The basic difference
with "exclusive" representation is that the whole agency, as a matter
of company policy, never serves sellers. Never taking listings, they represent
only buyers in every transaction, with fiduciary-based services. While
we all are realtors, and belong to all of the appropriate Multiple Listing
Services, our company policy dictates that we serve only buyers in every
transaction.
That makes our office an "EBO"....an "Exclusive Buyers Office".
And it makes our agents, "EBA"s, "Exclusive Buyers Agents"
"Exclusive agencies" deliver "Client Level Service"....above that which the law requires, where buyers become clients instead of customers, and realtors become consultants instead of salespersons. It's a profound difference. Promises are identified by the acronym, CARLOAD:
C
Confidentiality...absolute.
A
R
L
O
A
D
Obviously,
these promises, taken seriously, cannot be given but to one party in any
transaction.
We are realtors however, and we still have access to the entire Multiple Listing Service, in effect, we have access to everyone else's listings! But as we'll show, we have more! We also have access to new-builds, to for-sale-by-owners, and a great deal of unlisted properties.
That's irony # 1....we have no listings of our own, but more to show than traditional realtors!
A host of benefits are therefore "automatic":
- Absolute objectivity in the marketplace! We won't "steer" you to our own listings for we have none! We don't care what you buy as long as it's the best buy, with only your interests to serve. The nutshell: "We'll help you buy what you need to buy, rather than being sold what somebody else needs to sell"!
- Never a conflict of interest with a seller...on any subjects. We're always loyal to you and support your interests exclusively.
- No "Dual Agency"....where we might try to represent both sides of a transaction. We believe that's an oxymoron! It's not both, it's neither....that get good service, yet the commissions are still paid as if full service was generated.
- It permits specialization
and all of its benefits. By always looking at the transaction from the
buyers' side and always looking for ways to better serve, these benefits
are profound. A few specifics:
- Gathering
information for the buyers benefit.
- Making sure
buyers see all of the options
- Negotiating
seriously
- Looking for
trouble...so that there are no unpleasant surprises
- Setting up resale...a prime buying goal.
- Gathering
information for the buyers benefit.
Most of these benefits are simply not available in traditional offices. You can't promise absolute loyalty, full confidentiality, total disclosure and maximum advocacy to more than one party in a transaction!
The seller's agent promises these elements to the seller! The whole agency is legally bound to support those promises.
The whole agency is legally obligated to obtain the highest price possible for the seller, and to protect the seller's interests...exclusively.
(Or....to "default" into the "Dual Agency" mode, purporting to represent both sides of the transaction, which is even worse. More detail on our web site.)
This is a related quote from our "Bibliography" section: "Nader again held up exclusive buyer brokerage as the only legitimate option for homebuying consumers." From Agency Law Quarterly, (See Nader's picture in our scrapbook section here!"
The Nutshell: "Only an Exclusive Buyers Agent can exclusively protect the buyers interests and is always on the buyers side!"
For in-depth information on "Exclusive Buyer Representation"....go to our web site at www.homerelo.com....under "The Concept"!
Remember, this is an introduction to our main Internet site which includes much more detail, and is oriented to the buyer-client. It's rich in information....the kind of information that relocating families need to make wise buying decisions....and wise selections of realty services.
