What is Buyer Agency?
Most likely, unless you've bought real estate in other parts of the country, "Buyer Agency" is a new concept for you. Buyer Agency is common in the west and south, but is relatively rare in the northeast.
Think of us (there are three of us that work together at Catskills Buyer Agency) as your own Personal Shopper for real estate, who can take you to virutally every "store" in the area to find you just the right place — and when you find it, we work on your behalf to get it at the best price and terms for you. Best of all, our services don't cost you a penny extra (except in a very unique instance, see How We Get Paid, below).
Here are some answers to questions people often asking about Buyer Agency
1) Am I a "regular" real estate broker or something like a "buying service"?
I'm licensed by the State of New York as an "Associate Broker", and am affiliated with Catskills Buyer Agency, the only Exclusive Buyer Agency in Sullivan County, New York. I'm a member of the Sullivan County Board of Realtors and both the Sullivan County Multiple Listing Service and the Greater Hudson Multiple Listing Service. As a Realtor, I can show and sell every property listed by other Realtors here in the county. I've also earned the Accredited Buyer Representation designation from the Real Estate Buyer Agency Council of the National Association of Realtors. (I'm also licensed as a broker in Pennsylvania, just across the river, for the convenience of showing river property on both sides of the Delaware.)
2) Do I sometimes represent sellers and take listings?
No, I work exclusively representing buyers and never represent sellers or take listings.
3) How do I get paid?
In most cases, I'm paid a portion of the sales commission offered by the seller. For example, if a seller lists their house with a 6% sales commission, a portion of that, say 3%, would go to the "selling agent" (me) at closing. The one exception is in the case of a "For Sale By Owner" (FSBO) house (where no commission is offered.) If I show you a FSBO (pronounced "fizz-bow") and you decide to buy it, we negotiate a net sales price with the seller and a fee is added to that net price to arrive at the gross sales price.
4) Is there a conflict of interest if I'm paid a straight percentage of the sales price?
At first glance, it would appear that if I'm paid a percentage of the sales price, that would motivate me to get you to pay the highest price possible for the house. But first, consider the money involved. A 3% commission on $10,000 (the difference between, say a $170,000 sales price and a $180,000 sales price) is $300, which, in the big picture, is bupkus! In the long run, I'm going to make a lot more money than that extra $300 if you're a happy client that refers other buyers to me.
In some parts of the country, Buyer Agents use very complicated compensation formulas — often with a flat fee plus a percentage of what they get you off the "asking price." Frankly, I think formulas like that, while appealing on the surface, are not in the buyer's interest. It offers a motivation to show you only houses that are overpriced, so the agent can appear like a star by negotiating a big price reduction. My goal is to get you the right house at a good price.
5) What are the benefits of working with a Buyers Agent versus a traditional seller's agent?
The obvious, of course, is that I represent, you, the Buyer, and not the Seller. But there are a number of other advantages.
- No Property Bias
While listing agents certainly can show you anything that is Multiple Listed by other agents, there is a financial incentive to them to show you their own listings first. If they sell you one of their own listings, they earn a bigger commission. Because I don't list property at all, I have no incentive to show you one property over another. - Wider Geographic Scope
Most listing agents focus on a limited geogrphic area. They generally know the properties for sale in their area well, but not properties across the county. My colleagues and I cover a wide area of the county, including the most popular second home areas. - Unbiased Opinion of Properties
Listing agents are prohibited, by their fiduciary responsibilities to the seller, from telling you that they think a property is overpriced, for example. I will. I'll also freely share my opinions about other aspects of a property, besides price. If I don't think a property is right for the lifestyle you're looking for, I'll definitely tell you. - Expert Price Guidance
I spend considerable time helping you shape an offer — reviewing comps, estimating likely appraisal value and projecting future marketability with minor repairs or updating. When a seller's asking price is way above what I think a property is worth, I prepare an extensive valuation analysis to support your offer. - Efficient Use of Your Time
Going from broker to broker is time consuming, and it can take a while for each of those agents to learn your taste — so you inevitably spend a lot of time schlepping through houses that don't fit what you're looking for. Before every visit, I spend a lot of time going over listings with you to hone in on the best that meet your needs. I've seen hundreds of houses here, and can tell you the pros and cons, so you don't have to waste time seeing dogs. And with every visit, I get better feel for what you're looking for. Your actual visit time is previous, and I'm committed to make every hour as productive as possible.
6) Can I work with you as well as other agents?
I work with clients in Sullivan County only on an exclusive basis. It avoids confusion, like double scheduling to see the same house with different agents. ("Oh, we didn't know it was the same house from the photos.") Or the touchy situation when a buyer has seen a house with the seller's agent, and then comes to me because they decide they want to be represented.
Every house we see together builds on the picture I'm gathering of your likes and dislikes. That helps me hone in more and more closely to what may work for you, as well as make suggestions that may be outside of what you said you're looking for. (You may be surprised that more than half of my clients end up buying a house that is quite different than what they started looking for.)
Finally, consider this situation. You've seen two houses you like — one with another agent and one with me — and are trying to decide between them. In discussing the house I've shown you to help you make a decision, I'm in a difficult spot. The only way I make anything is if you buy the house I've shown you, and not the other one. So I can be put in the position of advocating for the house, rather than advocating for you, the buyer, in terms of which house is the best for you. That's just not a position I want to put myself in.
I certainly understand that potential buyers may be looking in different areas. I feel strongly that an agent should only represent clients (whether buyers or sellers) in areas they know well, which is why I only work in Sullivan County, NY —and a little into the adjacent counties — Ulster, Delaware and Orange in NY and Pike and Wayne in PA — when nearby parts of those counties are "Sullivan-related". For example, a few miles into Delaware County north of Roscoe (off of Route 206) has a Roscoe address and is a part of the Roscoe market area. But further into Delaware County, to Horton, Hankins or Margaretville, and we're out of the area where I have significant expertise.
I work with a limited number of clients at any given time, typically at most 8 or 10. I make a significant commitment to them to find them a house, and ask that, in return, they make a commitment to me. However, I do not ask that you make that commitment until we've spent time together and agree that there is a "fit" between us. Our first, and sometimes second, time out together is "on me", so I can get a good idea of what you're looking for, you get a better feel for the market, and we both can determine whether there's a basis for an ongoing relationship. For more information about how I work, see "Working Together."
7) How do we start working together?
Send me an email about what you're looking for, or give me a call at 845-468-5710. If you've been searching real estate websites (including the MLS Search on this website), send along the reference numbers of houses you've found that caught your fancy. Please include a general budget range — I certainly won't hold you to it, nor only focus on properties at the upper end of your range, but knowing what price range you're thinking of helps focus my efforts. If you send an email, please include a phone number, as I may want to follow up with you on the phone. Often on the phone, I can get a much better sense of what you're looking for and what might work for you.
From there, I'll research listings and email some on to you to take a look at. We can discuss what you like and don't like, and I can give you my opinions on them.
The next step is for us to go out together to look at houses. Because available inventory in many categories may be limited, there may not be that many houses for sale to actually see, but a trip up is still important. Often, I spend much of that first trip doing 'drive bys' on houses that have recently sold or are in contract, so you can get an idea of the market, different price points, settings and styles.
At that point, we can discuss whether you want to retain me as your Buyer Agent and the specifics of an exclusive buyer agent relationship.
8) Will we work with you or one of your colleagues?
There are 3 of us that work together at Catskills Buyer Agency — myself, another agent, Kathy Rieser, and our broker Judy Siegel (who is the managing broker for the company.) i'm the most visible because of this website. (Kathy and Judy, while experienced in real estate, aren't big web prople.) We each focus on different parts of the market. Judy and I, for example, both handle a lot of lakefront, but from there, Judy has more of a focus on primary homes as well as the central and eastern parts of Sullivan County. While I tend to focus on the moderate to upper end of the second home market (from $200,000 up), Kathy has carved out a specialization in the affordable to moderate range, under $200,000. She knows the inventory of affordable-range houses much better than I do. So when you contact me with what you're looking for, I may suggest that you'd be better served working with one of my colleagues.
10) Do you handle all types of property?
No. We stick to our knitting. We generally don't handle commercial property (although Judy does some in the central part of the county), or work much with investors (where ROI is a primary factor). If you're looking for rental investment property, or flips, you're better off working with another broker. Our bread and butter is owner-occupied, single family homes (both primary and secondary.)
We do handle some raw land, if what you're looking for is within the bailiwick of what we keep on top of. We know lakefront very well, and also much of the larger acreage inventory available. However, if you're looking for an inexpensive building lot, say a 5 acre wooded parcel under $50,000, it wouldn't be something we'd handle. However, if you give me a call or drop me an email about what you're looking for, I'm happy to direct you to a Realtor who can help you.