Representing Flagstaff Real Estate Buyers

The Rules of Engagement

How to Get the Most Out of Working with a Flagstaff Real Estate Buyer Agent and the Internet

Most home buyers, even the relatively experienced ones, are often a bit confused about their rights and the ethical procedures in dealing with real estate brokers.

That's understandable: Buyer Agency is a relatively recent phenomenon borne out of the Consumer Rights Movement. Let me try to clarify that for you and give you some tips on the most effective use of the Net in buying real estate.

Putting myself in the shoes of a prospective buyer going on-line, my strategy, until now, would have been to start with a search for web sites of realtors in the areas in which I am interested. Even if I were fully knowledgeable about the benefits of buyer brokerage, I would still browse as many listings as I could find.

An excellent place to start is our IDX MLS property database. We have just integrated this IDX MLS service for all visitors to our site, which offers conveniently direct access to virtually all the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) listings in Flagstaff and the surrounding areas. You can check out the somewhat more cumbersome site at: Cyberhomes.com.

As I gained a good sense of the market in that area, I would check out the buyer agents there and eventually settle on the one with whom I felt the most comfortable.

Buyer agents can be tracked through the:
National Association of Buyers Agents
Real Estate Buyer Agent Council

and Top Agents at:
Info Real Estate Consumer Service

Keep in mind, though, that these days just about every Realtor is calling himself a buyer's agent. The ONLY true buyer's agents are Buyer's Agents. They are associated with companies that do not take listings and never work for sellers. Thus they avoid the common pitfalls of Dual Agency. Dual Agency arises when an agent shows you a listing held by his own company. In that situation he is legally obligated to work with both sides. Personally, I wouldn't want an agent who had to do that. I want someone who is committed only to MY best interests.

If there were a number available in the area, I probably would e-mail more than one and see how responsive they are to my needs . In addition to disclosing my requirements for a home - size, price range, location, preferred amenities, etc., I would also include some personal information about my family and our ideal lifestyle. The latter gives the agent some good insight on variables that I may not have thought to ask about. An important caveat, however: Be careful to not divulge sensitive information that could be used to your disadvantage unless you are certain that you are dealing with someone who is going to work with you exclusively; an Buyer's Agent . That is especially true regarding revealing the specifics of any preliminary loan approval you might have.

Having made my selection, I would then focus all of my attention on working with that person, knowing she or he has complete access to all of the properties in the Flagstaff area (including those not found in the Multiple Listing Service). In perusing the listings I had found at the various Flagstaff real estate sites, I probably would have come up with several that sounded appealing. I'd ask my buyer's agent to research those for me (noting the MLS # is a help in identifying them) and others like them. That agent would then send me information on those and similar properties that seemed to fit my needs - and maybe a few others just to have a feel for the full range of possibilities. The information would include real estate listing booklets, computer printouts, flyers, comparative market analyses for appropriate properties, county record reports, and, virtual tours, if available. A top buyer broker will usually have a digital camera and can send me exterior and interior shots of homes that make my "short list" right over the Net.

By the way, unless I'm prepared to fly out on relatively short notice to see a hot property, my agent and I will pace ourselves so as to time heavy search activity with my expected arrival on the scene. No point in my agent coming up with a detailed research on the perfect property if I can't do anything about it for another six or eight months. If it's a great buy, it's not likely to still be on the market when I finally I get there.

By the time I was ready for a visit to see the area in person, the agent would have done a great deal of research on specific properties and may have set appointments prior to my arrival. Having arrived, met the agent, and spent a day looking at property, I am now in a position to judge whether or not the chemistry is right with the agent.

I would allocate plenty of time to see properties with the agent, but also to tour the whole area on my own, and even to cruise various neighborhoods to assure myself that I had a good sense of knowing what was out there. If I saw something for sale that the agent hadn't shown me, I'd ask her or him for more information on it and perhaps we'd set an appointment to tour it. That can happen, too, as the agent and I are driving around together. A mobile phone is extremely helpful here because a quick call may get us in to see the place on the spot.

The key point here is that I have established a true sense of teamwork with my agent, confident that the agent is dedicated to my interests totally. If I'm driving around on my own, I am likely to come across an "open house" or an attractive housing development that appears intriguing. I'll go in and take a look. Why not? It's my home that we're looking for. But, extreme care is warranted here because it is vital to my interests and my relationship to my agent that I don't inadvertently lose my right of representation. If I were to sign in at the open house or the show home without informing the agent there that I was already being represented by my agent, I would instantly become the customer of the agent representing the seller and lose the benefits, in the case of that property, of maintaining the client relationship with my agent. My agent would be legally barred from coming back and bargaining for me and protecting my rights in any transaction that might ensue. Remember, my having buyer-client representation does not cost me any extra money and is likely to get me a better deal than I can get on my own. Allowing myself to be put into the hands of the listing agent puts me at the mercy of someone whose job it is to get the best deal for the seller and negates my buyer representation on that property. So, what to do in that case? Ideally, I call my agent or I go ahead and look, but I hand the listing agent my agent's card, clearly inform the listing agent of that relationship, and, if I sign in, I make a notation to the effect that I am represented by my agent exclusively. The responsibility for protecting myself and my relationship to my agent, at that point, rests squarely on me. If I don't follow the above procedure faithfully, then I have jeopardized my own rights and the considerable amount of time, money, and effort that my agent has expended in my behalf.

If it seems as though I've gone to great lengths to make the point; I have, because buyers have a seemingly inevitable propensity to inadvertently undermine the client relationship with buyer brokers by innocently exercising their natural curiosity. Extreme care must be taken to preserve that relationship.