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Property Buyers – Don’t Make a Costly Mistake

15.10.20

Use a Buying Agent

There is a common mistake made by many a homebuyer that once they have registered their details with an estate agent, that estate agent will act in their interests to find them their new home. This is a fallacy perpetuated by estate agents, as having a large database of potential buyers attracts sellers to list their properties with them.

And there is the rub: estate agents are retained by the seller and they act exclusively in the best interests of sellers. In fact, they have a fiduciary duty towards the seller, and so are legally obliged to act in their best interests.

Whilst an estate agent will happily register your details on their database and may even send you emails containing property details, they are not acting in your (the buyer’s) best interests. They are merely trying to generate interest in the properties of their retained clients (the sellers) in order to achieve the highest price possible for those clients – acting in the seller’s best interest, as required under their agency agreement.

So who looks after the buyer’s best interests? Well, that would be a buying agent.

Unlike estate agents who act for the sellers, buying agents act solely for you, the buyer!

Being completely independent and only acting for a small number of clients at any time, there are no conflicts of interest so buyers benefit from impartial advice and an experience focussed on getting them the best outcome.

Having a small active client base avoids competition and helps the buying agent avoid a bidding war between its clients – this is in complete contrast to the goals of the estate agent to whom a bidding war is manna from heaven.

Buying agents, or property finders/search agents as they are also known, were, for a long time, believed to be the preserve of the wealthy, celebrities or only for those people prepared to appear on TV. However, as more and more buyers are finding out, this is simply no longer the case.

Despite the name, buying agents do much more than just find properties for clients. They manage and liaise with all parties throughout the acquisition process to make buying a property as smooth and stress free as possible for their client. They can recommend solicitors, surveyors, insurers and finance brokers and, after you have bought the property, can help you find interior designers, stagers, decorators, architects and other professionals to make your property perfect.

Why use a buying agent? And what to expect from a buying agent?

  • Saving time and money
  • Professional and personal approach
  • Property market knowledge
  • Transparency
  • Flexibility
  • Impartial support

Many property buyers use a buying agent because they want to hand over the time-consuming and often fruitless process of searching for a property on their own.

“By using a buying agent, your bid is also likely to be favoured over competing bids as both estate agents and vendors value the involvement of a professional buying agent and have subsequently greater confidence the deal will reach successful completion.” says Jerome Lartaud, Co-Founder and Director of Domus Holmes Property Finder.

“Our clients tell us they value that we can be emotionally detached when negotiating their property purchase. It is all too easy to fall in love with a property and pay too much. Our clients consequently use us to bring a research-based view about what a property is worth” he adds.

“Buying a property is a major life decision; the most expensive life decision and biggest financial commitment you are likely to make. It is also stressful and time consuming. So, it is quite remarkable that some buyers are prepared to gamble such large sums of money without professional help, guidance and advice; whilst the seller has access to the guidance and advice of their estate agent.

For buyers, the best way to level the playing field is for them to have their own representatives on their team.”

Property buyers: don’t make a costly mistake. Use a buying agent!

For a free, no obligation consultation and discussion about your property search, please contact Jerome and Claire on:

T: +44 (0) 117 973 3683

M: +44 (0) 7734 115 098

E: info@domusholmes.co.uk

W: www.domusholmes.co.uk

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