More than 1 buyer's agent, cool?

What is the normal expectation when you get a buyer's agent?

That you will work with them only?

We've been to many open houses and collected many business cards.
I want to pick 2-3 of the agents who seemed nice, and give them our requirements for a house.

I assume they will then send us listings, whoever sends us a house that looks nice, we'll see the house with them.
So one day we might see something with Agent #1, the next day with Agent #2.

Is that normal?

The wife doesn't feel comfortable with this.
She said:
"What if we go to a house with Agent #2, and we see Agent #1 there? Wouldn't it be like cheating on them?"

I told her that its normal to have multiple agents, since they all have access to different listings, and we'll just go see whatever house we like with whichever agent brought it to us.

Am I correct in the way Im thinking?

Thanks

Re: More than 1 buyer's agent, cool?

I have not heard of having multiple agents...we had our buyer's agent look for us and he sent us listings...they have access to the same information...I would think for your own sake you would only want to deal with one person and not different people...you also sign a contract with your agent so I dont think you can have multiples but I may be wrong.

Re: More than 1 buyer's agent, cool?

Couple of things:

1) Agents who are part of the multiple listing service pretty much all have access to the same inventory of listings. If it's on MLS, we can all show it. Sometimes, in rare cases, a company will keep a listing as a private listing and not put it on MLS, and in that case, only agents who work for that company will have access. But it's far more common for listings to be on MLS -- most companies want to work within the MLS system because it maximizes the chances of selling a property.

2) You are not obligated, in a contractual sense, to work with one agent, unless you sign a buyer brokerage agreement with them.

However, from a moral standpoint, I think you should at least let the other agents know that you are not working with them exclusively, and let them decide if they want to spend their time working with you, finding you listings, showing you homes, all of which can be very time consuming. Real estate agents don't work on salary -- it's a commission only job, so we don't get paid unless we make a sale. If I am spending my days, weekends, evenings taking out a buyer, I expect (or at least hope) that they will not go out with other agents. I go above and beyond for my customers, and sometimes work with them for lengthy periods of time. It would be a slap in the face to me to find out that one of my customers bought through another agent.

I don't really see an advantage for you to work with multiple agents, given that we all work off of the multiple listing service. And if you work with one agent consistently, they will get to know you and your wife, and will be able to provide better service to you than if you constantly meet with new agents. That being said - if you are working with someone, and meet an agent that you like better/want to work with, you can always be upfront and tell your current agent that you don't think it's working out and prefer to work with someone new.

Also, I don't know if you plan to work with an agent in a buyer brokerage arrangement (where the agent is an agent of you, the buyer) or a traditional arrangement (where the agent is working with you, the buyer, but is still an agent of the seller, or the seller's agent). But if you want someone to represent you as a buyer's agent, many agents require buyers to sign a contract with them so they are working as the exclusive buyer's agent. But you need to understand what the agency relationships are, and any agent you work with should explain this to you at the outset (and have you sign the NY State Agency Disclosure Form, which is not a contract, but a consumer protection disclosure form that is required).

Re: More than 1 buyer's agent, cool?

I wouldn't think this is cool. The agents invest time with a buyer in their search for a home to get commission from the seller's agent when the client purchases a home. If you work with several only one will eventually be compensated for their hard work and time, KWIM?

I think you should meet with two or three to ultimately decide who you will work with. You also have to keep in mind that a buyer's agent may ask you to commit to them as your buyer's agent buy signing an agreement and if you do, then you can't work with another agent.

Re: More than 1 buyer's agent, cool?

I signed a contract with my buyers agent. I think it would have been a waste of both our time to have more than one agent. They all basically ahve access to the same houses.

Re: More than 1 buyer's agent, cool?

It depends on if you're looking in one area. If you're looking in one area then having multiple agents is a waste IMO. If you're looking in several different areas then it may behoove you to have a few agents who specialize in the areas you're looking in

Re: More than 1 buyer's agent, cool?

>Agents who are part of the multiple listing service pretty much all have access to the same inventory of listings. If it's on MLS, we can all show it.
>


I thought in the "Open House" thread, there were multiple posts about people buying the house before it was on the market because their agent told them about it.

So, didn't that happen because:
Person A walks into Realtor office #1 and puts a house up for sale, the agents in that office will get first crack at it. And if I am working with an agent from that office, I will hear about the house before people working with agents at other offices.

If that is true...couldnt the same happen at Realtor office #2 ?

So if I have 2 agents (one from office 1 and one from office 2), then I have a higher chance of hearing about a new house before people working with 1 agent.


>The agents invest time with a buyer in their search for a home to get commission from the seller's agent when the client purchases a home. If you work with several only one will eventually be compensated for their hard work and time, KWIM?
>


But wouldnt that be because...the other agents couldnt find me the house I eventually ended up buying?

I think of it kind of like...if you were looking to build an extension, wouldn't you bring in multiple contractors, and have them draw up blueprints and then you choose the one you like best?
They still took the time to meet with you and get your requirements and then spent the time designing the new room, etc...but only 1 of them will get compensated.

Im new to all this, so I have no prior experience to draw upon.

Re: More than 1 buyer's agent, cool?

Re: More than 1 buyer's agent, cool?

Re: More than 1 buyer's agent, cool?

You can always do a phone consultation. I've done that with clients who work long hours and/or don't live that locally (even those who live in the city).

I think it's worth the time investment upfront, esp. if you and your wife are busy. You don't want to waste your time, and if you choose a good realtor, and let them know your real estate needs/wants/expectations upfront, I think it will be a lot more efficient for you!

Re: More than 1 buyer's agent, cool?

We used 1 buyer agent when looking for a house. We signed a contract with him that expired every 30 days, so we would resign with him every 30 days, but if we weren't happy we were free to go.

I personally liked the buyer agent better, he would point out everything wrong with the house, where the agent we dealt with before didn't.

Good luck in your search!!

Re: More than 1 buyer's agent, cool?

What happens when you go to open houses on your own? Daniel Gale usually requires you to sign a paper asking if you are working with an agent.

Since I found the house on my own, it might be possible to get a better deal if commission is not being split.

Re: More than 1 buyer's agent, cool?

If you sign a contract with an agent to represent you as a buyer's agent, you are obligated to buy through that agent for whatever the contractual period is. So if you sign an agreement that someone is going to be your exclusive buyer broker for 3 months, if you go to an open house during that period and want to buy the house, you need to use the agent you signed a contract with to make your offer. That agent gets paid no matter how you buy the house.

Even if you don't have a contract with a buyer's agent, you as a buyer, have the right to have the agent of your choosing make the offer and work with you on the transaction.

In fairness to the agent working the open house, you should always let them know when you first come in that you have an agent, and I give my customers extra cards of mine to show if they happen to pass by an open house that they are dying to see and I'm not with them. But if I have a customer I am working with, I encourage them to go out with me, rather than alone, during the weekends to look at homes (be in through open houses or private showings).

In most cases, if you go to an open house and decide to buy a home you see there, you will not save any money. For one thing, other agents within the listing agent's office may be working the open house. If agent A has 5 listings, she may ask agent B to work one open house, agent C to work another, etc. So if you come into an open house that agent B is working and write up an offer, agent A will get the listing side of the commission and agent B will get the "selling side" of the commission. But the seller will still pay the entire commission they agreed upon when they signed up with the listing agent.

Even if you go to agent A's open house, and agent A is the listing agent, she is most likely going to get the entire commission (listing and selling side) -- double siding a transaction/selling your own listing, is great for a listing agent, when possible. Sometimes, a listing agent will agree to take less if they sell their own listing, but that's really not the norm.

I know this came up on another thread and people have different views on it, but I am telling you honestly, from my experience, as both a listing agent and a buyer's agent: There's no great advantage to the buyer to buy at an open house through the agent at the open house (versus your own agent). Most agents would be thrilled to sell their own listing, but are also happy to have the listing sell via another agent (which is the basis of the MLS system), and in either scenario, the seller is usually paying the same amount of commission!

The way to get a good deal as a buyer, imo, is to use an agent who knows the market, who is a strong negotiator, and who will go to bat for you and your offer. I have 9 years of negotiating experience as a lawyer, and now a couple of years as a realtor... I sometimes know the realtor on the other side of the transaction, and I know my buyers and how to make their offer most appealing to the seller. So I know my customers will most likely get the house at a better price if they use me, rather than making an offer to an agent they met for 10 minutes at an open house who is representing the seller's interests.