A Loyal Agent Deserves a Loyal Client

A Loyal Agent can help your real estate dream become a reality! 

The message of this week’s message is:  Loyalty – I work hard to aggressively represent my clients.  I love what I do and I am pleased to work with you, my buyer and seller clients, for as long as it takes, to make sure that we are negotiating the best possible deal for YOU! 

What I Want:  All I ask from you, in return for my dedication to you, is your loyalty to me as your trusted real estate professional.  If you are happy with the service that I provide, please remember that I only get paid if I represent you when you eventually buy or sell a house.

Now, if you care to, please read on for a good story!

Not Another Seminar!  I received another “You have got to attend this real estate seminar!” email the other day.  This particular email was hawking a seminar about not getting “burned by your buyer clients”.  There is a lot of competition in real estate and client loyalty is a major concern with real estate agents and in the industry. 

Real Estate Agents BEWARE!  The main point of the seminar, from what I was able to get out of their marketing materials, was that unless you have a formal Buyer Representation Agreement with your buyer clients, you can not trust them.  Without a formal Representation Agreement, the seminar marketing materials said, you may spend a lot of time with buyer clients only to have them buy a house with another agent!  

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The Truth:  Most real estate agents spend a lot of time working hard for their clients.  The hours spent showing houses, doing research and analysis, marketing listings and negotiating the best total deal for a client is often not rewarded with a paycheck.  The ONLY time that I get compensated for my efforts is when an escrow closes and I have represented the buyer or the seller. 

The Bottom Line:  As a Realtor®, and a broker / owner of an independent firm, I have never required my buyer clients to sign a formal representation agreement.  My hope is that the level of service my clients receive from me, or from one of my agents, will guarantee their loyalty.  (Click here to see what past clients have said!)

Here is a portion of the seminar invitation that I received:  

Thomas Bregman, Why do you need to attend tomorrow’s Buyers Agent Workshop at Ventura County Coastal Association of REALTORS?

I just got another call from an agent that can not attend tomorrow’s workshop.  This agent told me another “My Buyer Burned Me” story. She said she received a call on Monday morning at 10:00 AM from a really grateful buyer she had worked with for a couple of months, and spent over $100.00 in gas let alone missing many days with her family, who told her how wonderful she was and that they were so happy to tell her that they found the perfect house on Sunday and bought it from the listing agent.  WHAT?  The house was priced at $565,000 and they are in escrow at $555,000.  Calculate the lost compensation.  I hear this same story all the time.

Without an Exclusive Buyers Representation agreement, there is no violation of either the law or the code of ethics as it is currently written.  The question is no longer “are you working with another REALTOR?” the new question is “are you currently in an exclusive agreement with anyone to buy a home?”

Don’t waste any more of your time with clients that don’t care about the time that you spend with them or the insight and advice that you provide.  An Exclusive Buyer Representation Agreement will insure that YOU get paid when YOUR client buys their new house!
(END of seminar invitation)

The Client Did Not Understand:  What this story tells me is that the client, who told the agent “how wonderful she was“, did not understand the fact that her wonderful agent did not get compensated for her efforts and for the time she spent with them unless she was their agent when escrow closed.  For whatever reason, clients sometimes do not make the connection between “we are having fun shopping for a house” and “this is how my agent makes a living“. 

Why a Buyer Should NEVER Work With the Listing Agent:  A listing agent works for, and owes the highest level of obligation to, the seller.  A real estate transaction is complicated; many real estate transactions are very complicated.  By working with the listing agent, it is almost certain that this client did not get the best possible deal.  By working with YOUR trusted real estate professional, you greatly increase the likelihood of negotiating the best possible deal for you!