A Buyer's Agent Can Sabotage A Buyer's Offer!

Buyer's real estate agents are a necessity to ensure the buyer is represented well, legally, fairly, competitively and successfully in their home buying transaction. A buyer's agent is typically paid by the seller so it is really foolish for a buyer not to have their own agent from the beginning of the home buying process. After all, would you go into the court room and use the other party's lawyer? Of course not. So get your own representation and let the seller pay for it!

This all sounds simple...but here's the tough part. If a buyer selects an unskilled, part-time, agent, the agent may acutually sabotage the deal. One of the main reasons a buyer's offer is not selected by the bank is that the buyer's agent was sloppy in their submission of the offer. The bank's real estate agent, the listing agent, is typically inundated with offers on well priced foreclosure properties. Those listing agents need and demand precision and accuracy with the multitude of offers they receive. If the offer is missing back up documents, a copy of the deposit check, signatures or is simply filled out wrong, the listing agent is instructed by the bank to "clean it up" before the bank will review it. The listing agent will send an email to the buyer's agent, wait for a response and a correction, and then finally submit it to the bank. Meanwhile, other offers have been considered (and possibly have been accepted) by the bank.

Buyers need to select well and give careful consideration to their agent. Here's a list to guide you:

1. Look for a Realtor designation. That assures that the agent is held to a higher standard of ethics.


2. Ask for referrals from friends and co-workers.


3. Check out the online presence of the agent. Is their website current? Are you able to search easily for properties at your leisure? Google the agent. Do they come up easily on the internet. Since statistics show that the over 90% of homebuyers search for their home on the internet, your agent should be prominently represented on the web. Their Facebook, Twitter and YouTube sites show that they stay ahead of the trends and take advantage of the technology you need to beat the competition to that great deal.


4. Ask how many homes they have listed and sold and how many buyers they have represented. The San Diego County average for real estate agents is less that 2 deals per year! And don't be afraid to ask for testimonials from previous clients.

Your agent will be your greatest weapon....or your worst enemy. Select well and go get that fabulous deal you've been dreaming about!!