If you’re getting ready to buy a house, but haven’t worked with a buyer’s agent before, you might have a lot of questions about the process.

Below, you’ll find a roundup of the most common questions when working with a buyers’ agent!

Click on the links below to jump to your question, or just scroll through.

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13 Most Popular Questions About Real Estate Buyers Agents

• What is the difference between a realtor and a buyer’s agent?
• Do I need a realtor to buy a house?
• How do I select a buyers agent?
• How do buyer’s agent agreements work?
• Do you pay the real estate agent if you are the buyer?
• Can a buyer negotiate real estate commission?
• Can a realtor represent the buyer and the seller?
• What to expect from your realtor when buying?
• Should you use the same realtor for buying and selling?
• Can I contact the listing agent directly?
• Do you need a realtor to go to an open house?
• Can a realtor tell you what to offer?
• What does a real estate agent do at closing?

What is the difference between a realtor and a buyer’s agent?

A ‘realtor’ is the broad term used to describe a real estate professional who is licensed to help people buy, sell, rent different types of properties. Some realtors specialize in only renting, while others specialize in only selling or buying. For example, an ‘exclusive buyers agent’ only focuses on helping potential buyers buy their next home.

There are also realtors that may specialize in residential or commercial properties. A ‘buyer’s agent’ means that the realtor represents home buyers through every step of the process of buying a home. This begins with the home search, goes through contract negotiations, helps the buyer craft an appropriate offer, and represents the buyer through the home closing. A buyer’s agent is always a realtor, but not all realtors are buyer’s agents.

Do I need a realtor to buy a house?

It is possible to buy a house without a realtor. However, it’s not something that is widely recommended.

First, the seller of the home is likely working with a realtor. Buying a home is a stressful and time intensive process, and we believe it is worthwhile to allow a buyers agent to work out the details on your behalf. This includes everything from recommending homes to look at, arranging home showings, asking listing agents questions, reviewing inspection reports, and making recommendations based on their experience to help you make a decision that you feel confident about.

Second, in most states (including Oklahoma), the home seller actually pays for the buyer realtor fee. This means that as the home buyer, the buyers agent commission is already worked into the sale price of the home.

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How do I select a buyers agent?

Most of the time, a buyer’s agent will represent clients all of the way through a transaction. What separates a good agent from a bad agent though? We believe it comes down to communication and ability to listen to the client needs. A prospective buyer will spend a lot of time with their real estate agent, so it’s important that the buyer feels comfortable with their agent. It’s equally important that the agent listens to their client needs and guides the process in the best interest of the home buyer.

Here’s three questions we recommend you should ask a prospective buyers agent before signing a ‘buyers agency agreement’ or ‘buyers agent agreement’ with them.

1. What services do you provide when helping me find a home?
2. Are there areas or neighborhoods that you specialize in?
3. What is your experience in the home industry?

How do buyer’s agent agreements work?

A Buyer’s Agent Agreement is simply a written agreement that outlines how the buyer and the real estate agent agree to work with one another. The process of searching, buying and closing on a home requires many hours of work, that in some instances can extend for weeks or months. Because agents work on commission, they do not get paid until the home closes and the deal if finalized.

In order to protect both parties, and to help ensure another agent doesn’t swoop in at the last moment and steal their hard earned commission, most brokerages and agents require an agreement before beginning representation with a new client.

In the event an agent/client relationship goes south, there should always be an ‘out’ for the client. Always talk to the broker about the situation.

Do you pay the real estate agent if you are the buyer?

In most states, including Oklahoma, the buyers agent commission comes from the seller of the home. The buyer agent collects their commission fee at the time of the home closing, as part of the closing documentation and dispersal of funds to all relevant parties.

Can a buyer negotiate real estate commission?

Broadly speaking, real estate commissions are always negotiable. This is why you will see agents charging different fees for their services. Typically the selling agent fees will experience the widest range in fee structure. On buyers agent commissions, the seller of the home establishes what they wish to pay to the buyers agent. This is similar to offering a “finders fee”. Most buyer agent commissions we see in the OKC metro are between 2-3%. It depends on the market in the immediate area.

Can a realtor represent the buyer and the seller?

Yes. In this instance the real estate agent becomes a Dual Agent. Most frequently this type of situation occurs when the listing agent has a home for sale, and a buyer with no realtor representation calls the listing agent asking to buy the house.

The seller and the buyer must both agree on paper to be represented by a dual agent. This type of situation requires for the real estate agent to become a neutral party to help both sides negotiate a successful and fair deal for both sides.

One big advantage to dual agency is that typically the commission can be lowered as there is only 1 person facilitating the negotiations and closing documents, rather than 2.

What to expect from your realtor when buying?

A buyers agent typically will represent you from start to finish. This begins with an initial consultation to discuss your needs, providing you with property options, coordinating home showings and all negotiations with the seller.

During the home inspection period, the buying realtor should review the home inspection report and make recommendations as to your next steps, and provide full representation all the way through to a successful closing.

Buying a home requires many hours of work, so it’s important that you feel comfortable at any time asking for additional information on a home, understand the purchase price and feel confident in who you are working with.

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Should you use the same realtor for buying and selling?

As long as you are selling and buying within the same area, it is usually advantageous to have single agent representation for selling your current home and buying a new home. Depending on if the market is moving fast or slow, when there is one agent working both sides for you they can help coordinate the necessary actions in order to keep both the sale and the purchase of your next home more in line with the schedule you need. 

Also, working with one agent can simplify the overall process for you, as you won’t be faced with trying to keep two separate agents up to speed with one another.

If you are looking to move to another city, then most likely you’ll need to find a buying agent in the location you are moving. The main thing is you want to make sure your buying agent is familiar with the area you are moving to.

Can I contact the listing agent directly?

If you’re already working with a buyers agent to represent you- your first move should be to call your agent and have them reach out to the listing agent. After all, they are working to represent you during your home buying process and do this type of work. 

That being said, there is no rule against calling a listing agent directly. The listing agent will likely ask you if you have realtor representation already. By the Realtor Code of Ethics, they must ask this, so there is no conflict of interest and they do not unintentionally begin working with a buyer that has already signed a Buyers Agent Agreement with another realtor. To do this would be a breach of ethics on their part.

Do you need a realtor to go to an open house?

Open house events are open to any potential buyers, giving them the opportunity to freely look through the home to see if it’s a good fit for their needs. Typically it is best to tour a home with your agent representation, but in the event this isn’t possible then it is OK to attend an open house without them. Likely there will be a listing agent on-site to help answer any questions. Just be sure to let them know that you are already represented by an agent. 

Real estate agents are required to always ask this when meeting new prospective buyers, but it’s good to be up-front with this information so there is no miscommunication. It’s OK to ask questions about the home during the open house, especially if you need to know information about the age of appliances, the roof, or if the carpet has been replaced recently. 

Take note of what you do and don’t like about the house so you can share that information with your agent after your visit. It is a good idea to avoid any in-depth discussions that could jeopardize future negotiations, if you do end up placing an offer on the home. Steer clear of personal information such as how much you can afford, loan approval status, or why you’re needing to move. 

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Can a realtor tell you what to offer?

A good realtor will make recommendations on what kind of offer the buyer is likely wanting to see, in order to have a good chance of winning the bid. Because home prices are largely based on current supply and demand, the market is constantly fluctuating and different types of offers may be needed during different cycles of the market. 

During a ‘sellers market’ (marked by low inventory and high demand) buyer offers are more likely to be higher than average. During a ‘buyers market’ (marked by high inventory and low demand) a buyer offer may be able to come in lower than a sellers market, and still win the bid. 

This is why working with an experienced real estate broker that can read the current market and knows the type of offers that are winning bids in your local area can make all the difference. They can help ensure you are not under or over bidding.  In the end, however, it is up to the buyer to make the final decision on what to offer.

What does a real estate agent do at closing?

At closing, most of the work of the real estate agent is finished. This is a time for celebration and signing the final paperwork!

The seller, buyer, mortgage representative, closing escrow service, and any other parties will typically attend in person or pre-sign the paperwork prior to the closing day. The closing company will facilitate the closing documentation.

Your real estate agent is typically there at closing with you, to congratulate you on the purchase of your home and to help see you through to the finish line! They will also verify that all final agreements are correct and as intended so there are no last-minute surprises.

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So, there we have it. Did you see a question we missed? If so, drop us a comment below and we’ll get back with you.

If you’re ready to speak with a buyers agent in the Oklahoma City metro, click below to get the process started.

Happy buying!