Real Estate Featured

What does a buyer's agent actually do?

Brooks Lawson

19 Sep 2024 • 6 min read

People don't usually ask me this question directly. They're probably worried it's uncouth. I respect and appreciate it. It's a fair question. So let's talk about it.

Let's start with some things people may think we do, that we do not do:

Advise you on areas that are "safe" or have "good" schools.

Such recommendations would be in violation of federal Fair Housing regulations, and for good reason. There is an excellent investigation/documentary from Newsday that illustrates in great detail why that is: Testing The Divide,

But the short version is that if I were to answer that question, I would be giving my personal opinion, which is subject to bias, based on my personal experience, as well as those of my personal friends, family and acquaintances. My personal experience in any particular neighborhood or school system will not be representative of reality, it would only be an anecdote. What is far more valuable is to be, as they say in the industry, "the source of the source". I will direct you to empirical data from the Austin Police Department, TEA, Greatschools.org, etc.

Choose homes to tour on your behalf.

Some people watch too much HGTV. Surprise, everything on that channel is staged! You might have suspected but I know people who have appeared on several of these programs and can confirm. I will not be choosing homes for you to tour. I'm going to set up an email alert for homes, based on the criteria you've given me, and let you choose which properties interest you.

Help you "time the market"

Lots of people will ask me, on a regular basis "Is now a good time to buy/sell?" My response is always the same: What does "a good time" mean to you? Most likely you're asking me what's going to happen tomorrow, but the reality is that I don't have a crystal ball. There are people that are way smarter than me that get this wrong all the time. I'm happy to give you insight into mortgage rates, federal reserve predictions, local area development, new mortgage applications, market inventory, etc. for your personal analysis, but none of that is a guarantee of anything.

My advice is: "A good time" to move is when the time is right for you and your family. This is not a stock option, it's your home. If you don't need to move, my advice is not to, because it will cost you a lot of money. Especially when, as of writing, current interest rates may be double what you're currently paying. The important thing is that you plan to stay in your new home for probably 5+ years, as to recoup the equity and associated costs vs. renting.

But do you need to move? Are you expanding your family? Do you need to be closer to your job? Are you moving up financially and want something nicer? Are you getting divorced? Has a family member passed away? These are (financially speaking) reasonable motivation for buying/selling, and specifically not whatever is going on with the housing market.

Alright, now let's move on the the things we do!

This will be long so I'll give you the short answer first: Help you find success in your home purchase by providing you with the relevant information needed to make an educated decision for you and your family, and to make sure your i's are dotted and t's crossed so that nothing is left unsaid or unclear until it's too late.

Be your professional representative in the transaction: We are a legal fiduciary. We have a legal obligation to protect your best interests as the buyer.
Provide you with a curated list of local vendors that myself and my colleagues have had positive experiences with in the past. This includes lenders, title companies, home inspectors, contractors, handymen, insurance agents, and much more.

Note: I do not collect compensation from any of these vendors.
Learn about your needs, desires and budget, and advise you on the neighborhoods that may best fit those criteria. I'm going to reiterate here that I cannot comment on safety or schools. I will ask you questions that you may not have asked yourself. What's important to you, as far as location? What's your budget? Where will you be working? If remote, why are you considering Austin vs. any other city? What do you do in your free time? Do you like to hike/bike? Do you want to be near the water? etc. I will do my best to balance these criteria to help you find the area that best suits these.
Identify "off-market", "pocket", and "coming soon" listings. This does require a bit more work than just sorting through the MLS, as these properties can be found in various places across the web, as well as through networking with other agents.
Tour properties with you. Of course, most sellers are going to require someone to accompany you on tours that is licensed and background-checked, so most likely there will be some sort of lockbox on the property that only real estate agents will have access to. During the tours we will also keep an eye out for obvious red flags.
Run market analysis on a property of interest prior to submitting an offer to help you determine an offer price that is fair and that you are comfortable with.
Work with listing agent to identify the needs of the seller and craft offer that suits the seller and does not damage the buyer, and accordingly:
Write an offer that communicates to the other party that they're working with a professional, in order to give confidence that the buyer is ready, willing and able to fulfill the offer they're making, and that it will be a smooth transaction without anymore "road bumps" than are absolutely necessary.
Negotiate not only price, but the terms of the sale of properties.
Review the contract with the buyer, paragraph by paragraph, so that they fully understand everything that they're agreeing to, as well as all of their available actions and exits.
Attend the home inspection to gain a better understanding of the condition of the property, review the inspection report, discuss how to prioritize inspection items, and how to negotiate remedies.
Assist the buyer on identifying what are market "norms" so that they're not taken advantage of.
Coordinate with lender, title, listing agent, assistants and other parties to ensure the necessary action items are being performed within the appropriate timeline, and advise the buyer on how to navigate the situation when they're not.
Review the title commitment to triple-check any liens or encumbrances or cloud on the title is cleared prior to closing.
Review deed restrictions on the property to ensure the buyer may use the property as they intend.
Navigate potential appraisal shortages.
Scrutinize the property at the final walk-through to ensure the seller has performed all agreed upon repairs, and that the property has not been damaged or altered in any negative way prior to closing.
Review the settlement statement for accuracy, to ensure all accounting is correct and that no credits or prorations require correction.
Attend closing and answer questions about documents we are qualified to opine on, as well as double check the settlement statement once more against the advance copy we were emailed to make sure all proper changes were made.
Coordinate delivery of any keys or garage door openers after closing and funding.

Of course, after closing, we continue to be your real estate resource. We hope that our clients are our clients for life, and that this is not the end of our relationship. We will continue to keep you up to date on your home's value, as well as answer any real estate questions you may have.

And we hope we can be your friends as well!