Does NOT Using a Lehigh Valley Home Buyers Agent Save the Buyer Money?

This is a common question. If a Lehigh Valley Home Buyer does not use their own real estate agent will it save them money?

The spread of real estate information on the internet has led some home buyers to believe they do not need to work with their own real estate agent to purchase a home. They believe the only thing the real estate agent does is find the house. This is definitely not true and I'll discuss it in a future blog.

Home Buyers believe that BY NOT using their own agent they will get a better deal on the house. After all, the home owner will save half the commission.

In Pennsylanvia anyways, this is a misconception. When a listing agent signs a contract with a home seller they both agree on a total commission that will be paid to the agent's broker upon the sale of the home. The broker will typically offer half that Commission to a Buyer's Agent, from any firm, as an incentive to sell the home.

In most cases, if their is no buyer's agent, the listing agent/broker will get the complete commission. This results in No Savings to the Seller!

In addition, this means that the home buyer may end up working directly with the agent who is representing the home seller. This is known as Dual Agency and should be disclosed (in writing). The real estate agent is working for both the Lehigh Valley Home Buyer and Seller and must represent each while protecting both parties privacy and confidentiality.

Is working directly with the sellers agent in the best interest of the buyer? Can the agent truly remain neutral and equally represent both the buyer and the seller throughout the negotiations, inspections and other contingencies? Hopefully, the answer is yes but if either side feels that the other was given preferential treatment it can cause a lot of problems. 

Either way, whether the home buyer has their own Real Estate Agent or decides to work directly with the seller's agent may not affect the purchase price of the property. Why go it alone when agent representation is built into the price of almost all home purchases on the market including new construction.

Visit www.LehighValleyHomes.com for more information.