Why Hire a Buyers Agent?
By Jim Palmer Jr.

Many real estate buyers seem reluctant to obligate their loyalty to any one real estate agent.  One reason may be that they have the listing information available at their fingertips and don’t see the need to commit to one agent. That is fine until they want to view the listed properties or write an offer. They may get the mistaken impression that all brokers will jump and run to show any listed properties without any obligation on their part to connect with a Realtor®.  When they decide to make a move on a property, they seem to place more emphasis on a broker’s availability instead of capability.

This impression may be caused by the fact that most listing brokers will show their properties to any buyer because they feel an obligation to their seller client.  But in this frenzied market most listing brokers are slower to jump and run for buyers because they are already overwhelmed answering the plethora of calls that come in on each listing. Besides that, they can only commit to one buyer since working with multiple buyers to secure the same property is a conflict of interest that is not allowed under Washington’s Law of Agency.   Don’t be afraid to hire a buyer broker instead of waiting for a listing broker to respond!

One of the main complaints levied against Realtors® in general is that they don’t respond to phone calls or internet requests as quickly as some think they ought to. One of the contributing factors to this shortcoming is that brokers have become gun shy, feeling abused by an ever-increasing-number of buyers who refuse to commit. It seems reasonable that if an agent had the assurance of a written agency agreement, their interest in that buyer might increase dramatically!

Another causal factor to this frustrating phenomenon may be how the Agency Law functions in this state. In states such as Idaho, written buyer representation agreements are required by law, while in our state the idea to enact such a requirement never seems to gain traction. In Washington, a written agency agreement with a seller is required, but not with a buyer. In fact, buyer’s agency can be created verbally, though such fragile agency relationships are routinely abandoned by fickle buyers.

Remember that loyalty begets loyalty! Carefully choose a professional and make it known to them that you will be loyal. Realtors often work hard with little assurance of reward, so give them that assurance and see what happens!