The Benefits of Working With a Buyer's Agent

San Diego Real EstatePodcast with Max Folkers

Even in a hot market like ours, it's important to have representation by your side when buying a home. Here are the major benefits of working with a buyer's agent.

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When you're buying a home, it's extremely beneficial to hire a buyer's agent and stick with them.
In our market with limited inventory, we see a lot of buyers thinking they can go directly to a home's listing agent and that the agent will cut their commission, giving them a price benefit. In reality, though, the listing agent has a contract with the home seller for the total amount of commission of the sale. They offer a portion of it to the person that brings a buyer. Whether that person is themselves, somebody on their team, or a third-party agent, they will get paid that same amount.
Wouldn't you want somebody representing you and your interests in the negotiation?

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Let an agent take care of coordinating all those showings you want to go on.

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That listing agent has known the seller at least as long as it took to get the home on the market, if not longer, whereas they've only known you for 15 minutes or so. Who do you think is going to win in that negotiation?
Another benefit to having a buyer's agent is that they can coordinate all the different showings. When you want to look at five or six houses, you don't have to try and schedule around open houses and availability. Let your agent take care of those things.
Additionally, buyer's agents have access to 'coming soon' properties that haven't even been listed yet. For example, I have a list of 12 of these properties currently that I share with my clients. They're not my listings, but I know about them because I network with all the other agents in the area. If you want that inside track, you need to find somebody who does their homework to benefit you.
Another great example of the benefits of having a buyer's agent is the marketing. One of the agents in our office has a client looking specifically in the Escala complex in Mission Valley where there's just nothing on the market. Our agent is putting together a letter about that buyer and mailing it to the entire complex to find out who is thinking about selling their house to see if we can put together a deal.
If you're looking to buy a home, we'd love to represent you, but we want you to at least reach out to a couple buyer's agents to find the best fit for you. Just give me a call or send me an email soon. I look forward to hearing from you!