Consumer Notice ?

 I was told to sign this Consumer Notice when going to check out a house in
July.  The agent said I have to sign it since she represented the house and
since I didnt have an agent in that area to bring.  So since she was
representing both of us.. the agent and the seller, I had to sign this
Consumer Notice... I got a copy of the notice and at the top it says "This
notice must be provided to the consumer at the first contact where a
substantive discussion about real estate occurs".

Is it true that I had to sign this? I still dont understand it fully but
basically he kept insisting that it is NOT a contract...just that he is
telling me information about the house and that he is representing the
owner..or something like that..

Does signing this mean , I cannot make a direct deal with the owner now?
(minus the agent)

I get a headache trying to understand all this small print stuff... Its
almost like its specially coded so that only agents and lawyers can
understand it.  Ridiculous...our stupid laws.

  ^^ BTW, everywhere that it says "he's"  above should be "she's"... It would
of probably been very complicating if I didnt correct myself here.

 

Generally, yup that's the way it works.   When you come in without
representation, realtor ethics and state laws and all that happy
horseshit want you the buyer to understand perfectly clearly that that
realtor is not your friend,  will tell the seller everything you tell
them, and does not represent you in any way shape or form, but will
perform minesterial acts to help you tender an offer if you desire.

It's not a big deal really, but given your level of understanding on
this, you're foolish to not enlist the help of a buyer's agent to
assist you in your hunt and help you with listed properties.  

Then you have someone who's at least theoretically on your side and
won't tell the listing agent everything you've told them.  On the
other hand, don't give all your cards to a buyers agent, because you
need to understand that the faster you buy something, the faster they
get paid too...


If you did not, I'd be interested in how the agent would respond.  The
agent may have reserved the right to not show you the house or refuse
to talk to you about it.

But in general, yeah, I'd imagine that if you wanted to see the house
that day, depending on how the agent would respond to a refusal, you
probably needed to sign that.


Yeah, it's an information disclosure.


You couldn't make a direct deal with the owner anyway.  When a
property is listed for sale by a realtor, the owner and realtor are
under a listing contract.  If the house sells, it sells via the agent,
and they get a commission regardless of how you ended up finding this
house.

The only way around that would be to wait until the listing period
expired, and whatever grace period afterwards and if the property
weren't listed and was then FSBO, then maybe you could deal direct
with the owner.  Hoewver, by signing this agreement, the realtor if
they found out you ultimatley bought the place, could come back to the
owner and demand commission because the place ultimately sold to
someone who originally came in under their listing agreement.

Or some crap like that.  


They're there because there are also ignorant consumers who can assume
that a realtor they meet this way represents them, end up getting
screwed on the deal, and then in a sour grapes fashion come back and
sue later.  These notices are designed to make it crystal clear who
the agent is truly beholden to (the seller) represents and who they do
not (random buyer).

The particulars vary by state and contract, but in general, this is
the scene.

My advice:  talk to your network of friend i the area nad find a
realtor familiar with the area willing to work with you as a buyers
agent.   If you are looking at FSBO properties, try to strike an
agreement with the buyer's agent that specifically excludes FSBO
properties from your buyers agency agreement.     Don't expect all of
them to be hungry enough to accept that though.

--
Todd H.  
http://www.toddh.net/

 Todd H ,

Even though you called me a fool, I greatly appreciate all of your advice.
Alot of informative stuff here for noobs like me. I think i'll print this up
as i'll probably forget in a year from now.

Thanks again,

John

 

Nah, I don't think yer a fool.  :-)

Continuing to go into those transactions without some help or more
knowledge though would be foolish action, in my opinion.  You know
Buffett's song "Fins?"  Ya know, fins to the left fins to the right,
sharks that swim on the land, et al?  

That's what I feel like out there sometimes!

There are some good books out there like homebuyers survival guide and
the like.   If you can find one that's specific to your state that's
cool.  Not strictly necessary, but can help.  I've had friends who had
buyers agents, but their buyers agents were either idiots or
charlatans, and their experience wasn't terribly positive either.
But I will say that if you manage to be recommended to find good
representation, it's a good thing!  

A real estate attorney is a great thing to have too, and they're
cheap.  


Good luck!  


--
Todd H.  
http://www.toddh.net/