Real Estate Market is Coming up Roses but Buyers Should Beware of Thorns

The end of winter signals the beginning of the busy real estate season and the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA) is renewing an effort to educate buyers about the various choices for agent representation in the home buying process. While most states in the United States require agencies to disclose relationships, buyers are not always clear about what those relationships mean.

"We believe it is important that home buyers understand their options so they will make the best choice when selecting an agent," commented Benjamin Clark, 2010 President of NAEBA. "It is our mission to educate buyers on the advantages of using Exclusive Buyer Agencies and we want buyers to have that information before they sign a binding agreement with a real estate brokerage."

A "buyer's agent" is not always an Exclusive Buyer Agent (EBA). Agencies may have singular relationships, representing buyers or sellers only or they can be a dual agent that represents both sellers and buyers at the same time. Within a dual agency brokerage, there may be "buyer agents" but this differs from NAEBA (http://www.naeba.org) member companies where both company and agents exclusively represent buyers and never take listings. In fact dual agents and dual agency companies may represent buyer and seller in the same transaction, with written consent.

Michigan resident and recent home buyer, Darrell Perry, learned one of the potential pitfalls of using a dual agency. "Our first agent showed us homes in areas we did not want to live and that offered none of the features we required," commented Perry. "He told us there were no houses in our price range in our preferred area. We later discovered he only showed us homes listed with his agency. We thought he was working for our best interests."

Consumers who use an EBA can be certain that their partnership will be maintained throughout the purchase process. "We weren't very familiar with the concept of an Exclusive Buyer's Agent at the outset, but during the home buying process learned how valuable it can be to have our Realtor® looking out solely for our interests. The seller of the home we purchased commented that she wished that she had someone like our EBA on her side when she had bought the home," said Utah home buyers, Jonathan and Laura Tanner.

Home buyers can learn more about Exclusive Buyer Agency and locate an Exclusive Buyer Agent at http://naeba.org.

About NAEBA

The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA) is an organization of member companies dedicated to representing only buyers of real estate. To avoid conflicts, NAEBA member brokerages do not list homes for sale and never represent sellers. This restriction to one side of the real estate transaction ensures that the interest of home buyers is protected in every step of the real estate transaction, from house-hunting and negotiation, to inspection, financing and closing.

NAEBA is pioneering a nationwide effort to give today's home-buying consumers the level of service they deserve and are increasingly demanding. NAEBA members firmly believe that home buyers have the same full and equal representation rights as sellers in any real estate transaction. NAEBA, in existence since 1995, is comprised of Exclusive Buyer Agencies throughout the United States, and in some international markets.