Buyer's agent agreement

[Peter Wyric]

Hey BP,

I recently contacted an RE agent in my area to assist with the acquisition of a new property. Based on the conversation that I had with the agent, he is not very familiar with the area that I am targeting. Furthermore, he asked me to sign a buyer's agent agreement immediately without revealing any further market color. The buyer's agreement stipulates that he will be my exclusive buyer's agent, and that upon purchase of a property, I owe him 3% of the total sale price (if the seller reneges on paying the fee). Is this fairly common in the industry?

Do I need a buyer's agent at all?

[Christian Beyer]

Hey Peter,

Good question. Before any "substantial" information can be discussed you need to sign an agreement with an agent. If you start getting in depth about an area or a price range then you start treading in the waters of an agent/client relationship but without the paperwork to back it up neither of you are bound to the other.

If they seem pushy to sign and not informed
of the area then they sound to me like you a bad choice. It should be a natural progression from conversation to representation. Good luck, and don't settle for a bad agent!

Christian