Despite the fact that more and more buyers are using the Internet to find a home, they still need an agent to represent them. One choice is to go directly to the listing agent. Usually this decision is linked to the expectation that this gives the buyer an “inside track” because the agent now has double the incentive to have this buyer succeed (i.e. not having to share the commission with another agent). However, usually the opposite occurs: an agent is only as successful as their reputation with other agents. If other agents believe that any favoritism was given, the listing agent’s reputation would immediately suffer. A listing agent also representing a buyer for the same house (known as dual agency) will therefore go to some length to insulate the two from each other, usually utilizing the managing broker in the office to act as a go-between

Another reason some buyers go directly to the listing agent is they figure they can represent themselves and receive the entire buyer-side commission (typically between 2-3%). The listing agent will quickly shatter that dream. The only buyer legally qualified to receive part of the commission is a buyer with a real estate license. Even an attorney would not qualify.

This leads us back to the buyer looking for an agent to represent them. Since there are agents offering commission rebates to buyers, should you simply hire the one that gives the largest rebate? The obvious answer is no. Finding the right house for a buyer is by far the least important part of a good buyer’s agent job description. A good agent needs to intimately know the neighborhood market conditions and this is knowledge that does not come from a distance. To labor the point: real estate is LOCAL, and a buyer whose agent relies largely on MLS statistics is a buyer who is not getting very good advice.

Aside from knowing about a market up-close, a good buyer’s agent is someone who can advise about the actual condition of the house, both of its defects and its attributes. A good agent knows what current remodeling construction costs are, about the difference between a repair and an improvement, and what the neighborhood “upside” may be.

A good agent also knows what the local customs are regarding disclosures. For instance, in the Berkeley/Oakland market, the listing agent will almost always provide a disclosure packet for the buyer to read before submitting an offer. I can’t tell you how many times I receive offers where the buyer’s agent hasn’t even bothered to ask for the disclosures. Lots of times, the agent hasn’t even visited the house. How credible will this buyer’s offer be? Not very.

While were on the subject of disclosures, a good buyer’s agent knows not only to request them in advance of an offer, but how to read them. Nowadays, it is not uncommon for these packets to be over 100 pages long. Some of the material provided is pro-forma and boilerplate, while other material can be extremely consequential and specific to the house. These important pages are often buried within the not-so-important. A good buyer’s agent will know what to look for and how to interpret it.

How about negotiating skill? This isn’t something one learns in a book, but rather comes from many years of experience. Again, lots of agents offering buyer rebates are relatively new in the business. This skill is not easily obtained and can takes years, and literally dozens of transactions, to fully grasp.

The moral of the story is that if a buyer has found a house to make an offer on and is shopping for an agent, yes, look for someone who will offer a commission rebate. But among the agents doing so, pick the one that has the most experience, neighborhood market knowledge, and the time to visit the house with you prior to writing your offer.

In the Albany/Berkeley/Oakland/Piedmont market, Realty Advocates, with over 20 years of experience, would be a good choice. Recent buyer Kristine Starr had this to say of her experience with Realty Advocates: “Right from the beginning, I was impressed with Brett’s market acumen. We were in a competitive offer situation, and Brett’s experience and calm counsel directly resulted in us not only getting the house but at a price below what we were willing to pay. He also rebated a good part of his commission, all of which made us realize how lucky we were to have him as our agent.”