interviewing buyers agents in nj market

[Ashley Guerra]

hello everyone,

just had a question on the home buying process. When is it that you get a buyers agents/ where do you find them near me? lets say ive saved up, got preapproved, do i then get buyers agents to look for homes for me?  or do i get a real estate agent that will look for a property that fits my criteria? Or am i the one who has to do the searching? 

is it rude to "use" multiple at the same time to see who can find you a property first (assuming they find it for you)

any help is appreciated!

[Mohammed Rahman]

Hey @Ashley Guerra - in theory every agent is a buyer's agent. I would recommend finding an agent that has been through what you're currently going through or trying to accomplish. 

For example in my market, I work really well with househackers because I have househacked in the past and have grown up in my city - having a common frame of reference is very helpful.

Alternatively, if you're unsure of your goals - you should attend a local REI meetup to help get some clarity and possibly recommendations to agents that can help.

As a broker, as well as investor, I shy away from working with clients that use multiple agents nor do I also use multiple agents during my investing process. The reason for this is because other agents, especially the *good* agents you definitely want to be working with won't see any value in working with someone that's working with everyone else in town. 

There's plenty of horrible agents out there since the bar is so low, but if you find a good one make sure you communicate that you're open to working with them exclusively (written contract or not) for a period of time. 

In 99% of cases the seller will pay the buyer's agent share of commission but not a bad idea to ask what happens if we find a property where the seller isn't paying any buyer's commission - in which case if you're working with the agent then you should expect to pay whatever fee you work out with them.