appliances, proper maintenance etc. and savvy enough to grasp the nuances of appraisal, yet are personable enough, shrewd enough, to carry on complex negotiations without aggravating all concerned. It ain’t easy!

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
I sympathize with you trying to find a decent realtor. There aren’t many who have the technical training in building, title, appraisal and real estate law to know what they are doing. Many are mere salesmen, charming, social, pleasant and some are reasonably honest, but who cannot be relied on for technicalities. I made a lot of money early in my legal career from the antics of people like that.

I know a very few who can be trusted, have mastered the technicalities of contracts, titles, building trade stuff so they can recognize what kind of roof, built in appliances, proper maintenance etc. and savvy enough to grasp the nuances of appraisal, yet are personable enough, shrewd enough, to carry on complex negotiations without aggravating all concerned. It ain’t easy!

Reading the "contracts" they prepare often makes my head spin. A client of mine recently got an agent's license, and listening to her discuss various technical matters related to RE transactions made me despair for her clients. And she is smart; but the training they get, and all that is required for licensure, is so superficial that they are virtually guaranteed to be incompetent.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
I sympathize with you trying to find a decent realtor. There aren’t many who have the technical training in building, title, appraisal and real estate law to know what they are doing. Many are mere salesmen, charming, social, pleasant and some are reasonably honest, but who cannot be relied on for technicalities. I made a lot of money early in my legal career from the antics of people like that.

I know a very few who can be trusted, have mastered the technicalities of contracts, titles, building trade stuff so they can recognize what kind of roof, built in appliances, proper maintenance etc. and savvy enough to grasp the nuances of appraisal, yet are personable enough, shrewd enough, to carry on complex negotiations without aggravating all concerned. It ain’t easy!

Reading the "contracts" they prepare often makes my head spin. A client of mine recently got an agent's license, and listening to her discuss various technical matters related to RE transactions made me despair for her clients. And she is smart; but the training they get, and all that is required for licensure, is so superficial that they are virtually guaranteed to be incompetent.

In Whackyland, at least before I left, the California Association of Realtors had promulgated standard forms for nearly every situation. These are near universally used in residential transactions. Getting some agents savvy enough to select and use the proper ones, or even fill in the blanks correctly, has been challenging.

Real estate transactions are complex, even the simple ones, with lots of moving parts to be aligned and dealt with. The less you know about these things, the simpler they seem.

One point hasn’t been mentioned. A licensed person is either a broker, or an agent. Only a broker or agent who is a member of the state and National Association of Realtors is allowed to use the term Realtor, and associated trademarks.

When we sold, we had a 6 month contract with our Realtor. There will be language in the contract that the Realtor gets dibs on fees to people that saw the house on their watch, etc. We ended up not renewing and took it off the market for Christmas and so we could move out. Everyone who had been watching the house as we kept lowering the price freaked out, including our Realtor (once we said we might not relist with him). He had two purchase offers from his buyers within a week and had us resign with him to do the deal. And people think us attorneys are sleazy...

Don't leave it absently in your Realtor's hands when you list, be proactive. Make sure the house has a strong online presence on Zillow, Trulia, etc. Talk about open houses, the flyer boxes on the front lawn, staging, etc. We didn't do an open house because we didn't want all of South St. Louis casing our place and noticing the lack of alarms.

If your Catholic, bury the necessary Saint. Pray to that God in Major League and give him your rum offering, whatever. Good luck.

Disclaimer; my wife is a Realtor and I have bought many properties in addition of observing a few decades of being around that business.

Ask a good local real estate attorney for some names of good Realtors. They should know who is competent and who is not.

Realtors get paid only at the closing table around here and nobody likes to work for free. If they know you are working with another agent already, I can understand why they would ask that you sign a brokerage agreement before they waste a lot of their time, knowing that you could use someone else to write up the deal. There are a lot of people that will have a selling agent show them houses and then when they find one they want another agent, sometimes a relative that happens to also have a license (I hesitate to call them a Realtor) will show up on the scene either wanting a referral fee (for doing exactly nothing) or going around them completely.

I can understand your frustration if the Realtors you have talked to are not good ones but there are two sides to the story.

And while I'm on the subject, be sure that the attorney you get the recommendation from is a good one too. I have seen lots of attorney nightmares. Agents are not, and should not represent themselves as dispensers of legal advice and attorneys are not (in most cases) licensed realtors. There are lots of incompetent and/or unethical practitioners in both fields.

quote:

Originally posted by Scuba Steve Sig:
When we sold, we had a 6 month contract with our Realtor. There will be language in the contract that the Realtor gets dibs on fees to people that saw the house on their watch, etc. We ended up not renewing and took it off the market for Christmas and so we could move out. Everyone who had been watching the house as we kept lowering the price freaked out, including our Realtor (once we said we might not relist with him). He had two purchase offers from his buyers within a week and had us resign with him to do the deal. And people think us attorneys are sleazy...

Don't leave it absently in your Realtor's hands when you list, be proactive. Make sure the house has a strong online presence on Zillow, Trulia, etc. Talk about open houses, the flyer boxes on the front lawn, staging, etc. We didn't do an open house because we didn't want all of South St. Louis casing our place and noticing the lack of alarms.

If your Catholic, bury the necessary Saint. Pray to that God in Major League and give him your rum offering, whatever. Good luck.

The psychology of the marketplace is indeed fascinating.

Many girls will relate how they sat by the phone for weeks, no calls. Finally she gets a date to the prom, and 3 or 4 more call within 72 hours!

One outfit had a house on the market for sale, asking $295,000, thought to be a bargain, but was drawing no interest. Against my advice, they took it off the market, waited a week or two and relisted it for $310,000. They had multiple offers within 2 days, full price.

Another data point.... something like 90% of the deals are handled by something like 10% of the agents. When selecting an agent, look around to see who is doing the deals and start there.

Yes, I understand the money aspect. I also understand the service aspect. They're way into asking about money. I guess that's because I dress cheap and drive lower end vehicles. One asked and I told her my broker was handling my financing, meaning my financial broker. She freaked, assuming by broker I meant another real estate agent. I drive around looking at homes for sale before asking to look at one, to avoid wasting everyone's time. My wife said, "No, we saw that one," meaning we drove past, and another realtor freaked out. I asked another about a slightly more expensive property, and the moron told me I couldn't afford it. He was assuming my current retirement job was my total income, I guess. Right now I'm taking a step back for a while.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:


Realtors get paid only at the closing table around here and nobody likes to work for free. If they know you are working with another agent already, I can understand why they would ask that you sign a brokerage agreement before they waste a lot of their time, knowing that you could use someone else to write up the deal. There are a lot of people that will have a selling agent show them houses and then when they find one they want another agent, sometimes a relative that happens to also have a license (I hesitate to call them a Realtor) will show up on the scene either wanting a referral fee (for doing exactly nothing) or going around them completely.

There is a not surprising intensity to dealing with those kinds of things. Since these days every listing is in everyone’s MLS dump, just about anyone can claim that they “showed” a prospect that property. Many Agents protect themselves by registering their clients at or after the showing with the listing broker. An e-mail these days will do the trick.

Having a contract with a buyer is relatively recent phenomena.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JALLEN,

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
attorneys are not (in most cases) licensed realtors. There are lots of incompetent and/or unethical practitioners in both fields.

In Texas, and many states, lawyers can act as real estate agents without that license. This doesn't mean they will be effective marketers of a piece of property, though. If you need a real marketing effort, you probably want a genuine broker.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
attorneys are not (in most cases) licensed realtors. There are lots of incompetent and/or unethical practitioners in both fields.

In Texas, and many states, lawyers can act as real estate agents without that license. This doesn't mean they will be effective marketers of a piece of property, though. If you need a real marketing effort, you probably want a genuine broker.

That says a lot about who runs Texas.

Guess who has the pull in Whackyland?

In Whackyland a lawyer gets credit for the required brokers courses but must take and pass the exam. A brokers license is required for a number of other services as well. Fortunately, it is not hard.

As far as marketing effort, it is often best to deal with someone in the area who knows the market, local activity, etc. A broker in San Diego would have a tough time, less effective, running a marketing effort in, say, Sacramento.

You have to realize that 60+ percent of the homes are now sold over the internet. You are able to go to the location map and see what is available with lots of pictures.

I would skip a buyers agent and find homes on the internet. Everything is listed in MLS and you can look on your own. If you don't have a buyer's agent you can negotiate with the seller agent for a lower commission to save a few bucks. The seller's agent won't have to pay a buyer's agent and will be willing to lower his/her fee. In MA the buyer's agent does nothing and you still need a real estate attorney.

So my advice is skip the buyer's agent. Don't sign anything. Get a good attorney that charges a flat fee for a purchase, rather than by the hour. That way if things get wacky (sometimes that can happen with financing and stuff) you only pay the lawyer the fee contracted.

Good agents are hard to find. If you don't have a good referral from a person you trust, then try ReMax and Keller Williams. It seems they have better agents in those systems. (This is not saying that other companies have bad agents - so please don't flame me if you or your SO work for a different real estate company.)