When you are selling your home and looking to buy another in the same area, never use your listing agent to represent you in the purchase of your next home! (Even if they claim to be a buyer’s agent.) OK, that’s a little strong and there may be some exceptions, BUT there are some pitfalls to avoid and some problems to consider.
Agents who list homes are salespeople. Their job is to sell their listings for the highest price and best terms for the seller. Of course, there is a conflict of interest when you are the seller and they are bringing you a buyer from their company, or worse yet, their own buyer. But they most likely went over all that in their listing agreement, enough to give you some level of comfort to move forward with them despite a potential dual agency.
Hopefully you haven’t been trapped into signing a Buyer Agency agreement with them when you listed your home with them. It makes a lot more sense to see if you really like them in action before giving them both the selling and buying side of your transaction up front. If your listing agent is a good one, you will probably bond with them and increasingly feel more and more comfortable with them, enough to have them help you look for your next home. I’m suggesting that’s not a good idea.
So what’s wrong with it? It seems natural enough and the easy way to do it. But, is it what’s best for you? Think for a moment about how effective your agent has been as a sales person. The more skilled they are in sales, the less likely they will be to switch gears to work as a consultant, counselor, investigator, and advocate for you as a buyer. It’s a matter of orientation.
What an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent Would Do
Sales agents are geared for sales. That’s their expertise. And it will really manifest itself when they first start showing you their company listings. And, how many homes For Sale By Owner will they show you? Or how about those pesky “entry only” listings? Wouldn’t you like to know about all houses for sale within and outside the Multiple Listing Service? That’s what an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent would do.
But it goes beyond the depth and breadth of properties they show you. How much investigative work will they do? Do they know the questions to ask and how to find the answers during negotiations? Will they have the time to do all that while they’re trying to sell your home as well as all their other listings? What happens when they are negotiating against a good friend and colleague in their own office or company?
There’s a lot of inherent conflict. Even when it comes to compensation there will most likely be a conflict. When acting as your buying agent, if their “commission” is based on a percentage of the sale price, it’s a conflict of interest. The more you pay, the more they make. Yet their job was to get you to pay less?
As an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent, I prefer to make less when my buyer has to pay more for a property. That’s more in harmony with my job of getting my buyer the lowest price and the best possible terms. Our compensation agreement will reflect that.
The Smarter Way to Buy and Sell Your Next Home
A smarter way to sell your home and buy your next is to have a specialist on both ends. Have an individual or team totally focused on marketing and selling your home. Have another individual or team totally focused entirely on locating, evaluating, and negotiating your next home purchase. And if the Buyer’s Agent never lists property and works solely for buyers you’ve got a focused, experienced, and dedicated Buyer’s Agent.
When you want to sell your home, use a good listing agent. When you’re ready to buy your next home, use an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent.
Does that make sense? I’d love to know what you think or what your experience has been. Use the comment form below to let me know.