Real Estate Agents and Brokers

[missmanors]

When buying a house, it may be helpful for you to know exactly what a real estate broker, a real estate agent and a lender do to make your house purchase happen.

If you happen to be a first time buyer, or even an experienced one, it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of the prospect of buying your dream home. It's easy to get confused with all that buying a home entails. There are many options when considering brokers, sales agents, mortgage lenders, different types of mortgages and mortgage rates. Of course it can be very confusing when trying to understand all the real estate information which seems to be changing on a daily basis.

Unless you have a good knowledge of the real estate market and know where to find good listings of the homes that you would be interested in buying, with a price range that you can afford, and have access to cash and a good interest rate, you may need some assistance in finding just what you are looking for. This is when the services of a good broker, or sales agent may be helpful to you.

How do the real estate brokers and agents help? Real estate sales agents are those people that show listings to prospective home buyers. They are an extension of the real estate brokers. (Agents and brokers alike are licensed with the state and must pass an exam for licensing.)

A broker may have dozens of agents showing houses,depending on the size of the business, with the broker being responsible for everything that the agent does, because when selling a house, the agent is by law, acting as the broker.

When it comes to the basics, real estate agents and brokers are capable of doing the same job. They must both have knowledge about the real estate communities that they are selling the home in, such as tax laws, the neighborhoods, zoning, and where to find financing. The broker though does not normally show the houses, since he/she has many other duties for the business.

The sales agent then, is normally the person that will show you the listings that the broker has been contracted to sell, which includes finding you the type of home, in your price range that you are looking for. (A commission is paid to the sales agent, by the broker when the agent does sell a home. This is normally a percentage of the total price of the house being sold - thus normally a more expensive house brings a higher commission).

The usual job of a broker, is to arrange meetings between the seller and buyer of a house, until possession of the home is taken over by the buyer. He also lists the real estate, does the advertising, arranges for title searches, supervises the agents, offices, and compares properties with those that are similar to determine a price for those properties which he lists.

The biggest difference between a broker and sales agent, is that the broker can also be responsible for arranging financing for the buyer. The buyer has a choice whether he wants to arrange his own financing, or whether he'd like the broker to do this for him. In any case, the broker is responsible for arranging the transaction between the lender, seller and buyer - no matter who arranged for the financing.

All information about a property must be disclosed by the broker to both, the buyer and seller. He is responsible for checking to assure that maintenance and upkeep of the property has been done. If any problems or concerns about a property are found by the broker, he must disclose these to both the buyer and the seller immediately, even if the seller has not informed the broker of these concerns. (this disclosure is the responsibility of the broker before, during and up to the close of escrow). This is to ensure that the buyer knows all information about the property. Otherwise the buyer can forfeit the transaction without any repercussions, if an offer is made.

Another responsibility of a broker is making sure that all the contractual terms have been met before the closing date. Included in this are inspections of the home for termites, environmental regulations, and any repairs or upgrades or changes to the property as agreed to by the seller. The broker must make sure that the terms of such have been carried out.

The broker can be very helpful in looking at the variables of financing for the buyer, and has knowledge of where the buyer can get the best loan and the lowest rate that is possible for him. Brokers have contacts in this area and are privy to information that the buyer does not have.

A note of caution: Always check the licenses and verify that a broker, or agent are legally capable of handling your transaction. You should ask friends and family, and around your community about their experiences with different brokers and agents. Also get references from several brokers that you are considering doing business with.