How is it I’ve been in this business 16 years and haven’t had that problem?

I always explain to my buyers that they’re better off shopping around and finding a good agent and sticking to them through a buyer rep agreement. This way I’m confident I won’t get screwed because they use me to look at homes and then have their lazy relative with a real estate license get the commission.

These days, I find myself agreeing with clients more and more, and agents less and less

Disagree! You, never!

Yes, that’s sarcasm coming from one Italian (ancestors are from Sicily and Rome) from the east coast (NY) to another.

I have to disagree, as “handshake deals” are done every day between buyers and buyer agents.

I will point out though, that it is not even POSSIBLE to have a handshake deal between buyers and sellers, due to the Statute of Frauds. Any agreement involving the EXCHANGE of real property, must be in writing.

When I see a buyer sweating over signing an offer to purchase, I pull the contract away until we talk about what concerns he may have that he hasn’t yet verbalized. Once he has a chance to get his questions answered, or he changes the offer to one he is more comfortable with, I bring the contract back for signature.

Once I tore it up after he signed it. That was a funny night. Almost as funny as the time my crossed legs were stuck together by the time we were finished signing, because I had my legs waxed just before the appointment. The client had to get me “unstuck” LOL. Fun memories.

I read somewhere that the words “contract”, “signature” and the phrase “sign here” caused tremendous anxiety in people. This probably due to bankruptcy, divorce, and other situations that caused financial trauma.

I remember training a newer agent down in L.A, and he kept wanting me to teach him how to get a Buyer Agency Agreement signed. I kept wanting to train him how to earn the RIGHT to get one

Student of the Market first and foremost! It’s like never handing out my business card until someone asks me for it. They should ask for my card by what I’ve said in our conversation. When someone leaves an Open House and turns or comes back and says “Can I have your card?”, I know I don’t need to pull out the Buyer Agency Agreement and the pen.

However, the purpose of signing a contract is usually to cover a completely different portion of the anatomy.

Like you I don’t use the buyer broker contract all that often. I do however use it for control purposes. For instance when a buyer shows up at my office with a list of 10 homes they want to see right away. I’ll pull out the document and review it with them letting them know that I would be happy to show them the homes if they are interested in purchasing a home that would fit their needs. Sometimes I don’t work with people I don’t know all that well and I like to have some control over the client. Sometimes the list of homes includes offerings that don’t compensate through MLS. I deliver a certain standard of service but to get to that level we have to work on terms I am agreeable with.

In Arizona we can ask for a retainer fee, up front, payable to the broker and that amount does not have to be credited to any compensation in a transaction. While I haven’t collected a retainer fee as of yet, I think sometime down the road it will be a regular practice.

Great blog you folks have, I hope to visit on occasion and comment.