Homes by Price
Buying Florida Homes - Buying Florida Condos
Florida Real Estate |
North Carolina Court RulesRealtors Must Divulge CommissionsIf a builder offers a real estate company a bonus for selling its homes, that company could theoretically direct its agents to show those homes first. If those companies were exempted from providing full disclosure of their compensation, those incentives could be hidden from consumersIn North Carolina a 2008 court ruling requires agents and brokerages to disclose the compensations offered on properties shown to Home Buyers. This was a result of Real Estate Agents not showings properties with Low commissions in favor of Higher commissions and Bonus on another property. Realtors in Florida are NOT required to make this disclosure. It is not uncommon for a listing agent that has found a buyer for his listing to refuse to take Higher offers from other Buyers. Why, even though his client would benefit from a higher price the Listing Agent would lose half the commission he would otherwise make. Exclusive Buyer Brokerages provide Full Disclosure to their Home Buyers because they work directly for the Home Buyer and NEVER take listings or represent sellers. Exclusive Buyer Agents and their Exclusively Buyers Brokerages have no obligations to the Seller so their is never a confect of interest. The entire buying process is completely open including individual home commissions/bonus, seller motivation, current market values, property history and property financial's and taxes. The Home Buyer also has the option of being paid the Buyer Agents Commission. This commission is paid by the Seller at closing to the Home Buyer. This frees the Buyer and his Exclusive Buyer Agent to negotiate compensation that create incentives that work for the Buyer... not against them.
Push for "Full Disclosure" for Buyers on Home Purchases
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Question: I'm a very concerned buyer. Recently I placed an offer on a house and was turned away by the selling agent, who claimed he had too many offers. To make a long story short, he was not taking anymore offers due to the fact that he wanted to collect the maximum commission by representing the seller and buyer. ( this is known as a "Transaction Broker" in Florida ) If other potential buyers were interested in the house, he would say 'we already accepted an offer' reducing or eliminating others from the American dream of purchasing a home. This information was leaked to me by a close friend of mine who works in the same office as the agent. Even if other offers were higher, or the buyers were better qualified, he wouldn't accept them. He was only taking the offer from the buyer that he was representing to max out his commission. NOT FAIR!!! Read complete article HERE
Why the odds are Against Home BuyersThe deck is stacked against you.... but wait…. In Real Estate, the norm is that the Seller of the property pays a fee for selling his/her property. This FEE is most always based on a percentage of the Final Sales Price. This creates a natural incentive for the Listing Agent to sell the property for the highest possible price. The higher the price, the higher his/her commission. This built in incentive also creates the desire for the Listing Agent to display and promote the property in the most favorable light. This is how the industry as a whole functions and why it has always been a Seller Orientated Market. All the incentives work for the Seller and AGAINST the BUYER. As a BUYER, this makes it vitally important to find a Real Estate Professional that will represent YOUR interests 100%, 100% of the time. In Florida, if you are using a traditional Agent, Buyers Agent or a "Transaction Broker", the incentives are to get the Highest Price. It's the commission thing again. . In Florida, virtually all Realtors provide buyer services as "Buyer Agents" with the term AGENT used generically however, there has always been a question as to whether they can act in an "AGENT " capacity while working in a Brokerage that representing both buyer and seller at the same time. These "Buyer Agents", can have their own Listings to sell and may have the ABR designation (Accredited Buyers Representative). They typically can not provide buyers Fiduciary Representation (100% representation as your attorney does). Why ? Because it's the brokerage in Florida that owns the listings and the agents work for the brokerage. The agents have obligations to the brokerage to sell the brokerages listings and this creates an inherent "conflict of interest" when trying to serve opposing interests. In light of this the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in its wisdom, has chosen the ABR (Accredited Buyer Representative) designation as opposed to the ABA (Accredited Buyer Agent ). Additionally, NAR has never endorsed Florida's "Transaction Broker". Roughly 8% of all Real Estate Professionals in Florida are Exclusive Buyer Agents or EBA's. They have given up the income from working with Sellers to work Exclusively with Buyers. They see themselves as Buyer Advocates and provide an AGENT relationship with 100% representation, 100% of the time…the same as your attorney does. They do NOT switch back and forth from buyer to seller or act as a Transaction Broker. They DO remove the Seller "higher price" incentives for their buyers.
Florida.. Looking out for Home Buyers ?
Looking out for the BuyerIn 1983, a Federal Trade Commission study revealed that over 72% of all home buyers mistakenly believed that they were represented by the agent who was showing them homes. The fact was that most agents showing homes were representing sellers. And by the legal requirements of "agency representation", a Real Estate agent must negotiate in the best interest of their client. This requires not withholding any information from them (possibly meaning they would reveal such important information as buyer's motivation, financial qualification etc.) and presenting their property in most favorable way. When consumers became aware of this, they demanded their own representation. Consequently, laws requiring disclosing representation were passed all over the country... Enter the "exclusive buyer agent", an agent that does not have a conflict of interest since he/she only represents the buyer in a transaction. An Exclusive buyer agent works in the Buyer's best interest getting back to the legal definition of "Agency Representation". Florida’s Dual Agency Solution ?Florida is now a "Transaction Brokerage" state. Due to the FTC finding and the widespread practice of "Dual Agency", where the seller’s agent would represent both the Seller and the Buyer… "Conflict of Interest" was a legal problem that more and more brokerages had to deal with. Todays Transaction Brokers must walk a tightrope between the Buyer and the Seller. The Transaction Broker can't provide Full Disclosure or Fiduciary Representation to either the Buyer or Seller (some would call this leveling the field). In fact, They can't represent either one. They are simply "Facilitators". That's why they are called Transaction brokers. Now why would an agent choose to be a Transaction broker ? Simply, they are able to collect both commissions, the same as a Dual agent. Some argue that there is little difference. About Face….Some insist that today, Florida Law protects the Buyer's interest from a Seller orientated Real Estate industry and Dual agency. However, in 2008 the state of Florida DROPPED the long standing requirement that a Real Estate Agent must identify who he/she was working for or representing at the very first meeting with a new client. This law was originally written to protect buyers from agents not disclosing they were really working for the seller. Since then there has been a rush to "Buyer Brokerages" and the Exclusive Buyer Agent. The Informed Home BuyerThe department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD.gov) added the following statement to their "Home Buyers Handbook", "It is your responsibility to search for an agent who will represent your interests in the real estate transaction. If you want someone to represent only your interests, consider hiring an "exclusive buyer’s agent", who will be working for you." Call Exclusively Buyers Realty Email info@WaterfrontInFlorida.com |
Get the Exclusive Buyer Agent ADVANTAGE
"U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development "Home Buyers Handbook"
"It is your responsibility to search for an agent who will represent your interests in the real estate transaction. If you want someone to represent only your interests, consider hiring an 'exclusive buyer's agent', who will be working for you."
an 
web site 