Buyer's Guide

Buying a home without a good agent can be costly. Good buyer agents can not only help find the best home to match your goals – they can help get your offer accepted in a competitive situation, negotiate the best price, terms, and, very importantly, contingencies and repairs.  

We often see buyers benefit from seller repairs or concessions they would not have received without good representation, often adding up to 1/2% to 1% of the purchase price!  Removing contingencies at the right time is crucial to success – and can be helped with the skill, experience, and relationships of a good buyer’s agent.

Buyer agents must sign an “agency disclosure” which says they are obligated to only do what’s in your best interests, with a fiduciary duty to you, the buyer! Buyers should also sign a “buyer broker agreement” with the agent to make a solid long term partnership with the agent.

The best part? As you can read in the Commissions section, sellers pay the buyer agent commission.

It’s usually about more than price!  When a seller accepts an offer, they are obligated to go through with the sale unless the buyer fails to perform per contract. That means smart sellers choose buyers who have the capability – and desire – to complete the transaction.

Offers almost always have contingencies, giving the buyer a period of time to complete inspections, investigations, loan approval, and more. It’s important to have professional property inspections, look at the HOA (if any) and ensure the title report matches what you think you’re buying.

“All Cash” offers mean there is no loan contingency, and are attractive to sellers.

Some sellers want to close and move out ASAP, but other sellers may need time to move. Offering a quick close but delayed transfer of possession can often make your offer more attractive. 

Buyers don’t usually directly pay commissions to their agents – even though the buyer’s agent works hard on their behalf and adds great value.  Sellers often pay a total commission to the listing agent’s brokerage, which often splits it with the cooperating buyer’s brokerage, which pays the buyer’s agent. Even though the buyer agent commission comes from the seller’s proceeds, the buyer’s agent has a fiduciary responsibility to represent only the buyer’s best interests in the transaction!

Sellers are free to choose the amount of commissions paid to their listing brokerage and offer concession money to the buyer, which can be used to pay the buyer’s brokerage. Sellers often consider 2.5% and the optimal amount to attract the biggest pool of buyers to their listing, maximizing the selling price.

Doing a great job of representing a buyer takes lots of time and work, and only pays off for the agent if and when a sale closes. Buyers are now required to sign a “Buyer Representation Agreement” before touring properties with their agent. It confirms in writing the agent’s fiduciary duty to work only in the buyer’s best interest, and the buyer’s commitment to get their agent paid for working hard create the best outcome for the buyer!

Most purchase contracts include the buyer’s contingency period for inspections and investigations, typically 1-2 weeks. You’ll want to hire a certified inspector right away, who will spend hours looking for issues with the condition of the property – what’s not working, potentially dangerous, or not to code.  Inspections are an important investment for the buyer, and produce a detailed written report with photos and explanations.

Depending on what’s in the report and the purchase contract negotiations, that usually starts a ‘request for repairs” negotiation with the seller. All properties are sold “as is and and disclosed” but sellers often agree to fix hidden problems (or provide a credit to buyer in lieu of repairs). 

In addition to inspecting the condition of the property, the buyer should also investigate the title report to look for issues such as easements that others may have across the property. And if the home is part of an HOA, it’s important to assess its financial reserves, rules, pending lawsuits, and board minutes – all of which the seller is supposed to provide within the first week of escrow.