If you were in dire need of a heart operation, would you go to a General Practitioner … of course not! You would want, not only a specialist, but the best specialist in the field to ensure the entire process is handled properly.

So, there are many reasons why its important to understanding the home buying process. Financial and emotional reasons are just a couple of big ones.

There are many important items that need to be addressed, so that the whole process will run smoothly without any issue. A few of these items are property disclosures, mortgage information and many other legal issues.

Errors, in the process, can be costly and the dream home can be turned into a nightmare.

To ensure that these items are accurately addressed and are able to create a smooth transition in the purchase process, the benefits of having a ABR on your side is plus!

Resources to assist you in understanding buyer representation and how using an Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) designated agent can provide expertise throughout your home buying process.

Major Steps in the Home Buying Process

GETTING STARTED

One of the best ways to make the home buying process flow easier is to become better-acquainted with your options and clearly define your goals.

Understanding the reasons you want to buy—and what you want to accomplish in your move—will go a long way towards shaping your plans and improving your results.

Perhaps the most important first step involves deciding how you will approach your home search. Who will you work with throughout this process—and how will you work with them?

WHY USE AN ABR®

Buying a home is no small matter. Besides being the largest financial transaction you may ever undertake, it’s probably also the most complex.

There are many good reasons to work with a qualified real estate professional—especially a trained professional who has earned the Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) designation, representing best-in-class buyer services.

When you look for an ABR® before you look for a home, you’ll be served, not sold. Your interests become their interests. And you’ll be working with someone who has gone the extra mile by completing specialized training in delivering the best in buyer-representation services.

Plus, a REALTOR® who has an ABR® designation also has an established track record, with proven experience in representing the concerns of homebuyers.

The ABR® designation is awarded through the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council, or REBAC, which was founded in 1988 to promote superior buyer-representation skills and services. REBAC is affiliated with the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

ABR® VS BUYER'S REP

A buyer’s representative (or simply buyer’s rep) is a licensed real estate professional who represents prospective home buyers in their property transaction.

Joe Rothstein, a speech pathologist, decided he was ready to become a homeowner in 2010. He wanted to live in a neighborhood of Los Angeles County that was close to his clients — and, oh yeah, close to the beach. Click on the video below to see why he chose to work with an Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®).

If you’ve formalized an agency relationship, typically by signing a buyer’s rep agreement with a buyer’s rep, you can expect him or her to:

Understand your specific needs and wants, and locate appropriate properties.
Assist you in determining how much you can afford (pre-qualify your mortgage).
Preview and/or accompany you in viewing properties.
Research properties, to identify any problems or issues you should consider.
Advise you in formulating your offer.
Help you develop your negotiation strategy.
Provide a list of potential qualified vendors (such as inspectors, attorneys, lenders, etc.) for other related services that may be needed.
Keep track of all the details throughout the entire transaction—to closing and beyond.

In other words, a buyer’s rep should make your home buying experience go as smoothly and successfully as possible.

But not all buyer’s reps are equal. A buyer’s rep who has earned the Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) designation has made an extra effort to raise the bar, with additional training and experience in serving you, the homebuyer. If you work with an ABR®, you can feel more confident that you’ll receive the highest level of buyer-representation services.

REAL ESTATE COMMISSIONS

Everyone deserves to be paid for the valuable services they render to others, and real estate professionals are no different. But as a prospective homebuyer, you’ll want to be sure you understand how compensation factors into your transaction.

Common questions include:

What is the standard compensation structure?

There actually is no standard compensation structure. For the most part, real estate professionals are compensated by commission, based on a home’s selling price. Commission rates are not standardized, but vary, as does how the sales commission will be divided between the agents on the selling and buying side of the transaction. There is consistency, however, in how commissions are paid. When a seller signs a listing agreement, their contract is with a brokerage firm. All fees must pass through that brokerage firm. Typically, the seller’s representative—and your buyer’s rep—will be paid by the listing broker after the transaction closes.

What services can I expect to receive?

This depends on what level of service you have established as a homebuyer. If you have not formed an agency relationship, you are probably considered a customer, rather than a client, and you will likely receive a lower level of service. The terms vary from state to state, and each buyer’s representative can set their own guidelines within their state parameters and their brokerage practices. So you should clarify, preferably in writing, the services you are entitled to receive before you start viewing properties.

It’s also important to understand that if you do buy a home, your buyer’s rep will probably receive compensation (through the listing broker), regardless of whether you are a customer or a client. So more times than not, it’s in your best interest to formalize an agency/representation relationship, so you’ll receive the highest level of service possible. (Learn more about agency relationships.)

Will I pay more to be represented as a buyer?

In the vast majority of cases, the answer is no. When a house is listed for sale, the seller’s contract spells out the commission rate that will be awarded to a buyer’s representative. This is known upfront and typically covers all, or at least most, of your representative’s compensation.

If it doesn’t, the choice is yours. You can scratch this house off your list, or decide to view it, knowing that any remaining compensation will need to be addressed. But even if the seller’s listing contract doesn’t entirely cover your buyer’s representative’s compensation, and you must pay the difference, it’s quite possible that these relatively small differences will be more than offset by other purchasing terms negotiated with the seller.

Can I avoid real estate commissions altogether and buy directly from a seller?

Yes, this is an option that some buyers explore. However, it’s important to understand that nothing is truly free and this approach still carries a price. Unrepresented sellers (for sale by owner properties) frequently lack adequate information about how to price their home, or attempt to inflate the price in lieu of paying a real estate commission.

As an unrepresented buyer, it will be much harder for you to know if you’re overpaying. Real estate professionals have developed keen pricing insights that go well beyond simply evaluating data through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). And if you are overpaying, it will create further complications in securing financing.

For these, and many other reasons, a high majority of consumer-to-consumer housing transactions never reach closing. Real estate professionals play a valuable role in keeping your home-purchase on track, starting with selecting and touring properties and continuing through negotiations, inspections, financing, and closing. This is especially true in today’s market, where alternative buying opportunities, including short sales, have added even more complexity to some real estate transactions.

BUYER REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT

If you’ve started looking for a home—and a real estate professional to assist you—your buyer’s representative may ask you to sign a Buyer Representation Agreement. What is this form? Why should you sign it?

A Buyer Representation Agreement is a legal document that formalizes your working relationship with a particular buyer’s representative, detailing what services you are entitled to and what your buyer’s rep expects from you in return. While the language used in the document is formal, homebuyers should view it as an important and helpful tool for clarifying expectations, developing mutual loyalty, and most importantly, elevating the services you will receive.

Receive a higher level of service. If you’ve formalized an agency relationship with a buyer’s rep, you can expect to be treated like a client instead of a customer. What’s the difference? Clients are entitled to superior services, relative to customers. While the details vary from state to state, and from one buyer’s agent to another, you can generally assume that being a client means that you’ve formed a fiduciary, or agency, relationship with your buyer’s rep.
Get more without paying more. Oftentimes the listing broker has already agreed to pay a buyer’s broker’s commission. If they haven’t, you can ask your buyer’s rep to avoid showing you any such homes. Or you can still view the home, knowing that you’ll need to factor your broker’s commission into any offer you may write.
Avoid misunderstandings. A Buyer’s Representation Agreement clarifies expectations, helping you understand what you should and shouldn’t expect from your buyer’s rep, and what they will expect from you, which usually centers on loyalty.
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While most representation agreements specify a time period, they can be terminated early if both parties consent. Most buyer’s reps are willing to end the agreement early if the working relationship isn’t going well. Some buyer’s reps also offer representation agreements for as little as one day, for the purpose of giving both parties a brief trial period to explore working together.
Strength as a team. When you and your buyer’s rep work together within a formalized agency relationship, you have created a team dedicated to helping you achieve the best possible home-buying experience.

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW TO LEARN ABOUT ADDITIONAL REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD SIGN A BUYER’S REPRESENTATIVE AGREEMENT

Where Can You Find an ABR Agent?

In Naples, Florida, Brent Jeansonne, REALTOR® is an Accredited Buyer’s Representative. Brent and his wife and partner, Cindy Oneto-Jeansonne both also holds their designation of GRI. Their accomplished success is attributed to their serving people who are looking to find their dream home in Naples, Florida. They are broker associates who work for Berkshire Hathaway Florida Realty as TEAM PLATINUM of NAPLES.

Their success can be attributed to their exciting and pleasant demeanor, trustworthiness, experience, customer service, personal relationship building and strong ethics policy. Their method of achieving goals for their customers is by means of personal service, research, implementing, and executing creative and constructive marketing plans and using their negotiating skills for the customers benefit. Their mastery in marketing is the based on the reputation for developing strong and long-lasting business and personal relationships that have resulted in total customer satisfaction.

As a team for Berkshire Hathaway, they are a President’s Circle Award Team Recipient and Lely Resort and Naples, Florida Specialist Providing Concierge’ Residential Real Estate Service for Sellers, Buyers and Relocation into Naples, Florida.

Cindy Oneto GRI®, REALTOR® for over 19 years, has maintained the stature of being a consistent Top 5, Multi-Million-Dollar Producer with Berkshire Hathaway Florida Realty in Naples, FL. Her experience has enabled her to achieve goals in satisfying customer needs and dreams, resulting in many transactions of diverse styles and locations of residential properties within the Southwest Florida corridor.

Brent Jeansonne MS, GRI®, ABR®, REALTOR®, for over 29 years, has been in the service-oriented industry as a distinguished entrepreneur. Brent’s customers have been drawn to his refreshing, personal manner, along with solid and proven results. His success is due to his high-level of commitment, performance and relentless drive towards customer satisfaction.

To see what Brent and Cindy can do for you, contact them at (504) 458-1205 or (239) 784-9229 Today to “Discover Your Dream” in Naples, Florida.