Our Role as Your Buyer’s Agent
September 19, 2012, by Mark Wheeler
Buyer Agency is a relatively new concept in real estate. In Oregon, it started to become more common sometime around 1996. It used to be that when you interacted with a Realtor, they were by default & by contract working for the seller. Thankfully that anachronistic practice is gone. See the Oregon Real Estate Agency Disclosure for more information about Agency in Oregon.
Today, nationwide most buyers use a Buyer’s Agent, and for good reasons. However, there are still some misunderstandings. I hope to clarify a few things with this post.
When Roots Realty agrees to work for you as your Buyer’s Agents, we are pledging to put your best interests above all others, including our own interests. This means we will be looking out for you on so many levels; often our buyer clients have no idea of just how far we are going to advance their interests. Which is fine; I know that I have no idea about how complex most of our clients’ jobs are.
We are advisers. We are not sales people. We will never try to “sell you a house,” unless we think it is a great match for you. We will work very hard to get you the right property at the right price. What is “right” is completely up to you. After all, it is your home and / or your investment. However, if a property looks good to us and seems to be close to what you’re looking for, we will let you know right away. We will point out every positive AND negative aspect of the property that we can see, and help you to understand if this property might be a good choice for you.
We are also excellent negotiators with sharp eyes towards property conditions & flaws, the current over all market conditions & the micro, neighborhood specific market conditions. We are very familiar with every clause and ramification of the contract documents. We know how to get the very best possible deals for our clients; these are skills and tactics that have been refined over many years.
We know a large number of other local real estate trades people. We know the best recommendations for lenders, title & escrow officers, inspectors of every kind, contractors, cleaners, arborists, you name it. We don’t refer folks to the “lax” inspectors who might not catch a “deal breaker” kind of condition at a property. We will refer you to the same trusted professionals that we use when we buy real estate or need repairs. These are folks we’ve known for many years who are also excellent at their jobs.
As part of my ongoing quest to be the very best Buyer’s Agent in Portland, Oregon, many years ago I achieved the Accredited Buyers’ Agent designation which is an excellent training program for Realtors that helps them master the myriad factors at work in Buyer Agency.
So, find an experienced Buyer’s Agent with whom you communicate well, and then take that leap and trust them! Ask every question that you can think of, and if it doesn’t quite make sense, ask again.
There are some other myths about why one might not want to retain a Buyer’s Agent, I will address those in another post. And yes, we at Roots Realty are also excellent Seller’s Agents, but that too is a topic for another post.
If you are in need of a Buyer’s Agent, we hope to interview for that position, as we are confident that we can help you beyond your expectations. If you are somewhere other than Portland, Oregon and in need of a Buyer’s Agent, we can probably help you find an excellent match for your needs through our referral network.
Please take a look at our client references and client quotes, then contact us! If you’re not yet ready but have questions, please let us know. Sometimes we work with folks for years before they are finally ready to buy.
Thanks for reading!
Follow Us