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The Accredited Buyer Representative - ABR® professional designation is the benchmark of excellence in buyer representation. This coveted ABR® designation is awarded to real estate practitioners (realtors) by the Real Estate BUYER'S AGENT Council (REBAC®) of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR®) who meets the specified educational and practical experience criteria.
The Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council, REBAC®, is the industry's oldest and largest association of real estate practioner’s interested in buyer and seller representation. Founded in 1988, before buyer agency was considered a major issue on the marketplace, REBAC® has become THE recognized authority on buyer agency issues.
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Today's real estate brokers and agents want to provide a full menu of services for their clients, whether they are buyers or sellers. The ABR® designation is the benchmark of excellence in buyer agency service. This demonstrates to clients that the agent has taken certain steps to continue their education in the field of buyer representation. Anita has the proven experience and training to deliver ethical and professional service to real estate buyers.
The ABR® designation sets Anita apart and indicates to the consumer that she practices buyer's representation proudly. As an ABR® designee, I will fully represent YOU, and safeguard YOUR rights in the purchase of your home.The Accredited Buyer Representative - ABR® designation is awarded to those members who have completed a prescribed four module course, passed a written examination and a review board has examined and approved documentation of history of buyer representation experience.
Only one-half of one percent (0.5%) of real estate practitioners nationwide, have earned the coveted ABR® designation. These few have spent the time and money to learn more about what buyers need from them. Although more than 1,000,000 people in the United States are licensed to sell real estate, less than 1 in 500 have the higher skills necessary to earn the ABR® designation.
This designation, conferred by the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council, confirms an agent's mastery of buyer representation. Agents who have earned the ABR® designation have demonstrated experience in buyer representation. Two key areas emphasized in ABR® training are how to identify potential problem with a property and how to negotiate the best price on behalf of the buyer.
An annual education conference helps keep Accredited Buyer Representatives up to date on ways to better represent our clients.
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Do I Need An Accredited Buyer Representative?
Buying a home is probably the most important purchase you'll ever make. Traditionally, all residential real estate agents represented the home seller. That was true of the "listing agent" who marketed the home for sale, as well as the agent who found the buyer. That agent - who helped the buyer find the right home - actually worked for the seller as a "subagent" of the listing agent. Under that traditional system, all agents were legally bound to represent the seller and the buyer had NO representation!
Buyers Now Have A Choice.
Buyers no longer need to represent themselves during the home search and purchase while all agents legally represent the seller. Smart home buyers today can receive undivided confidential representation by choosing an Accredited Buyer Representative. In fact, 71% of home buyers surveyed in a recent Gallop Poll for the National Association of Realtors said they would use a buyer's agent next time they purchased. Now you, like the seller, can have someone on your side looking after your best interests.
How Can An Accredited Buyer Representative Help Me?
A buyer's agent owes the following duties to their home buyer: - Loyalty - Disclosure - Diligence - Accounting - Confidentiality - Reasonable Care – Obedience. These responsibilities are defined by state law, the Realtors Code of Ethics, and general principles of agency law.
Who Needs An Accredited Buyer Representative?
To ensure you're buying smartly, you need a buyer's agent. If you're a first-time buyer, relocating or unfamiliar with the local real estate market, or buying for investment and need negotiating help you'll be best served by a buyer's agent who puts your interests first.
To successfully sell your home and receive the maximum market value requires many skills of a realtor. Strong people skills and communicating with either the seller’s or the buyer’s agent are important when a contract is presented. Often there are multiple counter offers going back and forth. I have learned you don’t get what you deserve with regards to real estate, you get what you negotiate and that is why it is important to have someone represent you who can effectively negotiate and close your transaction.
Can A Seller's Agent Or Subagent Truly Help Me Buy?
Without a buyer's agent, you're legally on your own. The seller's agent or subagent is, in fact, working for the seller and is the seller's legal representative. True, a seller's agent or subagent can offer buyers some services, including an explanation of available financing, calculation of costs, and presentation of your offer.
However, what a seller's agent cannot do is disclose to the buyer information not in the best interest of the seller, e.g., an opinion of the home's real value or what price and terms the seller would accept.
By effect of law, the seller's agent or subagent must negotiate on the seller's behalf and may not withhold information that could strengthen the seller's bargaining position. That means you, as a buyer, must not disclose to the seller's agent or subagent any information, financial or personal, that could possibly be used against you.
What Will An Accredited Buyer Representative Cost Me?
The right question may be, "What will it cost me if I don't use an Accredited Buyer Representative?" Purchasing a home without representation is possibly the biggest financial risk one can make.
A buyer's agent can guide you step by step in the process to avoid mistakes. Of course, failure to discover the actual value of the property or defects in the property can be very costly mistakes. With a buyer's agent you can freely ask for advice, and I act proactively to discover foreseeable problems.
Who Pays the Buyer's Agent Fee?
I do NOT charge a fee to my buying clients for my services as an Accredited Buyer Representative. My fee is paid from the seller’s commission. Now, even though my fee is paid by the seller, the seller is informed in writing that I represent, exclusively, the interests of my buying client. That, I, in no way owe any duties to the seller. As a result of my ABR® status, my buying clients enjoy the security of knowing that they have highly qualified, professional representation working for them, instead of the seller.
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