The D.C.-area housing market is a complex mix of communities and housing styles, so first-time buyers often seek help from a real estate agent to help them sort out where and what to buy.
You can find lists of houses online yourself, of course, but it’s a pain contacting the different agents who represent each listing you like and asking to see each property. It’s also somewhat risky — a listing agent represents the sellers’ best interests, not yours. Ditto for that friendly real estate “host” at an open house. He or she represents the sellers and will tell them anything you say that might be useful to them.
Having a buyers agent, someone who represents your interests, helps level the playing field during the search and negotiation process. Before looking for your own agent, however, it’s a good idea to know who you are dealing with. There are real estate agents, brokers and Realtors. Three different designations — sometimes rolled up into one person.
Real estate agents have met the licensure requirements of the state or states in which they do business. They have passed both a national exam and individual state exams. Brokers are real estate agents who have at least several years’ experience selling real estate, have taken additional continuing education courses and have passed a state broker’s exam. Not only can they buy and sell real estate, but they can also open their own real estate shop.
A Realtor is a real estate agent who is a member of the National Association of Realtors, has taken additional classes on real estate ethics and agrees to uphold those more stringent principles. Most real estate agents take this step.
There are different ways in which a real estate agent or Realtor can work. The most common by far is to be an independent contractor but have one’s license affiliated or placed with a broker such as Weichert or Long & Foster. Both of these privately held firms own branches in the states in which they do business. The branches may be run by a managing broker, but the main brokerage license is held by the company. Companies such as Re/Max sell franchises to individual brokers who then have real estate agents who affiliate with them.
While the type of company an agent affiliates with usually does not affect a buyer, it can make a difference in the way the agent gets paid. Some agents split their commissions with the brokerage firm, and others simply pay the brokerage company a monthly or annual fee. And remember, regardless, the buyer almost never pays a real estate commission. Buyers’ agents receive a percentage from the commission the home seller agrees to pay the listing agent.
Buyers often choose agents based on recommendations from family and friends but many also search Web sites and try to find a Realtor with a reputation for success.
The upside of hiring highly successful, veteran agents is that the knowledge they have accumulated will help you evaluate homes. They know the market and can guide you on location, price and value — three key considerations. The downside is you sometimes get the name, not the agent. Successful agents with a lot of business may form groups within a brokerage, bringing newer, less experienced agents under their wing to take on some of the surplus work. It frees the veteran agent to focus on big deals. For first-timers, you may call a big-name office and end up going out with a rookie agent from that group.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Newer, less experienced agents still have plenty of skills to get the job done. What they lack in knowledge gained from years in the market, they make up for with enthusiasm, and some top-notch computer programs that can crunch numbers, evaluate neighborhood sales and pretty much arrive at the same advice the veteran agent would offer.
For first-time buyers who want to look at 50 houses, a newer agent is probably going to be far more amenable than the veteran agent would be to spending weekends and evenings scouring Fairfax County for town houses.
After you’ve gone out looking for homes with an agent a couple of times, you will know whether the working relationship is a good fit. The agent should try hard to show you plenty of properties in areas where you want to live, houses with the features you want to have and prices you can afford.
If you are not getting that good vibe, however, speak up. Even if you’ve signed a contract to work with a buyers agent, if you truly are not happy, most times both sides will agree to part company, and the firm’s broker or the veteran agent leading the group will help you find someone you are more comfortable working with. No one wants an unhappy buyer.
Ellen Beck coordinates real estate coverage for The Washington Examiner. She was a Realtor in Virginia.
