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Cities Served
Counties & Cities Served by the Silicon Valley office of HomeBuyer Agents
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Counties:
San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Southern Alameda, San Benito, Monterey.
Cities:
Aptos
Atherton
Belmont
Ben Lomand
Berkeley
Boulder Creek
Brisbane
Burlingame
Campbell
Carmel
Capitola
Concord
Cupertino
Daly City
Danville
Dublin
Felton
Foster City
Fremont
Gilroy
Half Moon Bay
Hayward
Hillsborough
Hollister
La Honda
Livermore
Los Altos
Los Gatos
Marina
Menlo Park
Millbrae
Milpitas
Monterey
Morgan Hill
Mountain View
Newark
Oakley
Pacifica
Pacific Grove
Palo Alto
Pittsburg
Pleasanton
Portola Valley
Redwood City
Redwood Shores
Rio Del Mar
Salinas
San Bruno
San Carlos
San Francisco
San Jose
San Mateo
San Pablo
San Ramon
Santa Clara
Santa Cruz
Saratoga
Scotts Valley
Seaside
Soquel
Sunnyvale
Union City
Walnut Creek
Watsonville
Woodside
If the city that you want is not listed above, please contact us.
buyerbroker@sbcglobal.net
Schools... One of the best places to get Bay Area school information is the McCormack's Guide. Get the issue for the county in which you want to buy a home. There are vast differences in schools within each county. The hardcopy McCormicks has some of the most up to date and best comparative information about schools. It can be found in most bookstores, or can be ordered through their 800 number.
Another place to get school information:
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Would you want the attorney who is representing your opponent to represent you in the
same court matter? If you had a heart attack, would you hire a foot surgeon to operate
on your heart? Why let the Seller's Licensee negotiate on your behalf with THEIR client?
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Dual Agency... Sellers hire real estate brokers to get them the highest possible price with the best terms and agree to leave enough money on the table in the transaction to compensate the agent bringing in the buyer. Keeping in mind that commissions are negotiable, this can often amount to somewhere in the realms of $12,000 for each side of the transaction (sellers side and buyers side) on a $400,000 sale, a total of $24,000. The listing brokerage and its agents have a lot to gain if they can keep the entire $24,000 in-house. I urge buyers to be very careful in situations where the agent whom they think is representing them may actually turn into a dual agent by the time they start to negotiate for a home.
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In court it is expected that an attorney not be allowed to represent both parties in a case, and many people believe the same principles apply to real estate. They feel there is too much potential for conflict of interest. Dual Agency occurs when the company representing sellers has agents showing company listings, or writing up contracts on company listed homes. The company has promised the sellers in writing that it and all its agents will make every effort to do the best possible job for the sellers. The company agent showing homes to a buyer who called in on an ad, or walked into an open house, is motivated by the commission to somehow get the buyer to buy the home. To remain legal, he or she must not say or doing anything that would be unfair to the sellers, certainly not violate the company's contract with the sellers.
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Sellers agents have a fiduciary responsibility to represent the seller and as such, legally must try to get the best possible price and terms for the seller.
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Why would a seller contact us?
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First of all, you need an Exclusive Buyer Agent representing you on the purchase of your next home. If you go along with "I can give you a discount on the sale if you buy your next property through me" or "allow me to refer you to someone like me in your next city", you might get one of the 100 best out of 15,000 agents on your local MLS only if you are extremely lucky. The one or two percent you save here may very well be miniscule compared to lost opportunity, insincere negotiations, and over paying in price, terms and repairs.
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Secondly, the sale of your home can be more advantageous to you if you choose the best listing agent around, rather than choosing someone based on personality and a quick interview. Here's why:
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1. We may have had buyers purchase in your area and can possibly tell you of an agent or two who either did a good job of representing their sellers wholeheartedly, or they did not.
a) The important thing is to weed out those who are in it only for the money. There are good agents out there who will go to every possible length to get the very best price and terms for their client, the sellers.
b) There are also agents who will put your listing on MLS, then forget about it until you call to complain. Then they will ask you to lower your asking price.
c) There are agents who will not put your listing on MLS, at least not right away. They will hold open houses and try to sell it themselves without having to share the commission with another agent. They will use "dual agency" to their advantage and to your detriment. You may not get as much for your home because of other buyers not getting a chance to make possibly higher offers. Have you heard of the term "Multiple Offers"? Be sure to pick an agent who will go to every length to get the very best price and terms for your property.
d) Once you pick an agent, don't try to negotiate every nickels' worth of commission out of them as long as their fee is realistic. You need a motivated agent to do the best job for you. Good ones will more than make up for their commission. Even most "For Sale By Owners" do not do nearly as well as their next door neighbors who did a good job of selecting a good listing agent.
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2. It is important to get some knowledge about interviewing and the selection process:
a) Get a good book on the subject. There are lots of them. If you need a suggestion, try Ilyce R. Glink's "100 Questions Every Home Seller Should Ask".
b) Plan to interview at least 3 agents for the job.
c) Be very careful about inexperienced or part time agents.
d) Select an agent who is experienced and has the time to devote to the marketing of your property. That eliminates those who sell 1 or 2 a year. It also eliminates the high volume agents, unless they have an assistant(s) or working partner(s) to assure top quality service.
e) Don't select an agent just because they "know" the neighborhood, or have the best presentation, or are the best dressed, or have an expensive car, or wear lots of expensive jewelry, or have sold more homes than anybody else in the whole world!!
f) Call up people who recently sold through the agent you are thinking of using. Try to talk to at least three people who are now on the market, or have a pending sale that has not closed yet.
g) Call or email us with questions. If you have two listing agents to interview, ask us for a third that we can recommend.

 

 

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Email: buyerbroker@sbcglobal.net


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