Buyers Representation Agreement – Value Proposition

It is a legal document that was designed to aid the buyer in the search for a home using the services provided by a real estate sales representative. A Buyers Representation Agreement was introduced in the early 90’s as the need to represent the buyer was increasingly realized.

When searching for a home many people look through newspaper ads as well as visiting open houses and an increasing number use the internet to search through the multiple listing services (MLS) to look for available properties that meet their needs. The next step is to contact a Realtor® to view some of those properties. However, some buyers will call the listing agent unaware of the fact that the listing agent has a fiduciary duty to the seller and is working for the seller. Thus, the reason for the Buyer Representation Agreement.

Buyers need to have their own Realtor® to help them look for homes and negotiate terms and best price for this very important purchase. Some of the other benefits include exposure to properties that meet a buyers criteria as well as promoting and protecting the best interest of the buyer.

As Realtor‘s® we spent a large part of our day prospecting for buyers and sellers , as this is a highly competitive profession we want to be assured that when we are working with any potential buyers that they stay faithful to us until the home purchase is completed. A Buyers Representation Agreement does just that, it guarantees loyalty from the buyer and a payment of commission for services rendered.

The Toronto Real Estate Board needs to work on making the signing of the buyers representation agreement a mandatory requirement not only for the fact that a real estate sales representative will not loose their clients to other agents during prospecting and open houses, but also because of the value it provides to the buyer.

Indu Seth