Have Gun, Will Travel (2)

Date: 2012.05.20 | Category: Uncategorized | Tags: Buying House,homebuyer,house

Tweet

We’ll get into that in depth in a just a second, but here’s the short version: If you walk into a house and immediately fall in love with how much light there is in the back room, a buyer’s agent will point out that it’s coming in through a three-inch crack in the wall; a listing agent will point out there is no extra charge for that crack; and a facilitator will speculate the light could be coming from the sun—but is, of course, really not sure and you should consult with your attorney.

Now, which one do you want to represent you in this deal? If you are a homebuyer—especially a first-time homebuyer—you want to hire your own buyer’s agent.

AGENCY LAW (BLAH)

OK, let’s do this. Most of this chapter is about selecting the right agent—which means, for background purposes, we need to talk about something called agency law. Agency law literally means “who represents whom” in a real estate transaction.

You’d think it would be obvious. You’d think that if you went out and got a real estate person, he or she would be working for you. It’s not that easy. That’s why all this background is incredibly important, but it’s also really boring. To make matters worse, the more you talk about agency, the less clear it becomes. So here’s my offer.

If you memorize this line: I want an agent who will always represent me first. then you can skip the next several pages and f lip to the subsection titled “STOP HERE.” (Go ahead and go. The rest of us will wait ’til you’re gone to continue. Those of you staying who would like to hear music during this little break may hum quietly to yourself.)