Why use just one Realtor?

Some of my clients are perplexed by the notion that I will only work with them if they work with me exclusively. The idea of a buyer’s agent can be a difficult concept to grasp. I like to use a term that Larry Anderson, a teacher with NVAR(Northern Virginia Association of Realtors), uses a lot in his classes, “Buyer’s Advocate.” A buyer’s advocate can look out for the best interest of their client, the buyer. Doesn’t sound very unique, does it? Well, let me backtrack a bit. Way back in the earlier years of real estate in Virginia, up until about twenty or so years ago. There was no such thing as a buyer’s agent. There were only agents and subagents. The agent worked for the seller and the subagent worked for the agent. Loyalties were with the seller. According to agency law there was no choice. All of the facilitators to the transaction were being paid by the seller and were duty bound to do what was in the best interest of the seller. It’s no wonder people didn’t like real estate agents. When the idea was introduced to have buyer’s agents, or someone that worked for the buyer, it was met with a great deal of trepidation. These agents for the buyer were introduced somewhat sheepishly to the market. Only a few were bold and brash and took the idea of buyer representation to heart and truly advocated for their clients. It is those Realtors and real estate agents that I respect. When I present a buyer with the opportunity to work with me, I first ask them if they would be willing to sign a buyer agency agreement. This contract states that the buyer will work with me exclusively and that I will work in the buyer’s best interest, and that they will pay my commission. It is a concept that I hold very dear and take extremely seriously. Just ask a few of my clients and you will see. I joined Frankly Realty not just for the fact that I think that Frank is brilliant and his ideas about real estate brokerage are fantastic and ground breaking, but also because I believe that Frank holds the same belief that I do, that we are agents for our clients whether the are buyers or sellers and that regardless of what we may want, we need to do what is in the best interest of our clients, or get rid of them as clients. If my client’s needs are better met by someone else, I will often recommend someone else that I think will do a better job for them. I don’t see it as a short fall of mine. I see it as doing my job better than someone that would still work for that client in order to make the commission, knowing that they were doing a disservice to that client. By taking my job seriously, I can get something that most Realtors simply can not. I can get my clients to take my job seriously. Larry Anderson has a shirt that says “Buy from me or get out of my car.” A lot of Realtors like to complain about clients letting them chauffer them around for a couple of days treating them like walking lock boxes and then deciding that they really didn’t want to buy anything after all, or else go to there friend or relative to write a contract on the house that they want. I say, you brought it on yourself by not having respect for your profession. If you would stand up for yourself in the beginning and show the prospect that you have worth and that your time is valuable, then they would have no choice but to see you the same way. So I say, “Buy from me or get out of my car.” My client’s sign a buyer agency agreement that states that they will pay me the commission I charge regardless of who they buy a house from. I will take them to FSBOs that don’t pay a commission. I will take them to owners who haven’t even realized that they are going to sell their house yet. I will take them to MLS listings that are offering less than I charge for commission. I am able to open the market up to the every house that they see by making it a requirement that they pay me I don’t have to go to the home owners with listing agents that are deigning to pay my commission. I can take them to any house, regardless of it’s status. I do everything in my power to ensure that the seller will reimburse my clients for the commission that they pay me, but ultimately they will be responsible. If they don’t get the value of my service at that point they are better off with an agent who likes to be a chauffer.