In the State of Washington we have what is called Buyer Agency. That means an agent can represent a buyer in a Real Estate transaction. What confuses people is that in the past all agents ultimately represented the seller, and worked in the best interest of the seller. The reason for that is that the seller signs the Listing Agreement which gives the legal right to pay agents a commission.
On the HUD1 statement the buyer’s agent commission is still shown in the seller’s expense column so many people want to claim that the seller is paying both buyer, and listing commissions. The fact is a HUD1 is a mortgage industry form that is going to be hard to change. The law however is fairly clear to me. Buyers have the right to be represented. http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=18.86&full=true
Phew!!! that was a lot to say about something that should be very clear. Another fact is that I have been in discussions about Buyer Agency with Real Estate Brokers for the past two weeks. My opinion is that brokers want to keep buyers from being represented. Most brokerages feed off the free agent buyer who gets passed from online searches, to other agents, to shopping open houses then one day they find what they want, or an agent shows them what they will buy, and they hire the agent who is closest, at that time.
It’s a game.
In the next post I’m going to talk about the Buyer Agency Agreement most brokerages want you to avoid. Most buyers also want to avoid being tied to an agent for an extended period of time. I have my opinions though about how a property search could be better handled.
About David Losh
In 1984 I got my Real Estate license and worked in a small company called Advance Properties. The owner was extremely interested in Real Estate, building, and land development. Most of his work was concentrated North of Seattle. Since the 1970s I had worked for Real Estate agents in Seattle as a contractor, mostly preparing properties for rent, and sale.
After a few years my skill level increased considerably concerning land use, building code, and development practices. Escrow, and lending offices were housed at the Advance Properties building so it was easy to get involved in all aspects of Real Estate. It was very much a family owned, and operated business.
Over the years my Real Estate license has been at a variety of Real Estate companies, and offices. Nothing compares to those early years, or that sense of family. Real Estate has gotten to be corporate owned.
My hope with this blog is to share with you some of the things I've learned. If you have Real Estate needs, or want contractor help, I refer freely to what best suits you. If you should choose to work with me you'll find a great resource.
My Real Estate license is at Skyline Properties in Northgate. Skyline is a locally owned company that is a desk fee office. There is a wide variety of diverse agents. It helps me with some of the other projects that I have, and mentoring that I do, to be able to work with people from other cultures.
Here in Seattle we are close to Vancouver BC and are the gateway to China. Boeing has a great trade relationship with China, as does Microsoft have with all of Asia. We are a culturally diverse community, and it helps me to be invlolved.
