iNest Newsletter

Buyer Agency, the iNest perspective on the Do's and Don'ts

While real estate law varies from state-to-state, generally, when purchasing a newly constructed home, it can be a good idea to have a buyer's agent. In many states, that is the role iNest plays when iNest members purchase newly constructed homes. The main benefit of buyer agency is that buyers can be assured that they have their own real estate agent who is looking out for that buyer's best interests. Additionally, this service is generally "free" to the buyer, because the buyer agent's commission is typically paid as part of the overall seller's commission. And, for newly constructed homes, the price buyers pay when they work with an agent, and the price they pay if not working with an agent, is generally the same.

A question within buyer's agency is whether to take the homebuyer/real estate agent relationship a step further, putting it in writing via a Buyer's Agency Agreement. Importantly, many agents will request or even require that the written agreement be an exclusive, often for a period of 90 days. Exclusive agreements require the buyer to work only with that particular agent for the duration of the agreement's term. So, is it in the buyer's best interest to sign an exclusive agency agreement?

Well, a very consumer-friendly aspect of the iNest program is that we do not require members to sign any sort of exclusive agreement as they seek to purchase a newly constructed home. iNest coupons and homebuyer information forms can be printed without any requirement to utilize iNest as your real estate broker. Use of the iNest website and access to iNest New Home Specialists are free of charge and without obligation. You simply decide prior to entering the builder's sales office whether you'd like to participate in the iNest program or not.

But what about signing an exclusive agreement with a non-iNest agent? An exclusive buyers broker agreement will exclude you from working with iNest (or any other agent, beyond the one in the agreement), and may entitle the real estate agent you signed with to a sales commission regardless of whether they show you the property that you end up buying (in some cases, they may even call for a commission to be paid out of your pocket, if the seller isn't offering one). The agent requesting the exclusive often indicates that they need exclusivity in order to dedicate themselves to the buyer, to ensure mutual commitment. The flip side is that, if you find your exclusive agent isn't doing the job, you are pretty much stuck with that agent until the agreement expires.

So we recommend that buyers be very cautious about signing exclusive buyer agency agreements. While it might be true that some agents would be more committed to helping you if you sign, generally the agreements are lacking specific performance standards which the agent must meet, thereby passing risk to the buyer.

Given that iNest never requests that buyers sign exclusive agreements, our bias is obviously against them. We feel that if our performance and service (or any other agent's, for that matter) are delighting the buyer and exceeding the buyer's expectations, there is no need to try to lock in a buyer's loyalties via a burdensome written exclusive agreement. So we invite you to freely utilize the iNest website and other services, and we count on the unsurpassed value provided by iNest, not some written agreement, to be the core driver of our relationship with you.