Who Do San Antonio Real Estate Agents Work For?

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Today I am here to answer the question, “Who does the real estate agent work for in San Antonio?” This is a great question, and it’s actually covered by a disclosure in Texas called the Information About Brokerage Services. It’s one of my favorite documents in the real estate library, and I’m going to take just a few minutes today to go over it with you.

The Information About Brokerage Services disclosure simply describes how brokers work. In Texas, we are very pro-consumer, and don’t want people to get taken advantage of at all. Any time you have a substantial conversation with an agent, they should present that information to you.

The first thing this disclosure states is that brokers can represent the seller. When you see a yard sign with an agent’s name on it, that agent represents the seller. That means they have a fiduciary duty to the seller, and have to work diligently and competently, as well as negotiate on their behalf and disclose any information that the buyer gives to them.

If a buyer calls that sign and speaks to the listing agent, they are putting themselves in a bad spot. The agent will get all the buyer’s information and can then go give that to the seller. The buyer is giving up their negotiating rights by speaking with the seller’s agent.

Now, in Texas, brokers can also represent buyers. When they do, they need to have a signed agreement stating so. In most states, the seller’s commission to the agent actually pays for the buyer agent’s commission as well. Most of the times as a buyer, you won’t have to pay them!

Finally, brokers can also work as intermediaries between a buyer and a seller. In San Antonio, Keller Williams has about 1,600 agents in 3 different brokerages. It’s very possible that 1 KW agent will be on the listing side, and another KW agent will be on the buying side. An intermediary can’t disclose any confidential info, and everyone has to be treated fairly. Everything is confidential and separated with an intermediary. However, if something is required to be disclosed by law, such as a bankruptcy or foreclosure, they have to disclose it.

When choosing a broker to represent you, make sure you know who is being paid by whom. It’s clearly outlined in the both the buyer representation agreement as well as the listing agreement.

I hope that demystifies the question for you a bit. If you have any questions at all for me, don’t hesitate to reach out and give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you!

Can You Buy and Sell Your San Antonio Home All at Once?

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report
Interested in real estate? Click here to learn about a career in real estate

People have been buying and selling a home at the same time for many years. However, the process changed on October 3rd. The new TRID laws have made it more difficult to buy and sell a home simultaneously. It may take some serious navigating, but it can still be done. 

If you're selling and buying a new home from a builder, those transactions can happen at the same time. Sometimes, you can even close on the same day. Builders will often let you out of buying the property if your home sale falls through for some reason.

If you're selling your home and buying a pre-owned home, that can be a little bit trickier. If you try to overlap those transactions and something goes wrong on the sale of your home, you're still stuck buying the other home. Most people cannot handle owning two homes at once.

We overlap the sale with a lease back. This takes some serious navigating and a clear understanding of contracts and the transaction timelines to make sure everything works out for you. Basically, you lease back the home from the buyer. This saves you from finding temporary housing and moving twice.

The problem with a leaseback is that most sellers don't want any contingencies. If you can only buy a home once your home sells, it may make your offer less attractive to sellers.

When you're leasing back your home, you do pay rent to the buyer. The rent is based on the mortgage rate, and you pay the rent at closing. You also have to put down a deposit. Just like any other rental deposit, you should get your money back as long as there is no damage to the property.

However, some buyers don't return the deposit to you. You need to work with a Realtor who knows how to line things up perfectly and has systems in place to get that deposit back.

Ultimately, buying and selling at the same time might be tricky, but with the right Realtor, it can be done. If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Do You Need a Realtor When Buying from a San Antonio Builder?

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report
Interested in real estate? Click here to learn about a career in real estate

Today, let's talk about buying a home from a builder. This is an exciting opportunity. With a brand new home, you pick out your own colors and tiles. Some buyers think they can get a better deal from the builder if there's no real estate agent involved, but it's actually important to work with a Realtor in order to protect your own interests.

Builders know that 70% of homes sold have real estate agents attached to them. Builders are grateful for Realtors in the community that attract buyers. In fact, when you work with a Realtor, some builders offer incentives that you wouldn't get if you bought directly from the builder.

No matter how friendly the builder agent is, they are out to protect the building company. A Realtor will represent your best interests and get you the best deal possible. Your Realtor may know a better building company for your needs, get you more incentives, or point out better houses for you to buy.

I can't tell you how many times I've gone on a real estate listing and the seller had bought the home from a builder, but the builder withheld important information that causes the home to sit on the market. Don't let this happen to you. Builders are not concerned with resale value. Ultimately, they want you to buy their product.

Our job as Realtors is to help you understand the contract and negotiate the best deal. We'll tell you if the house will have difficulties on the resale end. Many builders have move up programs where they work in tandem with another real estate agent to help sell the property and help you buy another.

When builders have a relationship with a real estate agent, they will often recommend that agent to you. Although these programs can be great, one thing to keep in mind is that the real estate may have an agreement with the builder and that agent might not be as objective as another agent. In some cases, real estate agents that partner with the builder are more loyal to the builder than they are to you.

As you can see, it's important to work with a Realtor you trust when buying from a builder. If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!