"Facts, m'am. Just the facts" was the constant refrain of Sergeant Joe Friday of the television series "Dragnet" in the 1950s.

More than fifty years later in the real estate industry, a very special type of sergeant, the buyer's agent, performs an equally valuable service -- dispensing and interpreting facts for his buyer/client.

The buyer' agent's mission? To provide the client with a high-level of interpretation, even if it means walking away from the bulk of compensation should a sale not be consummated.

Crystal Cochrane is a first-time buyer who knows she needs help holding her own against other buyers for the house she wants to purchase and also owners with broker representation. She hires an Accredited Buyer's Representative, (ABR) Mac Martin who works in the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to advocate and negotiate her position. He advises her that based on the current seller's market and the fierce competition for homes like this, her best advantage is to:

1. Offer market value for the property;

2. Close in one month (which is one of the seller's hot buttons); and

3. Defer occupancy until the seller's children are out of school two months from now (which is a secondary hot button of the seller. In this case, the seller would agree to rent-back the property for a month.

Crystal makes her offer, matching all of the terms suggested by the buyer's agent.

Meanwhile, a competing buyer makes a similar offer plus agrees to waive the home inspection in an effort to speed up the sales process (as suggested by the seller.) The seller gives the three additional prospective buyers twenty-four hours to meet or beat those terms.

Mac is aware that Cochrane loves the house; but he is concerned about the possible impact of a purchase without a professional home inspection. Mac explained to buyer Cochrane that several of the homes on the periphery of the subdivision border are on landfill areas. He also wonders why the seller needs to close so quickly, inferring that such haste could be a "red flag." Mac tells Crystal that if she finds a defect in the house, there would be little, if no, cost-effective recourse having waived the home inspection.

Crystal takes to heart the pros and cons of Mac's information and declines to make a counter-offer. Mac helps Crystal purchase another property, complete with a home inspection, in a similar nearby neighborhood and her purchase closes without incidence.

Two months after closing, the buyer of the first house files a suit against the sellers for not disclosing a major crack in the foundation that might cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair.

The lesson here is that a truly knowledgeable and professional real estate buyer's agent tells a consumer about the good, the bad, and the possibly unsightly without regard to the real estate commission.

Because the agent was representing her interests, he provided Crystal with a most valuable service -- advising her that the stakes in the home buying game were potentially too high and too risky for her to rush into a deal without adequate protection.

Even some purchasers may be reticent to sign an "exclusive buyer's agent" agreement, buyers need to weigh the benefits involved.

Absent an advocate, you may find the transaction process too expensive, daunting, and/or perhaps impossible. Chosen wisely, a buyer's agent will present you with the facts you need and the interpretation required to lead you calmly and safely to a successful close. Even Joe Friday would be proud.

Resources

Real Estate Buyers Agent Council National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents

National Association of Real Estate Consultants

Consumer Certified Real Estate Consultant

For more articles by Julie Garton-Good, please press here.

Published: March 23, 2001

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Julie Garton-Good, DREI “The Frugal HomeOwner™” As a syndicated newspaper columnist, author and international speaker, Julie Garton-Good DREI, C-CREC™, is called “America’s Home Affordability Expert”, addressing more than 25,000 persons annually on topics of real estate industry trends and home affordability. She is the author of five real estate books and is the sole two-time recipient of the international "Real Estate Educator of the Year" award from the Real Estate Educators Association. In 1997, The National Association of Realtors® nominated Julie as one of the fifty most influential people in the real estate industry. She shared the list with only three other women.