tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39463019653398106852024-03-05T13:23:54.740-08:00Thomasville Georgia - Dual Agency Brokerage: Not Good For AnyONEDefinition: Dual Agency in a real estate transaction means the listing broker represents both the seller and the buyer. A dual agent must not disclose confidential information to either party and must operate in a hands-off manner. A dual agent cannot get the highest price for the seller and the lowest price for the buyer -- it is impossible.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-12082051337115781372016-07-11T06:21:00.003-07:002016-07-25T13:44:33.681-07:00Avoid Dual Agency Pitfalls and The Pitfalls of South Georgia Dual Agency!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></st1:place><st1:place><st1:city>Thomasville</st1:city><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">, </span><st1:country-region><st1:country-region><st1:country-region><st1:country-region><st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Georgia</span></st1:country-region></st1:country-region></st1:country-region></st1:country-region></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> is a small town, just because most of them speak
with a country accent that makes them look so friendly, but please do not fall
for their cheap accent. Sorry but I will call it as it is they are scumbags and
believe me or not most are females, not to say they are not males because they
are. These so called "Realtors" will sale a wheelchair right from
under a disabled person and not even think about it twice, but on the weekend
they are at church asking for forgiveness and then they are back Monday morning
screwing people over again.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">These
lowlife are very aware of what goes on in this small town because most of them
have lived in this town all of their lives and if your part of that lowlife
group of "Realtors" which they all are aware of these bad lots and
that trying to build a home on these bad lots will devalue the home, and when I
say bad area, I mean "flood zone" in a flood zone you will pay a lot
more then a regular lot for insurance. A "sinkholes" this is when you
get so much rain that the land create a sinkhole. Now on hwy 19 in Thomasville,
we have a subdivision that had a few sinkholes and this area has been on
the news and with the stigma of this subdivision you will never sell your home,
unless your local “lowlife “Realtor” works it out for the commission with
another local lowlife “Realtor” to screw over a new buyer from out of town that
is not aware of this subdivision stigma.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">I
was contacted by a nice couple that was looking for a piece of land to build
their custom family home and they were not from here, they contacted a local
lowlife “Realtor” and this lowlife “Realtor” wanted to sell them a lot and it
was not even listed on the local </span><st1:stockticker><st1:stockticker><st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">MLS</span></st1:stockticker></st1:stockticker></st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">, so when a property or lot, land is not listed on the
local </span><st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">MLS</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> is because of a 2 reasons. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
1) It is a friend of this lowlife “Realtor” and they are aware of the problem
with this lot or home and are trying to pass it along to a u</span>nknowing
family. In a good scenario they would end up spending a fortune to build on the
lot. worst scenario you would not be able to build on that lot. Now try to get
your money back by re-listing the lot. The lowlife "Realtor" you get
will tell you that you are going to have to drop the price that you paid because
you paid to much for that lot or house. to pass it on to another sucker.
"THIS SCENARIO HAPPENS EVERY <st1:stockticker>DAY</st1:stockticker> IN
THIS TOWN WITH THESE LOCAL LOWLIFE "REALTORS" WITH HOMES <st1:stockticker>AND</st1:stockticker>
LOTS."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
2) Pocket listing, A </span><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">pocket
listing</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> or hip <b>pocket
listing</b> is a real estate industry term used in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">United States</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> which denotes a property where a broker holds a
signed <b>listing</b> agreement (or contract) with the seller,
whether that be an "Exclusive Right to Sell" or "Exclusive
Agency" agreement or contract, but where it is never advertised. In this
town number 2 does not happen </span>often. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
A few years ago we had a person building really cheap </span><span style="font-size: 5.5pt;">homes </span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">below
minimum building code and to make a long store short this person built these
homes all around the county and city and he is still building in Thomasville,
GA., but these homes he build a few years ago were really badly built, now the
listing lowlife “Realtor” knew that these homes were being built bad, but she
did not give two S**ts. You see she was only interested in the commission. But
you see all of these lowlife "Realtors knew that these homes were being
built bad they all were more interested in the commission then looking out for
their client the buyer. So in </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Thomasville</span></st1:city><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">, </span><st1:state><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">GA.</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> And </span><st1:place><st1:place><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">South Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:place></st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> these lowlife “Realtors” do not care about you
the seller or buyers. They say that “Realtors” have a Code of Ethics, not if
they are from </span><st1:place><st1:place><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">South Georgia</span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> they do not</span></st1:place></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">I
have been living in this town close to 20 years, and I have seen and heard of
so mean unethical activities that are unbelievable. I am a </span><st1:state><st1:place><st1:state><st1:place><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Florida</span></st1:place></st1:state></st1:place></st1:state></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> and Georgia Real Estate License holder and I
would prefer to sell shoes then to activate my license with any of these so
called real estate agents in </span><st1:place><st1:place><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">South Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:place></st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> or </span><st1:place><st1:city><st1:place><st1:city><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Thomasville</span></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">, </span><st1:state><st1:state><st1:state><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">GA.</span></st1:state></st1:state></st1:state></st1:place><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Why
would you think that they are so many “For Sale by owner signs”? in </span><st1:place><st1:place><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">South Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:place></st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">. The first time we came to this town looking at
properties we most of gone through a few of these lowlifes
"Realtors", because they just wanted to show us first all of their
personal listings and then their office listings. when we asked about the
“For Sale by owner” they would answer with “I do not have any information on
that property and if it is not listed there most be something wrong with
it. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
A long time ago I had my Real Estate license activated in Florida and our
broker told us to try and go get the listing from a 'For Sale by Owner"
and if we could not get the listing if they would be interested in paying 3% if
we bring them a buyer and 99% of the time they would say YES. If you are a true
professional Realtor you would look at the "for sale by owner" as a
potential home to sell. No, not these lowlife "Realtors" they think
they are worth 6% commission for doing nothing. Remember in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> these lowlifes "Realtors" are dual agents
which means they get the full 6% commission. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
Now do you think they deserve 6% commission for selling a home on square
footage alone. You see they are so lazy that they do not care to learn anything
new a home has or what is so special about a particular listing. I am sure you
are aware of these show on TV that sale real estate like "million dollar
listing of </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">new York</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">". You sell properties on the custom features a
home has. It might be a cliche' but yes that's how real estate agents really
work. Not look at a listing and say one has more square footage then the other
because any monkey can do that for less than 6%. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Now
these lowlife scumbags ”Realtor” when it comes to "For Sale by
owners" they will talk bad about the house, they will tell a potential
buyer anything that they can come up with at any cost to avoid showing a
"for sale by owner" You see these lowlife "Realtors" are
even willing to cut each others throat because remember they get full
commission of 6% when they sell their own listing that is what " Dual
Agency" is. And also remember they are all trying to make as much money as
possible. They do not care about you the buyer or seller they are all money
hungry. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
they will not tell you how much your house is wroth they will just take the
listing and list it, then after a while when you have no showing they come and
tell you that you have to low your price, because remember the cheaper you list
it the faster they make their full 6% commission and they will not have to
split the commission. And in some occasions when they take a listing the seller
has to full out a property disclosure and by law they are supposed to list
anything wrong with the property. Now it is very interesting how these forms
are filled out. If you're buying a home I would take a very good look at this
form, because you are going to tell me that you have lived in the house
all of your life or had the house built, or lived in the house for a long time
and you are going to check mark on "you are not aware of any issues.
"YEAH RIGHT" this would be the recommendation of the lowlife
"Realtor" </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Then
of they see that your home has been listed by them and then take the listing
from them to another office they will not show it and there excuse is that that
house has been on the market for a long time so there must be something wrong
with it.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;">A while ago we had a family members
ask a few Real Estate breakage offices to show homes in our area. Now our home
had been remodeled from top to bottom. The agents were the mother and daughter
and owner of Re/max franchise. They told our family member that our house was
overpriced and that they did not want to see that house. Our home was the
cheapest in the subdivision and remember it was remodeled from top to bottom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">“ to
be continued I will be adding more to this blog. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Wouldn’t it be
nice if life were clear-cut? Often in residential real estate it is: The most
common legal arrangement in the business is for a listing agent from one
company to represent the seller and a buyer’s agent from another company to
represent the buyer in a transaction. The advantage to this scenario is that
when negotiations arise or the parties are sending counteroffers back and
forth, the two sides have a relatively balanced opportunity to obtain guidance
and strategy from their own representative. But dual agency creates
relationships with clients and customers that aren’t clear-cut.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">For example, Rita
Real Estate Broker is the listing agent holding an open house for her client,
Sam Seller. Barb Buyer asks Rita details about the property during the open
house, tells Rita she isn’t working with an agent, and asks Rita’s help in
preparing an offer for Sam’s house. Rita has to stop, ask Barb if she’s asking
for representation, and decide if she wants to enter into a dual agency
relationship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">First Rita must
resolve whether her state’s laws and her brokerage’s policies permit dual
agency. Next, she must determine whether Sam Seller has agreed to let her act
as a dual agent in the transaction and obtain his full, written consent to
Rita’s new role. She must also disclose the limitations the dual agency will
place on her ability to assist Barb and Sam. Only then will Rita have done
everything necessary to create disclosed dual agency.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">If she does enter
into a disclosed dual agency relationship, Rita must observe her state’s dual
agency laws, which probably require her to keep some types of information from
each party confidential. In a dual agency relationship, Rita’s fiduciary duties
to her clients are much more limited. She can no longer be an advocate for
either party because each client has opposite goals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Designated Dual
Agency<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Avoiding Dual
Agency Traps<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Dual agency
relationships occur not only when one agent represents two parties but also
when two agents from the same company represent two parties in the transaction.
If Rita’s friend Alice Agent, who works out of a different office of the same
brokerage Rita is affiliated with, comes to Rita’s open house with her buyer
clients, Bill and Betty Buyers, and the Buyers later make an offer, once again,
a dual agency relationship may be created.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">In some states,
there’s another option, designated dual agency. In these cases, the broker of
Alice’s and Rita’s brokerage could designate one agent to represent the
buyer-client and another to represent the seller-client. The broker would
screen off some transaction information so that neither agent has access to the
confidential information of the other party.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Although
designated dual agency can work well, it poses the same general challenges as a
typical dual agency arrangement. Designated agency still places significant
responsibilities on each agent and on the brokerage to follow strict management
policies to avoid compromising the integrity of the transaction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">In a few states — </span><st1:state><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Colorado</span></st1:place></st1:state></st1:state><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">, </span><st1:state><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Florida</span></st1:place></st1:state></st1:state><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">, and </span><st1:state><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Kansas</span></st1:place></st1:state></st1:state><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> — dual agency is prohibited. This
prohibition ensures that the real estate practitioner isn’t put in the
difficult position of trying to satisfy both parties and risking that one or
both parties may walk away feeling they didn’t receive the focused and thorough
representation they expected. That dissatisfaction could lead to legal action,
especially if there are problems with the transaction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">However, if dual
agency is legal in your state and you want to make it a part of your business
model, be sure to take these steps to ensure that both clients are treated
fairly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">1. Review your
state’s laws (consult with an attorney if necessary) to determine if dual
agency is legal and what disclosures and procedures you must follow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">2. Review your
brokerage company’s policy to see if dual agency is permitted and exactly what
actions you as a dual agent may not perform for each party.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">3. Disclose the
dual agency and what it means to all clients in writing, and obtain their
timely, written consent to the relationship. Be sure to explain how dual agency
limits your ability to fully represent each party.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">4. Review and
discuss with your client any state-mandated agency disclosure forms. Some
states also have statutory language that must be included in all dual agency
agreements. Failing to properly disclose dual agency is illegal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">5. Recommend that
both parties retain attorneys to advise them regarding the purchase agreement,
contingencies, price, earnest money, or other negotiated issues. This can be a
win-win for all parties involved since the client will be adequately
represented and the attorneys’ participation will take pressure and liability
off of the sales associate.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 10.8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">If you’re careful
in informing all parties about the requirements of a dual agency relationship,
acting as an agent for both can be a viable way to close deals. Just don’t let
your desire to get the deal done lead you to inadvertently overstep the
limitations dual agency imposes.<o:p></o:p></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-2232326187365656992015-12-04T08:16:00.002-08:002015-12-04T08:16:15.400-08:00WE ARE THE BEST BUILDERS BY FAR IN GEORGIA AND NORTH FLORIDA<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">WE ARE THE BEST HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDERS BY FAR IN </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">GEORGIA</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;"> AND </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">NORTH FLORIDA</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">What is Your HERS Score?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">At CHB Homes tremendous efforts go into making our homes energy efficient and we are extremely pleased with our HERS rating scores. The HERS rating score has helped us become the premier Green Builder in the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;"> and </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">North Florida</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;"> area for new custom homes. The HERS rating score is mentioned and utilized throughout our planning/design and construction processes, so for those of you who may not know what a HERS score is we have provided more details below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">The RESNET HERS Index is the industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured. The HERS or Home Energy Rating System was developed by RESNET and is the nationally recognized system for inspecting and calculating a home’s energy performance. Certified RESNET Home Energy Raters conduct inspections to verify a home’s energy performance. Tests include verification of density of insulation, vapor &amp; air barriers, blower door tests (to check the house leakage), duct system performance testing, and many others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">A code built home has a HERS score of 100. CHB Homes new custom built homes have been averaging HERS scores in the low 50’s, which means our homes are typically 40%+ more efficient than a code built home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">Our new build home scored a 49, meaning an overall $2,965 savings annually for our clients. It also means a tighter sealed home with less draft during uneven temperatures, therefore simply more comfortable overall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">RESNET explains a HERS score in the 40’s is a very good score indeed! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">RESNET states a builder has done a lot of the right things to make this home more energy efficient, like using energy efficient lighting systems and installing efficient heating and cooling equipment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">Do you know what your HERS score is?</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-42890536362298407212015-07-12T12:54:00.002-07:002015-07-12T17:08:03.131-07:00WE KNOW THE VALUE OF A TRUE QUALITY HIGH PERFORMANCE HOME!<br />
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These are a few steps of many that we take to build the best
high performance home with the highest value that our clients will enjoy for a
long time.<br />
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Our homes appraise higher than any new or existing home in <st1:city><st1:place>Thomasville</st1:place></st1:city>
and <st1:place>South Georgia</st1:place>. Our home in 202 Stallion Cir. is for
sale at $279,900 and Appraised at $302,000.</div>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/AKJGRKsYsL4">https://youtu.be/AKJGRKsYsL4</a><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-19485647963123417422014-12-30T10:26:00.002-08:002014-12-30T10:26:51.955-08:00Neighborhood 'steering' is not OKHere are many types of Real Estate Steering:<br />
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1) When your agent tells you a house is overpriced. An agent is not an
appraiser.<br />
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2) When your agent tells you they do not have any info on a house that is
for sale by owner, because there is no commission.<br />
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3) When the agent is unaware on how to explain a green home, so they do
not show it, so not to look clueless.<br />
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4) When your buyer's agent only shows you homes with 3% commission and
with a kickback bonus.<br />
5) When your buyer's agent only shows you homes from their brokerage office
only or their own listing first.<br />
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<span data-mce-style="color: #ff0000;"><span style="color: red;">6) Local
Realtors Steering new buyers to new homes being built on small lots. This was
recently stated to us by a new home buyer. (So new home buyer's BEWARE of local
agents showing new homes on small lots.</span></span> <br />
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Q: How should a person handle it when a Realtor steers them to a particular
neighborhood? (This happened to someone I know.) He wanted to see all of <st1:city><st1:place>Las
Vegas</st1:place></st1:city>, was prequalified for $200,000 but the Realtor
would only show him (homes in) Summerlin? -- Debbie H., <st1:city><st1:place>Las
Vegas</st1:place></st1:city><br />
A: First of all, let me just say that what you're describing, if proven to
be true, is not acceptable behavior for any real estate agent in Nevada or
anywhere else. Such "steering" is a violation of federal fair housing
law, which is investigated and regulated by the federal department of Housing
and Urban Development.<br />
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Since they receive training in this area and deal with fair housing issues
in their profession, Realtors really should know better.<br />
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A violation of fair housing standards can also be a violation of state law
-- not to mention violation of the code of ethics all Realtors swear to uphold.
Consequently, if a member of the public has such a complaint, he or she should
report it to the three entities that oversee real estate transactions. They
include Housing and Urban Development, the state of <st1:state><st1:place>Nevada</st1:place></st1:state>'s
Real Estate Division and the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.<br />
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Besides being unethical, illegally steering a potential homebuyer to one
home, one neighborhood or one particular home builder is also bad for business.
Worse yet, it reflects poorly on the overwhelming majority of Realtors who
follow the rules and live up to the highest ethical standards in our
profession.<br />
<br />
That being said, if you feel the agent was purposely not showing you other
parts of the city or other properties you wanted to visit, then I suggest you
bring it to the agent's attention.<br />
Not being able to speak to the agent to determine his or her motives, there
could be several reasons for an agent to focus on one area. Having worked in
this industry for the past two decades, I can envision a scenario where a
client seeks out a Realtor who is the "neighborhood expert."<br />
As such, the client could expect, ask or even demand that the Realtor show
them what they believe to be the best neighborhood in town for that particular
buyer. If, however, you do speak to your Realtor about your concerns and he or
she is still uncooperative, you should report the situation so it can be
investigated fully. These things can be very subjective. It can sometimes be a
fine line between "steering" and giving clients what they want. In
the end, that's why it's so important for Realtors to continue their education
and training. They must meet their fiduciary responsibility to all parties,
while satisfying their legal and ethical responsibilities.<br />
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For more information on such issues, consult a qualified local Realtor or
visit LasVegasRealtor.com.<br />
Rick Shelton is the president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of
Realtors and has worked in the real estate industry for 20 years. GLVAR has
12,500 members. To ask him a question, e-mail him at <a data-mce-href="mailto:ask@glvar.org" href="mailto:ask@glvar.org" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: blue;">ask@glvar.org</span></a>.
For more information, visit lasvegasrealtor.com. Questions may be edited for
space and clarity.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Published by a local Licensed Real Estate Agent in Thomasville,
GA</span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-87363182398310400452014-12-22T09:01:00.002-08:002014-12-22T09:01:21.298-08:00Buyer and seller beware: Your agent may not represent your best interests<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Homebuyers sometimes gripe that their real estate agent seems more
interested in closing a sale and collecting a commission check than in helping
them find the right home at the right price.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Sellers, too, may feel pressured by their broker to make price
reductions or accept an offer that’s less than what they’d hoped to receive for
their home.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">What buyers and sellers alike may not realize is that, in many
cases, real estate brokers and agents actually have no legal obligation to look
after their best interests. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">This is 100%
true when it comes to working with a dual agent, </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> is a dual agency state.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Laws in 25 states now allow brokers to provide services to buyers
and sellers as "transaction brokers" or "facilitators,"
without traditional fiduciary duties of loyalty and obedience. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The state of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> is one of those state. "Buyer Beware'</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">All 50 states also <a href="http://www.inman.com/reports/dual-agency" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">provide avenues</a> for brokers to "double
end" a deal, working with both the buyer and seller in the same
transaction and avoiding the need to split commission income with a cooperating
broker. In such instances, neither the buyer nor seller is fully represented,
critics say. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The state of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> is one of those state. "Buyer Beware'</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Because they rely on referrals and repeat customers for much of
their business, scrupulous real estate brokers and agents strive to provide a
high level of service, whether they are representing clients individually in
"single agency" relationships or double-ending deals. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Not True in </span><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">South Georgia</span></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> and </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Thomasville</span></st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">, </span><st1:state><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">GA</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "Buyer Beware'</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">See related report:<br />
<a href="http://www.inman.com/reports/dual-agency" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">Beyond Dual Agency</a></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">But consumers shouldn’t assume that their broker or agent is
obligated to represent their interests, and their interests alone, until they
have seen a written disclosure describing the agency relationship under which
services are being provided to them. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">This form is
not truly explained to a buyer or seller in </span><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">South Georgia</span></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> and </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Thomasville</span></st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">, </span><st1:state><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">GA</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">, leaving buyer's and seller's on aware of what they
sign. "Buyer Beware'</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Homebuyers and sellers looking to negotiate the best commission
rate, obtain the highest level of service, and protect their legal rights in
the event of a dispute can start off on the right foot by making sure they
understand the form of representation their broker or agent is providing.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
Agency relationships<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Agency relationships are created when one person agrees to
act on another’s behalf, or represent them in dealings with a third party.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Once an agency relationship is established, agents owe their clients
"fiduciary duties" of loyalty and obedience. They are typically
required to place their clients’ interests ahead of their own, providing
services with honesty and good faith while avoiding conflicts of interest or
"self-dealing."</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">But the rules governing agency relationships between consumers,
real estate brokers and their agents vary from state to state, and all have
been rewritten in the last 25 years.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Depending on the laws of the state they are licensed in, brokers
can provide services in one of six relationships:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Single agency</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">: A broker or agent represents the interests of the buyer or
seller alone in a transaction — either as the listing agent or as a
"buyer’s agent." Consumer advocates and agents who work exclusively
with buyers say single agency is the best form of representation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Designated agency</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">: One broker
designates two of their agents to represent the buyer and seller separately.
When states require that brokers implement safeguards to protect clients’
confidential information, designated agency is the next best alternative to
single agency, academics and consumer advocates say.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Disclosed dual agency</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">: A lone
agent provides services to both the buyer and the seller in a limited agency
relationship, without an obligation to represent the best interests of
either. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"Buyer Beware'</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">In states with no provisions for designated agency, when two
agents affiliated with the same broker represent both sides of a transaction,
the broker may be considered a dual agent.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Although <a href="http://www.inman.com/news/2012/02/22/no-consensus-real-estate-dual-agency-double-ending" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">controversial</a> even
among real estate brokers and agents, disclosed dual agency does present
opportunities for experienced sellers to negotiate discounted or "variable
rate" commissions in advance.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Transaction brokerage</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">: One agent
or two agents at the same brokerage may provide services to the buyer, the
seller, or both, in a non-agency relationship, owing no fiduciary duties of
loyalty and obedience. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">In addition to having the same disadvantage as dual agency —
neither the buyer nor seller can expect an agent to represent their interests
during negotiations — consumers served by transaction brokers have little
leeway to file claims for professional negligence. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Provision of "ministerial" services</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> to unrepresented "customers": A listing broker may
avoid splitting a commission with a cooperating broker by providing limited
services to an unrepresented buyer. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Every state in the union provides avenues for brokers and agents to
"double dip." Of the eight states that ban dual agency outright, four
allow designated agency (</span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Alaska</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Colorado</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">,</span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Maryland</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> and </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Texas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">), three
allow transaction brokerage (</span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Florida</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Kansas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> and </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Oklahoma</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">),
and three allow both (</span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Alaska</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Colorado</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> and </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Texas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">). </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Subagency</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">: The listing broker represents the seller in an agency
relationship. "Selling agents" who work with buyers are
"subagents" of the listing broker. All of the agents involved in a
transaction owe their allegiance to the seller, and buyers are
unrepresented. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">So </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Although subagency was a standard industry practice for most of
the last century, this form of representation has largely fallen out of favor
because of legal risks for brokers and sellers. NotTRUE for </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Click the map image below to <a href="http://www.inman.com/reports/dual-agency" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">view an interactive map</a> describing states’ varied
real estate representation options:</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">During the matchmaking stage, brokers who are hoping to double-end
a deal may attempt to steer buyers to listings they represent. Or they may fail
to aggressively market their sellers’ listings in the hopes of limiting the
pool of buyers to those they will represent. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Very </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> inGeorgia "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Brokers may offer incentives, such as higher commission splits, to
agents who sell in-house listings to their buyers. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Extremely </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySxVOMR6AvjmjgbYVsGuam8xXo3J7QKFiFxJU-sxKVv3qzT799wvtvVmr8O2RcXJLZb_rZuiEMjx3qoCDksm79CsZL1GkdCUURmHXEFMTNkzOYKOZyeNyTrpTMocWEf-SW_ApK2CoV_DZ/s1600/interactive-map-beyond-dual-agency.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySxVOMR6AvjmjgbYVsGuam8xXo3J7QKFiFxJU-sxKVv3qzT799wvtvVmr8O2RcXJLZb_rZuiEMjx3qoCDksm79CsZL1GkdCUURmHXEFMTNkzOYKOZyeNyTrpTMocWEf-SW_ApK2CoV_DZ/s1600/interactive-map-beyond-dual-agency.jpg" height="272" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Agency relationships and commissions</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The Consumer Federation of America <a href="http://www.consumerfed.org/elements/www.consumerfed.org/file/housing/Real_Estate_Cartel_Study061906.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">advises</a> consumers to
always negotiate commissions with real estate brokers, using agency
relationships as a starting point.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Buyers and sellers should insist at "the first
substantial contact" that brokers disclose whether they will
represent their financial interests at all stages. If not, the group advises,
consumers should ask whether the broker will represent the financial interests
of the other party, or simply serve as a facilitator or transaction
broker.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Sellers should try to "knock one percentage point" off
the standard commission right off the bat, the Consumer Federation of America
advises, and "insist that if their broker double dips, the commission
be reduced another percentage point or two."</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Search and negotiate</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Of all the services that real estate brokers and agents provide
for their clients, two of the most important are "matchmaking" —
connecting buyers and sellers — and negotiation. Agency relationships can come
into play during both stages.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"My broker doesn’t endorse this practice (of offering such
incentives), as it may lead to an agent ignoring the best interests of the
client in favor of the best paycheck," said Chris Dowell, an agent at
Re/Max Premier Realty in Prairie Village, Kan., a Kansas City, Mo., suburb.
Dual agency and several other forms of representation are permitted in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Missouri</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"LUCKY YOU'Georgia "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"There is a large, local brokerage that pays a significant
bonus for selling in-brokerage listings, and because of that, faces … lawsuits,
as well as a buying public that is very cynical toward that brokerage’s
actions." </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Extremely </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">During the negotiating stage, brokers and agents working with the
buyer and seller in the same transaction may disclose confidential information
— such as how much the seller is willing to accept — in the hopes of moving a
transaction along. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"Extremely </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "Buyer's Beware" I can't STRESS this how </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> it is.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Michele Guss, an agent at Thompson’s Realty in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Phoenix</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">,
said that in her brokerage, agents don’t "sit around gossiping about their
clients and transactions." </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Not all
offices have the same practice. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"With that said, I will say when I was with (another
brokerage), agents were always telling other agents what listing they had and
what a seller would be willing to accept. This is not OK. Agents are not
authorized to give any (information) unless the seller or buyer specifically
authorizes them to do so," she added. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Common
practices Extremely </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Boost for brokers, but at what cost?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The California Association of Realtors, in soliciting contributions
to its Realtor Action Fund,<a href="http://cache.inman.com/files/stories/2009_CAR_DuesInsert.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">claims</a> that the
lobbying it has done to preserve dual agency in the state "saves"
Realtors thousands of dollars each year. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Extremely </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">More many in the realtors pocket. and buyer's and sellers with no
representation.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Not having to split a commission with a cooperating broker
provides a boost to the bottom line.</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Extremely </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">TRUE</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">CAR</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> spokeswoman
Lotus Lou said the group currently estimates that preserving dual agency
generates $1,873 in annual savings for the average agent and $4,627 per
brokerage, but was unable to provide specifics on how those estimates were
derived.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"Each agent and firm makes that additional amount,
respectively, because of dual agency," Lou said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The jury is still out, however, as to whether buyers and sellers
are at a disadvantage when they agree to dual agency or other forms of limited-
or non-agency representation.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">A study of 4,154 repeat sales in the Memphis, Tenn., market from
1997 through 2003, "<a href="http://aux.zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/jrer/papers/pdf/past/vol27n03/02.267_292.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">Homeowners’ Repeat-Sale Gains,
Dual Agency and Repeated Use of the Same Agent</a>," found no convincing
effects of accepting dual agency for buyers or sellers.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Another study of 1,334 </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Utah</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> home
sales in 1999 and 2000 found that the impact of agency representation varied by
property size.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">For small- to medium-sized homes, buyers represented by their own
agents paid about 2 percent less than those who were represented by the listing
agent, or who were unrepresented "customers" of the listing agent.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">But the study found that the benefit of working with a buyer’s
agent could easily be canceled out by generous commission-split offers.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">That study, "<a href="http://aux.zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/jrer/papers/abstract/past/av24n02/v24n02a04.htm" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">Agency Representation and the
Sale Price of Houses</a>," revealed that sellers of medium- to large-size
properties agreed to larger price reductions when the buyer was represented by
a designated agent.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The authors of the study theorized that listing agents might be
more likely to pressure sellers to agree to a price reduction if an offer was
coming from a buyer represented by another agent at their firm.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">More recently, an analysis by technology-based real estate
brokerage Redfin of 230,000 home sales in 22 markets around the country in 2011 <a href="http://www.inman.com/news/2012/02/23/redfin-sellers-lose-in-dual-agency" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">concluded</a> that
sellers represented by dual agents agreed to larger discounts from their asking
price than sellers represented by single or designated agents.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Redfin — which primarily represents buyers in single-agency
relationships — acknowledged that sellers represented by dual agents may have
been able to negotiate commission discounts.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Legal liabilities</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Despite more than two decades of tinkering with the laws,
regulations, customs and practices governing Realtor-client relationships, real
estate brokers still view agency issues as their<a href="http://www.inman.com/news/2012/02/14/legal-pitfalls-agency-representation-real-estate-professionals" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">greatest potential legal
liability</a>. </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">NAR’s latest survey of members showed 18 percent of Realtors
practiced transaction brokerage in 2010, up from 10 percent the year before.
The percentage of Realtors practicing buyer and seller agency with disclosed
dual agency dropped from 41 percent to 32 percent. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Our area in</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Georgia</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> it is up in our area by 99%
"Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Statistics provided to Inman News by four of the nation’s largest
multiple listing services <a href="http://www.inman.com/news/2011/11/1/dual-agency-and-double-dipping-still-risky-business" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">show declines</a> in
same-broker or same-office transactions during the last decade. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Our area inGeorgia it is up in our area by 99% "Buyer's
Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">At the largest </span><st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">MLS</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> in the Northeast, Rockville, Md.-based Metropolitan Regional
Information Systems Inc. (MRIS), for example, 21.7 percent of transactions in
2002 were handled by an agent or agents working out of the same office. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">99% of sold listings in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> are sold and listed by same agent. with no protection to the
buyer or seller and full commission to the listing agent. "Buyer's
Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The percentage of same-office sales dropped to 15.8 percent in
2009, a low for the decade, before rebounding to 16.4 percent in 2010. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Our area in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> it is up in our area by 99% "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Roselind Hejl, an agent at Coldwell Banker United Realtors
in </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Austin</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, </span><st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Texas</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">, said she believes that dual agency is becoming unacceptable to
consumers in an era of increasing transparency. In </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> it is the only agency sought out by local Realtors</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">. Dual Agency in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> is sought out by local realtors for the full commission.
"Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"I think (dual agency) is a holdover from the days when both
agents represented the seller, and the buyer was technically not represented.
It was customary to ‘double dip’ and earn both sides of the commission,"
she said. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">"In today’s world, agents may get away with this once in
awhile, but dual agency is rapidly coming to an end. The public wants more
information and transparency. It is up to us to respond to that." </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">They get away with it everyday in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">. "Buyer's Beware"</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Kansas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"> agent Chris Dowell, meanwhile, said he believes the wealth
of information available on the Internet has encouraged a
"do-it-yourselfer" mentality, and that there is a "trend toward
unrepresented buyers purchasing through listing agents directly." </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It happens daily in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> So"Buyer's Beware" An uneducated buyer is going to
believe whatever their buyer's agent tells the buyer.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Worries about legal liability aren’t the only factor that may be
contributing to a general decline in double-ending.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The role of real estate websites</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Consumers today are likely to start the home search process on
websites like Realtor.com, Zillow and Trulia that feature advertisements or
lead forms for brokers and agents who are seeking to represent buyers in their
market.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Those advertisements — typically worded as an offer to provide
more information about a particular property that has come up in search results
— have been controversial with some listing brokers, who want inquiries from
prospective buyers funneled to their agents.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Critics say listing brokers who object to the ads are worried that
they are losing out on opportunities to double-end transactions.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Some brokerages — such as Minnesota-based Edina Realty Inc. — have <a href="http://www.inman.com/news/2011/11/21/minnesota-broker-will-stop-sending-listings-trulia-realtorcom" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">pulled their listings</a> from
"third-party" sites that send business to their competitors over
concerns about ads and lead forms that appear next to their listings.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">The nation’s fourth-largest brokerage, Pittsburgh-based Howard
Hanna Real Estate Services, recently took <a href="http://www.inman.com/news/2012/02/21/howard-hanna-invests-1m-plus-enhance-real-estate-listings" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: text;" target="_blank">another tack</a>, entering
into marketing agreements with Realtor.com and Zillow to prevent competitors’
advertisements from appearing next to the company’s listings.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Third-party sites not only provide listings data, but statistics
on market trends and neighborhood demographics, crime and schools, so consumers
are no longer reliant on real estate agents as the primary source for
community, neighborhood and home information.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.9pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
http://www.inman.com/2012/02/24/buyer-and-seller-beware-your-agent-may-not-represent-your-best-interests/#</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-18760953652617923052014-09-09T08:08:00.001-07:002014-09-09T08:08:22.204-07:00Dual Agency is "Bait and Switch."<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 14.85pt;">There is a new found medical term in the Real Estate industry call “Selective showing” just like Selective memory “Selective showing” is a rare symptoms found only when working with a dual agency. For some reason the agent is only able to remembers to show the buyer the listings that are ether listed by the same agent and office or where the most effective commission is available. There is a cure for these symptoms, and it’s to work with a buyer’s agent. A dual agent is counting on the buyer thinking that they are going to get a better price by working with the same listing agent. NOT TRUE!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 14.85pt;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJa28Fz0mVGbLjoQV6x-WC_dPm5dBe-NqGMBbe5AVE6r8PNLA9e2_7-_fTiCgoxCszllgmkzgrwnbAisJPYzxOeexC2xheClANZnzitu3lV8jv8FqUVLi8uohZ47X8wRDOpheyUHoakMvW/s1600/logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJa28Fz0mVGbLjoQV6x-WC_dPm5dBe-NqGMBbe5AVE6r8PNLA9e2_7-_fTiCgoxCszllgmkzgrwnbAisJPYzxOeexC2xheClANZnzitu3lV8jv8FqUVLi8uohZ47X8wRDOpheyUHoakMvW/s1600/logo.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 14.85pt;"><br /></span>
<div style="line-height: 16.35pt;">
<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: Arial;">Dual agency is a way for brokers to unfairly get paid double. It is most prevalent at large brokerage firms (we recommend avoiding these). Commissions are already arguably too high and savvy consumers can avoid paying a double fee while also preserving their right to representation</span></span></span><span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.35pt;">
<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt;">Dual agency occurs when real estate agents from the same firm claim to represent both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. Representing adversarial interests at the same time is a legally impossible situation ("serving two masters") and is illegal in every other profession. Worse, brokers are incentivized with a double fee if they manipulate you to agree to this.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.35pt;">
<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Dual agency (also known as Designated Agency) is often branded (even marketed) to consumers by large brokerage firms as a thing of value - it is not. Although the term “dual agency” seems to infer an important relationship of trust and reliance, dual agency is a betrayal in which the firm becomes a secret double agent that only gets paid double if they can convince you to do it.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.35pt;">
<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">In order to avoid dual agency, seek out smaller, highly qualified and independent brokerage firms that understand and agree to other more favorable relationships such as Exclusive or Single Agency representation.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.35pt; margin-left: 37.4pt;">
<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Negotiating Tip</span></span><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">: Sellers, instead of negotiating a bundled commission, negotiate each part of the commission. Do it yourself ("unrepresented") buyers typically receive no financial benefit for their work. Instead the listing broker confiscates the entire amount (a hogger). So instead of negotiating a 5% commission, negotiate how much your listing broker will get (2% for example), negotiate how much will be offered to buyer brokers and do it yourself buyers (3%). When buyers are searching, yours will stand out because buyers stand to save 3% only on your house by doing it themselves. Listing brokers should not care whether the 3% is paid to buyer brokers or buyers. If they claim that they have to do more work, then keep shopping until you find a listing broker that is willing.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.35pt; margin-left: 37.4pt;">
<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Looks like this:</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Listing Broker: 2%</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Buyer Broker or Do It Yourself Buyer: 3%</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Bait and Switch</span></strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Dual agency is potentially one of the worst “bait and switches” possible because it involves the “switch” (abandonment) of a trusted advisor and advocate. Even with disclosures, consumers rarely expect the change in relationship (and often never even know that it occured) that comes with dual agency and they are almost never prepared for the complete abandonment that defines dual agency. And despite the degradation in the level of services in a dual agency situation, the client ends up paying double.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 24pt;"><br /></span></b><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><b><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 24pt;">Should Less Service Equate to a Lesser Fee?</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The Consumer Federation of America came up with a recommended fee schedule that suggests a sliding downward scale to align the degradation of services that results from dual agency with a lowering of the fee Realtors charge. According to them, less service should translate into a lower fee. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><b><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: Arial;">It is Illegal for Attorneys to Practice Dual Agency</span></b></span></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">It is illegal for attorneys to engage in dual agency in adversarial relationships. Yet, attorneys possess far higher entry level licensing standards and education requirements than do Realtors. In addition, attorneys are trained in how to manage conflicts of interest. Realtors are not.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Attorneys must have a post graduate doctorate degree and pass a State Bar Exam in order to become licensed. They also have a meaningful Code of Ethics that provides substantial and public penalties for infractions. Even with their thorough training in agency relationships and conflict management, attorneys avoid dual agency because it places too much risk on their clients.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Licensing requirements for real estate agents are essentially non-existent. The minimum standard to obtain a real estate license in the </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">United States</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> doesn’t even require a high school diploma and an individual can often obtain their license after taking only a 30 hour class on how to pass the exam. And their "Code of Ethics" is designed to protect Realtors, not clients and is enforced by peers who are members of their trade association and all decisions are kept private. Real estate licensing laws are typically lax as is enforcement of those laws.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">There really is no comparison. Realtors do not possess the necessary training or education to engage in such a complex relationship as dual agency.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Despite the complete lack of minimum standards and the incredible complexity and danger of dual agency, it is now legal in most states for Realtors to practice dual agency.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Attorneys run conflict checks to avoid dual agency and have for the most part bifurcated their profession into plaintiff and defendant firms. Nothing like that system exists for Realtors. We believe that it should. To make matters worse, Realtors don’t understand dual agency, they have little training in conflict management,and disclosure forms are misleading and inadequate. Consumers don't understand it, are highly vulnerable and typically rely upon their Realtor for skewed and inconsistent “advice” about dual agency. And to totally drive the malfeasance home, Realtors are financially encouraged to practice dual agency and fondly refer to the bagging of dual agency clients as a “hogger.”</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 24pt;"><br /></span></b><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><b><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 24pt;">The Worst Kind of Swine Flu</span></b></span><strong><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 24pt;"> </span></strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Dual agency (aka "Hoggers") exist to enable real estate brokerage firms to grow to enormous size and to unfairly collect double commissions. It's greedy, dishonest and anti-competitive. Similar to theft by swindle, dual agency is highly profitable and relies upon the vulnerabilities of its victims to succeed. We call these double agents "predatory fiduciaries" because their practices differ little from those of the predatory lenders. Ironically, dual agency was a response to an innovative entrepreneurial business model called exclusive buyer agency that was quickly gaining market share and improving the real estate marketplace. Exclusive buyer agency offers a legitimate and substantial benefit to consumers in that agents refuse to expose clients to dual agency and offer only exclusive loyalty their buyers. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Exclusive buyer agency still exists and is promoted by a trade organization called the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (<a href="http://www.naeba.org/" style="cursor: text;"><span style="color: #005a8c; text-decoration: none;">www.NAEBA.org</span></a>). We have a list of Exclusive Buyer Agents listed in our Service Providers section in the upper right sidebar of this page.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Excessive Realtor Lobbying Power</span></strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The National Association of Realtors is the post powerful lobbying group in the </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">United States</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">. They claim that 97% of the legislators they support get elected. It is considered political suicide for legislators to go up against this group. Add in the lobbying power of its sister and subservient industry groups and you will understand why it is a truthful remark to state that, "No real estate related law will get passed unless the Realtors sign off on it first." </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Legalizing dual agency allowed the Realtor Associations' membership to get paid double while betraying their own clients. Legalizing dual agency is akin to legalizing fraud. In fact, the courts describe "undisclosed dual agency" as fraudulent conduct. We find it incredulous to even try and state that consumers receive dual agency disclosures even close to what the common law requires of other professions. Consumers certainly are not giving their informed consent (another common law standard).</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Without an all powerful lobbying group behind them (National Association of Realtors “NAR”), it never would have been possible to legalize conduct that is more accurately described as a betrayal. The common law standard to permit dual agency requires a full disclosure of all the material conflicts of interest (an almost impossible standard) and the informed consent of the client (another almost impossible standard). Rather than adhere to these common sense standards, Realtor Associations across the country changed the law so that they could double dip. They amassed a colossal lobbying effort to rewrite state laws to allow for dual agency. In one lobbying effort they defiled two hundred years of common law and eliminated an important and already successful point of redress for consumers who were harmed by dual agency – class action lawsuits.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></span><strong><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: Arial;">"Dual Agency is a Totally Inappropriate Agency Relationship"</span></strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Hypocritically, it should be noted that the National Association of Realtors previously took the position that, “Dual agency is a totally inappropriate agency relationship for real estate brokers to create as a matter of general business practice…The disclosures and consents necessary to make a dual agency lawful are so comprehensive and specific that a typical real estate broker cannot undertake them as a matter of routine.” Taken from “</span><a href="http://caare.org/sites/default/files/who_is_my_client-1_0.pdf" style="cursor: text;"><span tag="span"><strong><span style="color: #005a8c; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Who Is My Client?</span></strong></span></a> *– A Realtors Guide to Compliance with the Law of Agency” 1986 National Association of Realtors. See attachment below. </span></span><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #005a8c; cursor: text;"><a href="http://caare.org/sites/default/files/nar_exec_counsels_against_dual_agency--north_speaks_0.pdf" style="cursor: text;">The Executive Vice President of the Association also wrote a letter about the topic.</a></span></span></strong></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></span><strong><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 24pt;">Dual Agency Should Be Banned</span></strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span tag="span"><span class="yui-tag-spanyui-tag"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">CAARE’s position on dual agency is that it should be banned. It is an insurmountable conflict of interest that results in the abandonment of the client when they need their agent the most – right when they find the property they want. We believe that banning dual agency is possible with enough public support. We have drafted petitions and have lots of information to help provide imepetus for this change. At the very least, investors who loan mortgage money should forbid dual agency in their transactions. In addition, HUD should forbid dual agency on all federally funded loans that involved especially vulnerable distressed home sellers (short sales). When mortgage fraud is rampant, consumers need more than ever to be able rely upon their Realtor for exclusive representation and unbiased and untainted advice. We would like to see the elimination of disclosure statements that disclose bad conduct like dual agency and see in its place the elimination of bad conduct like dual agency.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span tag="span"><u1:p></u1:p></span><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">*The National Association of Realtors' Official position on dual agency in 1986, "Dual agency is a totally inappropriate agency relationship..."</span></strong><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></b><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">http://www.caare.org/content/dual-agency-ultimate-bait-and-switch</span></strong></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-6308613692391918662014-09-05T12:15:00.004-07:002014-09-05T12:15:46.805-07:00Never Agree to Dual Agency!<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.4720001220703px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dual agency means serving two masters. No other profession is permitted to routinely engage in this practice that </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://caare.org/content/AttorneySurveys" style="color: #005a8c; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: blue;">most professionals feel should be banned (see our attorney survey on this topic)</span></span></a></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">. No other profession has special laws written for them that automatically reduces their liability in these relationships. And real estate agents are perhaps the least qualified to handle this conflict. Dual agency occurs when real estate agents represent both the buyers and sellers on the same transaction. When that happens real estate brokers collect a double commission and they are prohibited from doing anything to the detriment of either party. That means that they can not help you negotiate price or terms of your real estate transaction. It means that they are getting paid twice as much for doing a tenth of the work. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dual Agency is a conflictive relationship that strips buyers and sellers of service to a level that can best be described as abandonment. Dual agency arises when the real estate broker is representing both the buyer and the seller. It is illegal in every other fiduciary profession except under the most extreme circumstances. It is routinely practiced in residential real estate where there is the least amount of training. When a real estate broker engages in dual agency they may not work to the advantage or the detriment of the buyer or seller. In other words, all the reasons you hired your broker vanish - often with little warning.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dual agents are legally prevented from negotiating price or terms (two of the most important reasons consumers hire Realtors). And perhaps the biggest problem with this betrayal is that it usually presents itself with little warning to the client - it is a bait and switch. The broker could be acting in the client's best interests all the way up to finding the house that creates a dual agency. At that point the buyer or seller are on their own.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In a dual agency, brokers don't have to share the commission with other brokers so they make twice as much money. They profit greatly from this practice. Realtors, who typically have no understanding of the legal ramifications of their own fiduciary relationship with their clients, often illegally counsel their clients of the so-called "benefits" of dual agency. We're here to tell you that there are NO benefits and that you should NEVER agree to dual agency. Find a small brokerage firm with highly qualified real estate agents and demand that they not engage in dual agency. The likelihood of dual agency arising with a smaller firm is far less than with a large firm.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 17.4720001220703px;">http://www.caare.org/DualAgency</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-19781400759637496582014-09-05T05:58:00.004-07:002014-09-05T05:58:30.567-07:00DOUBLE BUBBLE, DOUBLE DIP, ME-ME<div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: center;">
<strong style="background-color: white;">Would you hire the same Divorce Attorney that is representing your ex partner?</strong></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white;">Why would anyone think they are getting a better deal when their Agent also represents the seller?</strong></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Back in the Day…</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Back in the day, when interest rates were 18%, and the MLS consisted of a huge 3-ring binder, agents and brokers mostly represented sellers, but the public didn’t exactly understand this. They would call up an office, or a listing agent to see a home, write an offer, and assume that whoever wrote that offer, was representing them. They had no clue that the listing company and agent were actually representing the seller!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Over the years, and many lawsuits later, the evolution of agency has emerged. And to be honest, the public still doesn’t get it, and neither do many agents. The National Association of Realtors has released their <a href="http://www.legalebook.com/ebook/eBookFrame.asp" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.3s ease 0s; color: #2e2f30; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">Bi-Annual Legal Scan</a>, and while agency in and of itself isn’t the leading cause of disputes, dual agency came out as a high ranking issue.</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: large;">What is Dual Agency?</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Dual agency occurs when one agent represents both the seller and buyer in the same real estate transaction.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">When a potential buyer sees the advertising for a home for sale and calls the listing agent, the listing agent has a choice to show the buyer the home but only represent the seller or to convince both parties to agree to dual agency.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">SOME CASES ARE NOT DUAL AGENCY</span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white;">For example, a buyer wants representation by a REALTOR® while purchasing a FSBO. This can be confused with dual agency, and often is, but as both parties are not represented (the seller is representing them self), there is no dual agency.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Some people may not need to have representation. If we think of the experienced investor, the lawyer selling a FSBO that only needs their house in the MLS but is fine to handle negotiating, the contracts, and closing, or possibly the buyer who has purchased before, and feels comfortable enough to buy without the use of a buyer’s agent, but wishes that the agent coordinates the closing details.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><b>What are the Agents Responsibilities in a Dual Agency Situation?</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">If they are a REALTOR®, ethics says confidentiality for both parties should be the norm. So even though the agent is working now for both buyer and seller they have to provide fair business dealing to both.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">However, the <b>practice</b> of representing both parties in a transaction is SLIPPERY. One basic rule of agency requires maintaining confidentiality. When an agent represents both parties, the rules of confidentiality essentially make the agent a document preparer at best. They can’t share information about either party with the other.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">For instance, an agent representing both cannot tell a seller what the buyer is willing to spend. Conversely, the agent cannot tell the buyer what the seller is willing to take. Within the rules of agency representation, it’s required that when an agent knows a material fact, they must share that fact with their client.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The most important point for you to know about dual agency is that if your agent is also representing the other side, your agent <b>cannot advocate for you in negotiations or give you advice on pricing</b>. This means that when you hit a stumbling block in the negotiations, your agent can’t fight for your needs.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Let’s say that a buyer and seller are negotiating and they are $5,000 apart on purchase price. When we represent the buyer, our job is to convince the seller that our buyer will not pay more and that they should take our offer because it is the best they will do. As a seller’s agent, our job is to convince the buyer that the house is worth more than they are offering, and the seller won’t reduce the price any more.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Dual agents can’t take either of these positions.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">All a dual agent can do is present to each client what the other side has responded, and ask if the offer on the table is acceptable or if they want to make a counteroffer.</span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Who Benefits from Dual Agency?</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">With real estate agents coining terms like Double Bubble, Double Dip, Me-Me it’s no wonder there is a perception that Buyers and Sellers don’t benefit from dual agency.</span><b> </b></div>
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<b style="background-color: white;">The only person who benefits from dual agency is the agent.</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Many agents are eager to act as dual agents because they get to keep the entire commission. When an agent is hired to sell a home, a portion of the commission paid to the listing agent is given to the buyer’s broker. If the agent represents both sides, then they get to keep the entire commission.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNk8jsYrfj1eKnWEZOEztaYBCNd4GmxOtQy8H30Sm7kCQlimzG_A4yUyK45KU142mP55WoBKxxhgFgnA0wq7RSShA8gb95bKRtY1aPkHKa4RvWadbd-l1W0Xx6qNHd1fUsw5fSw3w3Is3x/s1600/The_Overly_Helpful_Salesman.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.3s ease 0s; background-color: white; color: #2e2f30; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNk8jsYrfj1eKnWEZOEztaYBCNd4GmxOtQy8H30Sm7kCQlimzG_A4yUyK45KU142mP55WoBKxxhgFgnA0wq7RSShA8gb95bKRtY1aPkHKa4RvWadbd-l1W0Xx6qNHd1fUsw5fSw3w3Is3x/s200/The_Overly_Helpful_Salesman.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="145" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">How do I handle Dual Agency Situations?</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I don’t do dual agency except in rare situations.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I think it is a bad idea and <b>not in my clients best interests</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">If I have a listing and show the property to buyers without their own agent, I explain that I am represent the seller. I let them know that they have 3 choices if they like the property and want to make an offer:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I can assist with the paperwork and the contract details just like a store salesperson can assist the people that are purchasing products from the store. I represent the seller and will encourage the buyer to accept the terms that the seller wants. <i>By the way, this is exactly what new construction salespeople are doing when a buyer purchases a new home without a buyer’s agent. </i></span><i style="line-height: 19.65pt;"><span style="background: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span></i><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.65pt;">But this would
be illegal when the Realtor/Broker is part owner of the construction company.
This information must be disclosed to all buyers and when this information is
not disclosed this would be considered a violation of license law. In this scenario
you will end up losing more and paying more for your new home.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I can refer them to another agent that can act as their buyer’s agent…an agent that can represent just their interests.</span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: white;">They can find a buyer’s agent on their own, and have that agent submit an offer on the house.</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The next time you are in a market to buy, make sure you have your own agent.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">If you discover a home through an ad or a yard sign, call an agent that you can trust and that will represent you– not try to sell you on dual agency. Rather than calling the agent working for the seller, and I can arrange a private showing for properties anywhere in Bloomington, Indiana.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.welcomehomebtown.com/double-bubble-double-dip-me-me/</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-51286418331139024282014-09-04T07:59:00.003-07:002014-09-04T08:10:43.657-07:00MY AGENT SAYS HE WILL BE DOUBLE DIPPING - THAT SOUNDS GROSS<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.7pt; margin-bottom: 14.05pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 14.05pt;">
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<strong><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">First-time buyer</span></strong><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"> – My agent showed me a house that I like and for which he is the listing agent. I heard him use the term double-dipping. I know you’re not supposed to do that with chips and dips, but what is that all about in real estate?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">Answer</span></strong><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"> - Double dipping at the chips and dip station is a nasty party etiquette faux pas and it can be a nasty real estate practice too, involving not so much etiquette as ethics. Some states have enacted real estate laws and practices to limit the practice or at least to bring full transparency to it. </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">Michigan</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"> is what is called a Designated Agency state. That means that we have laws that define the agency role and responsibilities when a Realtor signs a client up to be their listing agent or their buyer agent and it requires a clear definition and agreement with the client about what role the agent is playing. The cornerstone of the concept of agency is the agent’s fiduciary responsibility to the client.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">Curt Vonnegut used to do a commercial for TIAA-CREF, the retirement programs people, in which he had fun with the word fiduciary. It does sound funny. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">From Wikipedia comes this definition of a fiduciary –</span></strong><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">A fiduciary is a legal or ethical relationship of trust between two or more parties. Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money for another person. In a fiduciary relationship, one person, in a position of vulnerability, justifiably vests confidence, good faith, reliance, and trust in another whose aid, advice or protection is sought in some matter. In such a relation good conscience requires the fiduciary to act at all times for the sole benefit and interest of the one who trusts. A fiduciary duty is the highest standard of care at either equity or law. A fiduciary (abbreviation fid) is expected to be extremely loyal to the person to whom he owes the duty (the "principal"): such that there must be no conflict of duty between fiduciary and principal, and the fiduciary must not profit from his position as a fiduciary (unless the principal consents). </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;">This also goes for Realtor working directly with a local builder. This is also called double dipping and when that Realtor/broker is part owner of new homes being built and sold by the same agent, that illegal.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p>So, when a client signs up with a real estate agent to list his house, the agent takes on a fiduciary role with that client. That means that the agent may learn things from the client that the client does not want to others to know, such and how much he’d really sell the place for. The agent is bound by his fiduciary relationship not to disclose that to a buyer. The agent owes his loyalty to the seller.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">So what happens when that same agent signs up a buyer couple and starts looking for houses for them. He owes fiduciary loyalty to the buyers and shouldn’t disclose things like how much the buyer is willing to pay to any sellers. So far, so good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">Now, suppose that the agent is sending the buyers listings and they happen to see one of his listings and want to see it. Even worse, they love it and want to put in a bid on it. Where do the agents loyalties lay now? Can that agent serve two masters? Some states allow that to happen and some put some pretty good restrictions on what the agent can do and what level of transparency has to be maintained for both parties to the deal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">Michigan</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"> requires that the agent get the written permission of both parties before he should even show the house to the buyers. That written permission should state clearly the compromise that the agent will have to make if placed in this position. The things that need to be dealt with in that document include what the agent can and cannot disclose to either side and includes a strict prohibition against sharing any secrets or confidences that either party has already shared with the agent. Potentially a bigger issue is the fact that the dual agent can no longer negotiate for either side. If having the agent there to handle the negotiations was important to either side, that is gone if the agent is allowed to become a dual agent. Some states, like </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">California</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">, that don’t have designated agency laws in effect, are currently dealing with dual agency cases in their court systems that could have major impact across the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;">So, what’s the double dip thing? That means that the agent is going to receive both sides of the commission – double what he/she would normally make – thus a double dip into the commission pot. That’s not an illegal things or necessarily a bad thing, but is does provide the motivation to perhaps not render as much fiduciary responsibility as is still possible. The agent may become more motivated by the opportunity to double dip that to protect the interests of both parties. Money tends to corrupt like that.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">How can you protect yourself against the potential problems that could be caused by dual agency? The simple answer is not to allow it. Since the agent needs to have your permission in most states to act in a dual agent role, just tell them that you’d prefer not to do business that way. Ask them to have a different agent represent the buyer or you, so that each of you has an agent who can give you the full fiduciary attention and responsibility that you should have. In states that don’t have Designated Agency laws that may mean finding an agent in a different company. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">Your agent may refer you to another agent and it is perfectly legal for him/her to get a referral fee for doing that. That way you are still rewarding the agent who worked for you and found you the house that you want, even if he/she can’t be there with you through the sale. If your agent refuses to do something about the dual-agency issue, then fire that agent and find another agent. He/she was more interested in double dipping that in making sure your interests were properly served.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial;">The agent might take the position that he can represent only the seller but can still do the paperwork and put the deal together. Listing agents who meet unrepresented buyers at open houses in their own listings often take that approach. You’ll need to decide whether you feel comfortable with that and whether you are concerned that the agent may already know enough about your and your wherewithal to put you at a disadvantage in the negotiations – people do tend to talk at open houses, especially to the friendly, nice man that showed them through. You can see how hard this can be to keep straight. Double dipping has been a fairly common practice in many places and is a favorite with many agents for obvious reasons; but, the bottom line is that it’s up to you and you need to feel completely comfortable with the representation that you will be getting in the deal. If you are not, remember the advice that you used to hear about drugs or teenage sex, just say no.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Arial;"> http://normwerner.realtytimes.com/advicefromagents1/item/28614-my-agent-says-he-will-be-double-dipping-that-sounds-gross</span></address>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-40507454648747767642014-09-03T06:09:00.001-07:002014-09-03T13:53:55.266-07:00Should A Home Buyer Use The Listing Agent?<h3 style="background: white; line-height: 20.55pt; margin-bottom: 4.7pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Very Will said. Excellent article! This is one
of the best written articles of dual agency I have seen in a long time. This is
a must post article in my area just because of the overwhelmed practice of
dual agency. </span></strong><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.5pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></h3>
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Double Dipping</h3>
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<img alt="Dual Agency" class="alignright size-full wp-image-10960" src="http://www.sacramentorealestatevoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Double-Dipping-in-Real-Estate.jpg" height="350" style="box-shadow: rgb(51, 51, 51) 0px 8px 7px -6px; display: inline; float: right; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden;" width="350" />Home Buyers should be aware of what Dual Agency means specifically to them and the purchase of a house or condo. In the real estate business we refer to this as “double dipping.”</div>
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It has been written about for years that when a listing agent also represents the home buyer, it either means no one gets represented fully where the real estate agent becomes neutral or the home buyer is left out in the cold with no representation at all. You need to remember that a relationship was established with the home seller long before the home buyer came into the picture. In other words the fiduciary relationship was originally with the seller. You can’t serve two masters fairly! And don’t let anyone try and convince you otherwise.</div>
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Dual Agency is Double Dipping</h3>
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A definition of dual agency is “a breach of agency rules” which must be disclosed to the parties because the agent has a conflict of interest when representing both the buyer and the seller. That should tell you something!</div>
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I prefer an “arms length” transaction where I totally represent my client and I do NOT do dual agency. Anyone who says they can give both sides equal representation is fooling himself/herself as well as the uneducated client.</div>
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Do some real estate agents like dual agency, well sure they get paid twice. But, for the inexperienced real estate agent who thinks only of the double commission, they may find a lawsuit will eat up that double dipping! The number 1 claim and complaints filed are about Dual Agency. More real estate complaints occur due to Dual Agency where the client’s did not feel they were fully represented.</div>
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These are the States that ban Dual Agency:</div>
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;">Alabama</li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;">Florida</li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;">Kansas</li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;">Maryland</li>
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Now, the uscrupuious listing real estate agent who has lingo down pat of, “I’ll give you your own PRIVATE showing.” Or scares the buyers into thinking they have to write a contract with the listing agent in order to get the house are all examples of an unethical real estate agent. The uneducated, naive home buyer is typically the one who falls for this lingo. And in the end, some of those very home buyers actually think they got a good deal…how sad!</div>
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Private showings are always the case whenever a home is shown unless it’s an Open House so don’t fall for the “private showing” gibberish. And scaring a home buyer into thinking they must write the offer with the listing agent in order to get the house is not only unethical, it’s a lie. The seller will pick the best offer. The seller only cares about how much money they will net. So, don’t fall for that lie.</div>
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Do you double dip your chip in the dip? Then don’t be represented by the same real estate agent that represents the seller. Some things are just not Kosher. And if you have an established relationship with a REALTOR®, then by all means be loyal and don’t fall prey to ridiculous rhetoric from a listing agent.</div>
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In summation, this article is for all home buyers. You have now become educated on the pitfalls of NO REPRESENTATION when going along with Dual Agency. The first question an ethical REALTOR® asks is, “are you currently working with a real estate agent?”</div>
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A unethical agent never asks and ropes you in and hopes you fall for their tricks while smiling all the way to the bank. Wise up home buyers and don’t be taken! When you go to that Open House without your REALTOR®, then take their business card with you and speak up…I have a REALTOR®.</div>
http://sacramentorealestatevoice.com/should-a-home-buyer-use-the-listing-agent/#comment-44863Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-47714346270832737852014-09-01T14:32:00.001-07:002014-09-01T14:40:10.556-07:00Buying a new Home in Thomasville or South Georgia Compare features..<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="background: white; color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Custom Green Homes from $86/Per Sq. Ft. </span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">We don't build eight minimum code homes at a time we build
custom green high-performance homes and we build it right. Don't overpay for a
new home with less features and an overpriced H.O.A in </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">South</span></st1:city><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><st1:state><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">GA</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">,
We are the only builder building green homes in </span><st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">South
Georgia</span></st1:place><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> with Energy bill GUARANTEED!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Capital Home Builders – We are the only true custom
home builder in </span></b><st1:city><st1:place><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Thomasville</span></b></st1:place></st1:city><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">, and </span></b><st1:place><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">South
Georgia</span></b></st1:place><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Homes</div>
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<b>All of our homes
are built with </b><st1:state><st1:place><b>Florida</b></st1:place></st1:state><b> Code NOT </b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b>Georgia</b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b>…. <span style="color: red;">Better Code </span>/
Better Homes..<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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1) Stronger foundation and Footers - Our Found are built
with Wire Mash and Fiber</div>
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2) 2X6 Exterior Walls - Stronger House and More Wall Insulation</div>
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3) Continuous load Path - Stronger House (Ask other
builders will not know)<o:p></o:p></div>
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4) Trusses Design with Heel for extra insulation <o:p></o:p></div>
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5) Titanium Underlayment With Ice & water and
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6) Whole House Surge protector<o:p></o:p></div>
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7) Hole House Wiring For Smart Home</div>
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8) Video Surveillance Monitor on Vacation</div>
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9) Smart thermostat Lower A/C with Smart Phone.<o:p></o:p></div>
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10) 2.5 Ton 16 SEER A/C unit. For a 2,500 Sq. Ft. Home.
Very Energy Efficient </div>
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11) Tankless Water Heater<o:p></o:p></div>
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12) Top Quality Energy efficient Windows </div>
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13) Advanced Framing - (Ask Other Builders Will not know
what that is…)</div>
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14) Insulated <st1:country-region>Georgia</st1:country-region>.
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15) No <st1:city>Bath</st1:city>
inserts – Top Quality Porcelain Tile<o:p></o:p></div>
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16) Dual Flush Toilets<o:p></o:p></div>
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17) Architectural Shingles – NOT three tab shingles other
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18) 2’ Overhang trusses for more shade – Other builder NO….</div>
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19) 6" Fascia For a better roof look – Other Builders
4” Fascia <o:p></o:p></div>
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20) High Quality Cement Board Siding. </div>
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21) Driveway has Fiber with Wire mash – Other Builders DO
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22) A/C Unit reviewed by a mechanical Engineer<o:p></o:p></div>
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23) Our homes are rated by an Energy Smart Rater.</div>
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24) LED and CFLs - All of our homes come with High-End
Lighting <o:p></o:p></div>
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25) HERS Rating of 54 THAT MAKES OUR HOMES 46% BETTER <st1:stockticker>THAN</st1:stockticker>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-37325180289794793702014-08-24T08:15:00.001-07:002014-08-24T08:15:43.856-07:00Buyers should beware using seller's agent!<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12px;">There's an adage that says you get what you pay for. The warning is especially relevant for <a href="http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/mortgages/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #959595; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">homebuyers</a> who work with the listing agent in a so-called single-agent transaction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12px;">"I've heard too many war stories about buyers who think they'll get a better deal by going directly to the listing agent of the property," says Bill Golden, a Re/Max agent in Atlanta. "Most often, they do not get a better deal, and they end up not being represented properly in the negotiations."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12px;">In fact, buyers who use the listing agent aren't represented at all, which is why single-agent transactions seem abhorrent to many real-estate professionals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12px;">"If you were being sued by someone, would you use the same attorney as the person suing you? Of course not," says Deb Tomaro, a Re/Max agent in Bloomington, Ind. But data from the National Association of Realtors seems to suggest that as many as 10 percent of residential transactions could be single-agent deals. (The trade group doesn't have direct figures on buyers using listing agents, but instead relies on member surveys, which track real estate firms, not individual agents.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12px;">Confusingly, the terms "dual agency" and "single-agent" transaction mean the same thing, with the difference being that of perspective: The agent sees his or her role as that of a dual agent because the agent represents both parties, whereas a buyer would view a deal with only one agent as a single-agent transaction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12px;">Why do buyers work with the listing agent?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Typically, buyers who choose to work with the listing agent say they do so because they think they're getting a better deal. But agents like Jon Sterling of Chase International in Tahoe City, Calif., have doubts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"The idea that buyers can negotiate to get the listing agent to give up part of their commission because the buyers are unrepresented is a myth," he says. "Sure, some people have been successful doing that. It's the exception, not the rule."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">It also doesn't make much sense when you consider that sellers, not buyers, typically pay commissions, according to associate professor Eric Chen, who teaches business at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, Conn.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"If the buyer is working with the listing agent, be aware of the conflict of interest problem that exists," says Chen. "Remember that the listing agent is interested in getting a deal done, and the higher the purchase price, the bigger the commission to the agent."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12px;">Do buyers actually pay more?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Data are mixed on whether buyers in single-agent transactions end up paying more, according to Bennie Waller, a finance and real estate professor at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., who has co-authored two papers on the topic. But the reason for the mixed results, says Waller, most likely has to do with the time the property is on the market. Single-agent deals that happen within 30 days of listing typically sell for a 10 to 18 percent premium. But when the property sells within the last 30 days of the listing contract, the price actually drops by 5 to 6 percent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12px;">What's the harm?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The problem with the single-agent deal is that it makes it impossible for the agent to fulfill a fiduciary duty to both parties.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"The agent has an inherent conflict of interest when working with the buyer," says John O'Brien, a Chicago attorney who handles real estate transactions. "It is very difficult for the agent to keep his knowledge of the buyer's negotiating points, including their best price, from becoming known to the seller, either directly or through the agent's advice to the seller regarding counter-offers."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Beyond price, buyers should understand that a single-agent deal creates the opportunity for a problem on virtually every deal point, says Chen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"Because of the conflict of interest, there is a real chance that the agent doesn't have the buyer's best interests in mind," Chen says. "It doesn't necessarily happen every time. However, the pressure, opportunity and rationalization are all there for the seller's agent to act in their own client's interest and against the interests of the seller."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Not everyone sees an automatic conflict of interest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">"There are some who feel that it is an automatic conflict to represent both parties," says Sterling Watkins, a broker-owner with Help-U-Sell of Folsom, Calif. "I happen to disagree. If no confidences are violated, each party has a chance to make a decision at every turn in the road."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Although Watkins certainly has the minority opinion on the matter, it's worth pointing out that most real estate firm contracts do contemplate the possibility of a single-agent deal. But, as Chen says, "that language usually looks an awful lot like a waiver."<br /></span><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">GEORGIA IS A DUAL AGANCY STATE!!!!! BUYER'S BEWARE!!!!!! </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-weight: 700;"> </span><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><strong>Georgia is a Dual Agency State. 99% of homes sold in South Georgia are sold by the same listing agent and it's not to benefit the buyer or seller...... </strong></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br /><br />http://www.bankrate.com/finance/real-estate/buyers-using-sellers-agent.aspx</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-40264183015170690362014-08-19T08:00:00.001-07:002014-08-19T08:00:46.010-07:00MAJOR FEDERAL CRACKDOWN ON REALTY FEE KICKBACKS UNDERWAY <div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px;">
The federal government has issued a warning to realty agents, builders, title agencies, mortgage brokers and other industry participants: Get ready for a wave of RESPA crackdowns, and financial penalties that could make your head spin.</div>
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In remarks last week, the federal government's top Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) investigator, Ivy Jackson, said that a recent $450,000 settlement with Tulsa realty agents and builders is just the tip of the iceberg. Potentially dozens of additional crackdowns are in the wings.<br /><br />Jackson heads HUD's RESPA enforcement unit, and has unleashed dozens of on-staff and contract investigators -- often ex-FBI, Customs Bureau or financial regulatory agency sleuths -- to break up what she called "blatant violations" of federal anti-kickback rules among realty agents, title companies, lenders and others nationwide.</div>
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"We are doing investigations in every state," she said, and "we anticipate a very busy (enforcement) year." Jackson's office gets hundreds of tips a year about alleged payoff arrangements involving realty agents, brokers, lenders, mortgage brokers, builders and title and escrow agencies every year. The tips come mainly from local competitors inside the industry, but also are sent in by individual consumers, federal banking regulators, and state officials.</div>
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The Tulsa settlement, unveiled in late March, involved allegations that realty agents and builders created shell corporations that bought into local title companies, and then distributed referral-fee kickbacks based on which agent or builder made the referrals to the companies. The participants all denied wrongdoing, but agreed to pay nearly half a million dollars to settle the case.</div>
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That settlement followed a much larger agreement with Chicago Title Insurance Co., involving alleged referral-fee payoffs in Texas. In that case, Chicago Title paid the federal government $5 million and the Texas Department of Insurance $1.2 million . HUD alleged that Chicago Title knowingly participated in schemes involving falsified closing documents and illegal payoffs. Chicago Title denied all wrongdoing as part of its settlement.</div>
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Jackson told a, real estate lenders and brokers, conference last week that "we are using every resource at our disposal" to move against realty agents, mortgage brokers, lenders and title companies "who ignore the rules" on referral fees. Jackson said that over 60 major investigations, or settlement cases, are currently underway, and that the department now routinely works with state real estate and financial regulatory officials, insurance commissioners, and state attorneys general to identify and stop illegal activities.</div>
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She conceded that until recently, RESPA enforcement was less prominent than it is now. But HUD has recently tripled its RESPA investigative staff, and has a contract with a company in Virginia that provides ex-FBI, ex-Customs Bureau and other trained law enforcement and financial investigators to deconstruct even the most sophisticated cover-ups of referral fee arrangements.</div>
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In the Tulsa case, for example, Jackson said the realty agents and builders created a "multi-tier" kickback scheme which appeared to pass federal legal tests at the surface level, but failed at the next level below. RESPA prohibits anyone from giving or accepting a kickback, or other thing, of value in exchange for referral of settlement business. HUD regulations permit realty, lending, and title agencies to create "affiliated business" arrangements and joint ventures, but require the participants to have bona fide economic stakes at risk in the ventures. The rules also require distributions of joint venture profits according to ownership shares, rather than on the basis of numbers of referrals of business.</div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">According to HUD, the Oklahoma realty agent and builder ventures distributed profits, based on volume of referrals,and allowed some participants into the scheme for nominal, below-market investments. HUD also charged that the title companies marked up some customers' fees illegally.</span><br /><span style="color: #333300; line-height: 1.22; text-align: center;"><br /><b style="color: #c00000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">I really hope they come our town soon……</b></span><b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">http://realtytimes.com/agentnews/agentconcerns1/item/10614-20050404_respacrackdown</span></b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-86012164239593445832014-07-29T05:37:00.000-07:002014-07-31T06:07:24.252-07:00HERS-The MPG for New Homes<h2 style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; line-height: 13.8pt; margin-top: 3.75pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">The home energy rating system (HERS) provides a number rating that makes it easy for consumers to see how same-size homes compare in energy use. The lower the number, the less energy used.</span></h2>
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We at capital home builders have been pushing the envelope when it comes to building spec homes with custom features. We have reached a new milestone by building homes with a HERS Rating of 54. We are the only builder in South Georgia and north Tallahassee fl. to achieve a score of 54. Our 2,500 square foot home will have an electrical bill under $100/per month. We are ranked top 1%’er of builders building high-performance homes. "<b style="line-height: 17px;">We give our home buyers a gift that keeps on giving."</b></div>
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports that a typical resale home scores 130 on the HERS Index, while a typical new home might rate 100. A home with a HERS Index Score of 70 is 30%more energy efficient than that standard new home, and 60% more efficient than a typical resale.</div>
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“A home is one of the largest and most important purchases a family can make but, until recently, buyers have had little information about what their costs to own the home would be long term. When we buy a new car, we know how much mileage we can expect to get. Homebuyers should know the expected performance and monthly energy costs of a home.” <b><br /></b><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-8982786860001369752014-07-20T14:44:00.001-07:002014-07-20T14:44:07.146-07:00Article: Green Home Builder Magazine<div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15.859999656677246px;">
<b style="font-size: 19px;">CHB green HERS Rated home in Thomasville Georgia Cost Only $32</b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 19px;">per Month to Cool.</b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">These have been one of the hottest months of the year in </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">South Georgia</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">. You will not find a better built home with green smart home features in </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Thomasville,</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">South Georgia</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">, or </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">North Florida</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">. Other new homes being built in </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Thomasville</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"> and </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">South Georgia</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">are equipped with 2 A/C units for equally sized home which adds significantly more to the cost of heating /cooling of those homes. This featured home is a 2,500sq.ft. under heating/cooling with 1 A/C Unit of 2.5 ton 16 SEERs. Our homes are engineered with the sole purpose to save the homeowners on their utilty bill. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-56949395379126786192014-05-25T06:38:00.003-07:002014-05-25T06:38:59.656-07:00Only Builder Building Top Green Smart Homes<h1 class="f18 marb10 padt10" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">We are the only builder in </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">South Georgia</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"> and </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">North Florida</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"> building HERS Rated homes at mid 50's without spending thousands on foam spray. This article below was written on professional builder magazine on a KB Home that was foamed in from top to bottom to get a</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"> hers Rating of 58. </span></h1>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-60149809612225349332014-04-14T13:10:00.001-07:002014-04-14T13:10:30.093-07:00The Realtor Association and the residential real estate industry are apparently smarter than God <span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15.859999656677246px;">Submitted anonymously to CAARE </span><br />
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You (not including Realtors) Cannot Serve Two Masters <div class="yui-wk-div">
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The Realtor Association and the residential real estate industry are apparently smarter than God – <div class="yui-wk-div">
no matter which religion you practice. If you are a Realtor, you can serve two masters or even <div class="yui-wk-div">
three or four. When you do, you make more money. In fact, brokerages stand to double their <div class="yui-wk-div">
commissions. The rest of the biblical saying goes like this, “You cannot serve both God and <div class="yui-wk-div">
money.” One Minnesota real estate firm has done more to destroy that biblical and legal <div class="yui-wk-div">
principle and in doing so has put millions of consumers at risk. <div class="yui-wk-div">
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For thousands of years the old precept that you cannot serve two masters (a basic principle in <div class="yui-wk-div">
Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and most others) has been an integral part of our ancestry. That<div class="yui-wk-div">
principle still exists today and has been prescribed in legal systems around the world. If you hire <div class="yui-wk-div">
a law firm, they will first conduct a conflict check to make sure that they do not (or have not in <div class="yui-wk-div">
the past) represent(ed) any adverse clients to you. If such a conflict is found, the law firm will <div class="yui-wk-div">
withdraw. Lawyers know that serving two masters (also called dual agency and designated <div class="yui-wk-div">
agency) creates an insurmountable conflict of interest that is immensely harmful to their duty of <div class="yui-wk-div">
loyalty to their clients. In addition, attorneys who practice dual agency could be disbarred or <div class="yui-wk-div">
disciplined. It is usually impossible to provide a full disclosure to clients and to obtain their <div class="yui-wk-div">
informed consent. There is simply too much that can and does go wrong and lawyers know this. <div class="yui-wk-div">
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If law firms could engage in dual agency, firms would likely double in size and become much <div class="yui-wk-div">
more profitable; they could represent both buyers and sellers in the same contract negotiations. <div class="yui-wk-div">
They could represent husband and wife in divorce negotiations. They could even represent <div class="yui-wk-div">
defendant and plaintiffs in the same lawsuit. Despite the potential for profit, the legal profession <div class="yui-wk-div">
has refused to put the self serving interests of profit above their unfettered duty of loyalty to <div class="yui-wk-div">
properly represent their clients. <div class="yui-wk-div">
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It used to be illegal for Realtors to serve two masters. However, if a brokerage firm serves two <div class="yui-wk-div">
masters they can collect twice as much in commissions. That money likely enticed one <div class="yui-wk-div">
Minnesota firm to take a shot at it. Perhaps Edina Realty did a cost benefit analysis and <div class="yui-wk-div">
determined that the financial benefits of serving two masters outweighed the cost of any lawsuit <div class="yui-wk-div">
that might be brought. In 1993, that firm found itself on the wrong end of a class action lawsuit <div class="yui-wk-div">
for engaging in dual agency that sent shock waves around the country. Every news story, except <span style="line-height: 1.22;">the Minnesota Star & Tribune, condemned the practice. Rather than stop the practice, the local </span><span style="line-height: 1.22;">Realtor Association successfully lobbied for the legalization of serving two masters (called “dual </span><span style="line-height: 1.22;">agency”). These laws have now spread all over the country and have allowed brokerage firms to </span><span style="line-height: 1.22;">grow to tremendous size while simultaneously leaving a trail of injustices and harmed clients. </span><span style="line-height: 1.22;">Realtors are now the only profession that can serve two masters. Realtors also have the least </span><span style="line-height: 1.22;">amount of training to engage in this practice. Most do not understand it. </span><div class="yui-wk-div">
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“The disclosures and consents necessary to make a dual agency lawful are so comprehensive and <span style="line-height: 1.22;">specific that a typical real estate broker cannot undertake them as a matter of routine.” That was </span><span style="line-height: 1.22;">written by the William North, President of the National Association of Realtors in 1986. At that </span><span style="line-height: 1.22;">point in time, the Realtor Association and Mr. North appeared to have their priorities regarding money and representation properly aligned. They embraced the basic principles of loyalty that </span><span style="line-height: 1.22;">existed for all other professions and fiduciaries: A fiduciary should place the interests of their </span><span style="line-height: 1.22;">client above all others, especially their own. </span><div class="yui-wk-div">
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Recently, the same firm that blazed new trails in the destruction of the two thousand year old <div class="yui-wk-div">
biblical and legal principal struck again. Their latest move demonstrates why the old legal and <div class="yui-wk-div">
religious principle should be reinstated. Edina Realty intentionally limited the marketing <div class="yui-wk-div">
exposure of their clients’ homes by removing their sellers’ listing data from two of the top visited <div class="yui-wk-div">
homebuyer websites, Realtor.com and Trulia.com. <div class="yui-wk-div">
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Homebuyers who are starting their search are most likely to start their search using an online <div class="yui-wk-div">
resource such as Realtor.com (the number 1 real estate buyer website) or one of the other top 4 <div class="yui-wk-div">
(including Trulia.com). Realtor.com actually gets their data updated daily directly from the <div class="yui-wk-div">
Realtor owned Multiple Listing Service. Home buyers will no longer see most of Edina Realty’s <div class="yui-wk-div">
listings on those sites. That means homebuyers will not see Edina listings and Edina Realty <div class="yui-wk-div">
sellers have lost huge marketing exposure of their homes. For out of state homebuyers who have <span style="line-height: 1.22;">never heard of Edina Realty, the likelihood that they will even see an Edina Realty listing in their </span><span style="line-height: 1.22;">search is even more remote. </span><div class="yui-wk-div">
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Edina Realty is likely to be paid twice as much if homebuyers find their new home on Edina’s <div class="yui-wk-div">
website vs. one of the other online resources. Buyers who find their home on Edina’s website <div class="yui-wk-div">
will be directed to an Edina agent who also represents the seller. Those buyers will be forfeiting <div class="yui-wk-div">
their right to negotiating advice. The dual agency (two master) rules prohibit the dual agent from <div class="yui-wk-div">
helping the buyer negotiate price or terms (to help reconcile the conflict of interest). The same <div class="yui-wk-div">
goes for sellers. If a buyer uses an Edina agent, the seller will forfeit their right to representation. <div class="yui-wk-div">
Do Edina sellers understand that this new practice increases the chances that they will lose their <span style="line-height: 1.22;">advocate as well as decrease the market exposure of their homes? </span><div class="yui-wk-div">
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In our opinion, Edina Realty is placing a bet that they will make more in double commissions <div class="yui-wk-div">
than they will lose from reducing the marketing exposure of their sellers’ listings. In other <div class="yui-wk-div">
words, they will earn more in double commissions than is lost from the reduced number of sales <div class="yui-wk-div">
and possibly lower sales prices. What is good for Edina Realty is not good for their sellers. <div class="yui-wk-div">
Sellers do not stand to similarly benefit from this. Rather, the reduced marketing exposure could <div class="yui-wk-div">
cause sellers’ homes to remain on the market longer, cause them to sell for less, and at the same <span style="line-height: 1.22;">time cause sellers to lose the advice and counsel of their agent if an offer does come in. </span><div class="yui-wk-div">
Unfortunately, most sellers will not figure this out. <div class="yui-wk-div">
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If Realtors believe that everyone would be better off with a revision to the biblical standard about <div class="yui-wk-div">
serving two masters, perhaps they could take it up with their theological professionals and see <div class="yui-wk-div">
how their lobbying efforts succeed there. <div class="yui-wk-div">
<br />http://caare.org/sites/default/files/no_one_can_serve_two_masters_0.pdf#overlay-context=DualAgency<br /><div class="yui-wk-div">
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-51753505238750458982014-04-02T03:33:00.002-07:002014-04-02T03:37:02.521-07:00Dual Agency – The Good, Bad, and The Ugly<div style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: blue; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Let’s be frank,</span> in Dual Agency if the seller’s realtor helps you in negotiating the sales price, and the Real Estate Council of BC is informed, the realtor will be reprimanded severely and most likely their real estate commission will be disgorged.</div>
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The courts see this as the realtor working only to obtain a commission. It’s against the law for the seller’s realtor to tell you the seller’s motivation, including what price to use in your offer or counter offer. The realtor must ask for your consent first, to act for both sides in Dual Agency, and must only act impartially. They are not allowed to talk to the seller about where you are going with your price.</div>
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<strong style="color: #3a3a3a; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Hmmm, I wonder if this ever happens? </span></strong><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: red; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">All of the time in South Georgia</span></strong></div>
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Most Buyers do not understand how they can be disadvantaged, and many foolishly think they will get a better deal working with the listing realtor.</div>
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Lets be more frank, you may even be offered a commission kickback, which the realtor must disclose to the seller, so this is agreed together by them, in advance of any decision to accept your offer. This may appear to you like you are saving money, while in fact you then agree to pay the price determined by the seller, more money for the property.</div>
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<strong style="color: #3a3a3a; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The seller usually laughs all the way to the bank and you never ever know….</span></strong></div>
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The small amount of commission money that you are told you receive back is often much less than if you had professional help, and the research you need to negotiate the lowest price. For your own benefit work with a trusted professional of good reputation who is individually and legally responsible for protecting your success . You need someone working on your side ONLY.</div>
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Worse, in Dual Agency you tell a realtor to write the offer and presented it to the seller, but you will not be part of the conversations between them. Right? You think you are negotiatiating from a safe, strong position but the seller and the agent have already discussed where their final price will go and you will be led to that price with counter offers, while believing this is just normal negotiating.</div>
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Here’s the kicker,,, determining actual value, if you don’t have all the known facts, the sales history of this home, plus all records that show the complete price and sold history of every other similar property in surrounding locations you are buying blind. You may not have direct or complete access to sold history, yet you need all this information before you write an offer. The person you are dealing with has already signed a contract promising undivided loyalty to the seller.</div>
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A thoughtful question; Is it likely a Buyer purchasing a home approximately every 5or 6 years, has more knowledge and information regarding value than a person whose job is selling homes every month of the year? Yet many Buyers in Dual Agency believe that they are negotiating a smoking deal. Buyers will sign documents acknowledging that they have investigated everything and confirmed all known facts, whether they have done so or not. Buyer Beware.</div>
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In this new world of technology, Home Buyers feel extremely empowered, since they have such greater access to information. Buyers feel stronger in their decision making than ever before. It is true there is much more access, but the information is not complete without full and proper research.</div>
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A reasonable person would consider that these issues put a Buyers at a tremendous disadvantage and that financially the buyer is not getting the best price or best terms for the property.<br />
Your Next Step… make an appontment with Dan for more explanations and protection.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">http://www.danmillar.com/agency</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-26089155219927400522014-03-22T15:24:00.002-07:002014-03-22T15:24:26.006-07:00Never Agree to Dual Agency!<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.472000122070313px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Dual Agency is practice every day in Georgia....So Buyers beware!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dual agency means serving two masters. No other profession is permitted to routinely engage in this practice that <a href="http://caare.org/content/AttorneySurveys" style="color: #005a8c; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;">most professionals feel should be banned (see our attorney survey on this topic)</span></a>. No other profession has special laws written for them that automatically reduces their liability in these relationships. And real estate agents are perhaps the least qualified to handle this conflict. Dual agency occurs when real estate agents represent both the buyers and sellers on the same transaction. When that happens real estate brokers collect a double commission and they are prohibited from doing anything to the detriment of either party. That means that they can not help you negotiate price or terms of your real estate transaction. It means that they are getting paid twice as much for doing a tenth of the work. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dual Agency is a conflictive relationship that strips buyers and sellers of service to a level that can best be described as abandonment. Dual agency arises when the real estate broker is representing both the buyer and the seller. It is illegal in every other fiduciary profession except under the most extreme circumstances. It is routinely practiced in residential real estate where there is the least amount of training. When a real estate broker engages in dual agency they may not work to the advantage or the detriment of the buyer or seller. In other words, all the reasons you hired your broker vanish - often with little warning.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dual agents are legally prevented from negotiating price or terms (two of the most important reasons consumers hire Realtors). And perhaps the biggest problem with this betrayal is that it usually presents itself with little warning to the client - it is a bait and switch. The broker could be acting in the client's best interests all the way up to finding the house that creates a dual agency. At that point the buyer or seller are on their own.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">In a dual agency, brokers don't have to share the commission with other brokers so they make twice as much money. They profit greatly from this practice. Realtors, who typically have no understanding of the legal ramifications of their own fiduciary relationship with their clients, often illegally counsel their clients of the so-called "benefits" of dual agency. We're here to tell you that there are NO benefits and that you should NEVER agree to dual agency. Find a small brokerage firm with highly qualified real estate agents and demand that they not engage in dual agency. The likelihood of dual agency arising with a smaller firm is far less than with a large firm. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://caare.org/content/dual-agency-ultimate-bait-and-switch#overlay-context=Dual%2520Agency" style="color: #005a8c; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>FOR A MORE DETAILED EXPLANATION CLICK HERE</strong></span></a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 17.472000122070313px;">http://caare.org/DualAgency</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-17409588260804313382014-03-14T11:55:00.001-07:002014-03-14T11:55:44.420-07:00R a d i a n t B a r r i e r Ro o f S h e at h i n g<a class="" href="http://images.trulia.com/blogimg/b/a/3/b/798589_1394808889861_o.jpg" rel="nofollow" style="color: blue !important; cursor: text !important; text-decoration: underline !important;"><img align="left" alt="" class="yui-img" src="http://images.trulia.com/blogimg/b/a/3/b/798589_1394808889861_b.jpg" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer !important; height: 200px; line-height: 1.22; margin: 5px; width: 300px;" /></a>At Capital Home Builders we are the first to incorporate Radiant Barrier Roof <span style="line-height: 1.22;">Sheathing to all of our new homes. We are the pioneers when it comes to Green or Energy-Efficient products to all of our homes. We are the pioneers and only one in </span>South Georgia<span style="line-height: 1.22;"> when it comes to building high-performance homes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Reflects Radiant heat, <span style="line-height: 1.22;">lowers attic temperatures, </span></span><span style="line-height: 1.22;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">helps improve energy efficiency.</span></span></span></span><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15.859999656677246px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 9.3pt;">• Ideal for use in hot climates</span><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15.859999656677246px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 13.3pt;">• Reflects up to 97% of radiant heat</span><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15.859999656677246px;" /><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 12.65pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">• May lower cooling energy consumption by up to 17%</span></b><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15.859999656677246px; position: relative; top: -1pt;"><span style="font-size: 4pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 12.65pt;">1</span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 13.3pt;">• Made with quality Plytanium Plywood</span><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15.859999656677246px;" /><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 12.65pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">• Lifetime Limited Warranty</span></b><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15.859999656677246px; position: relative; top: -1pt;"><span style="font-size: 4pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 12.65pt;">2</span></span><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.3pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">• ENERGY </span></b><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15.859999656677246px;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">STAR</span></b><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.3pt;"><span style="font-size: 3pt; position: relative; top: -1.5pt;">®</span></b><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13.3pt;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Qualified</span></b><b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 12.65pt;"><span style="font-size: 4pt; position: relative; top: -1pt;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 16pt;"><br />Plytanium</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 4pt; line-height: 16pt;">® </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 16pt;">Thermostat</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 4pt; line-height: 16pt;">® </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 16pt;">Radiant Barrier Roof Sheathing is spe-</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">cially designed for attic sheathing applications and reflects up </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 10.65pt;">to 97% of the sun's radiant heat from being absorbed into the</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 20.739999771118164px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;"></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">attic of your home. Now, you can maintain indoor comfort </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 10.65pt;">while potentially lowering cooling energy consumption. </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 18pt;">For new homes, additions or renovations, Plytanium </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">Thermostat Radiant Barrier Roof Sheathing is an excellent roof </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 10.65pt;">sheathing choice. It’s durable and installs as easily as other roof </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">sheathing. Plus, choosing Plytanium Thermostat Radiant Barrier </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 10.65pt;">Roof Sheathing can offer long-term savings by reducing cooling </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">energy consumption.</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 20.739999771118164px;"><br /></span><span style="color: #00387f; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15.859999656677246px;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 18pt;">Lower temperatures, greater comfort</span><span style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 20.739999771118164px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 20.739999771118164px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 18pt;">Plytanium Thermostat Radiant Barrier Roof Sheathing can </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 10.65pt;">lower peek attic temperatures up to 30°F by reducing summer </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">radiant heat gain into the attic. Best of all, less heat is </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 10.65pt;">transferred into the living space through the ceiling, so indoor </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">temperatures stay cool and comfortable while your cooling sys-</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 10.65pt;">tem may operate with greater energy efficiency. </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 16pt;">Studies have shown that radiant barriers can reduce </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">cooling energy consumption by up to 17%, depending </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 10.65pt;">on the design of the building, insulation levels, ventilation, </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">occupancy, lifestyles and geographic location.</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 4pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">1 </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 18pt;">Since temperatures inside the attic are reduced, attic </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 10.65pt;">mounted air conditioning equipment and duct systems </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">may work more efficiently. </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 18pt;">Please note: Radiant barriers may interfere with attic </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 10.65pt;">mounted antenna.</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;"></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><span style="color: #00387f;">Science behind the scenes</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 18pt;">How does it work? If you’ve ever gone into an attic on a </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">hot summer day, you know that radiant heat from the sun </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 10.65pt;">ally absorbed into the attic as it passes through an </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">ordinary roofing system. Plytanium Thermostat Radiant Barrier </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 10.65pt;">Roof Sheathing features quality plywood backed by a specially </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">designed aluminum foil/kraft paper laminate. The panels are </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 10.65pt;">installed foil side down facing the attic space. </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">Since aluminum foil is highly reflective, up to 97% of the </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 11.3pt;">radiant heat is reflected from entering the attic space.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-82579874851935829502014-02-26T07:05:00.001-08:002014-02-26T08:03:21.348-08:00NEW RESNET ENERGY SMART BUILDERS DESIGNATED IN NOVEMBER 2013<div class="headline_meta" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: white; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<abbr class="published" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="December 4th, 2013">December 4th, 2013</abbr> - Posted by <span class="author vcard fn" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">RESNET</span> under <a href="http://www.resnet.us/blog/resnet-news/" rel="category tag" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: black; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="View all posts in RESNET News">RESNET News</a></div>
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An increasing number of builders are taking advantage of the marketing power of the RESNET HERS Index Score. Over the past month, builders from South Dakota to Alabama have entered into Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with RESNET. In the MOUs, the builders commit to having their homes energy rated by a certified RESNET rater and marketing their homes’ HERS Index Score.</div>
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The following are the new state and local builders who have made the HERS Index Score commitment in November 2013:<br />
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<span style="color: #1a1aa6; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">With
the new changes coming in Real Estate and to the </span><st1:stockticker><span style="color: #1a1aa6; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">MLS</span></st1:stockticker><span style="color: #1a1aa6; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"> about HERS Rated
homes, if Realtors do not educate themselves on the benefits and the quality of
a HERS Rated home and keep relaying on the square footage of a home, these Realtors
are going to obsolete as using roofing paper for house sheathing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Capital Home Builders</div>
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<img alt="Capital Home Builders Inc." class="aligncenter" src="http://www.resnet.us/uploads/builderPartners/f54ae45984bc73d8122fabf76b1f040b8cfff048.jpg" height="113" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; display: block; margin: 5px auto; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="216" />Georgia</div>
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Endura Performance Homes</div>
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<img alt="Endura Performance Homes" src="http://www.resnet.us/uploads/builderPartners/5dcc407294b2d3183fb8e080d2b88e2e677e6805.png" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><br />
Michigan</div>
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Ezell-Morgan Construction</div>
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<img alt="Ezell-Morgan Construction" src="http://www.resnet.us/uploads/builderPartners/0a79794791991fee9a8c8001928f6fae733e9355.png" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></div>
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Kansas</div>
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Finish Werks Custom Builders</div>
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<img alt="Finish Werks Custom Builder" src="http://www.resnet.us/uploads/builderPartners/fe0738aab0dd2f83a7f884942bf1a4108a284bfd.jpg" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></div>
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Maryland</div>
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Giddens Homes</div>
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<a href="http://www.resnet.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/giddens.jpg" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; color: black; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-16361" src="http://www.resnet.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/giddens-300x203.jpg" height="146" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: none; display: block; margin: 5px auto; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="giddens" width="216" /></a></div>
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Texas</div>
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Haynes Custom Homes</div>
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<a href="http://www.resnet.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/HaynesCustomHomes-Logo.jpg" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; color: black; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-16366" src="http://www.resnet.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/HaynesCustomHomes-Logo-300x139.jpg" height="111" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: none; display: block; margin: 5px auto; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="HaynesCustomHomes Logo" width="240" /></a></div>
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Oklahoma</div>
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Herndon Construction</div>
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<a href="http://www.resnet.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/HERNDON-CONSTRUCTION.png" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; color: black; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-16383" src="http://www.resnet.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/HERNDON-CONSTRUCTION-300x218.png" height="157" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: none; display: block; margin: 5px auto; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="HERNDON CONSTRUCTION" width="216" /></a></div>
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Oklahoma</div>
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Hogan Homes</div>
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<img alt="Hogan Building Company No 1, LLC" class="aligncenter" src="http://www.resnet.us/uploads/builderPartners/ab416fb6649b0409f605f9eaf2ee2257da1137a0.jpg" height="55" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; display: block; margin: 5px auto; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="259" /></div>
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Texas</div>
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Newport Builders LLC</div>
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<img alt="Newport Builders, LLC" src="http://www.resnet.us/uploads/builderPartners/a699a4b1e3019f4910fa63e4b63f12e29bc8285f.png" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></div>
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Alabama</div>
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Southern Tier Housing Corp.</div>
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<a href="http://www.resnet.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/southern-tier.png" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; color: black; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-16375" src="http://www.resnet.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/southern-tier-300x33.png" height="33" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: none; display: block; margin: 5px auto; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="southern tier" width="300" /></a></div>
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Kentucky</div>
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Stencil Homes</div>
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<img alt="Stencil Homes" src="http://www.resnet.us/uploads/builderPartners/8e83949638dd8f16f356c492d73fa7819dc05f00.png" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></div>
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South Dakota</div>
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United Way of Long Island</div>
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<img alt="United Way of Long Island" class="aligncenter" src="http://www.resnet.us/uploads/builderPartners/6cb71985fda4fb364db45672597b66b3b757c922.jpg" height="130" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; display: block; margin: 5px auto; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="225" /></div>
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New York</div>
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<a href="http://www.resnet.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ES-Builder_Every-Home-Rated.jpg" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; color: black; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-15463" src="http://www.resnet.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ES-Builder_Every-Home-Rated.jpg" height="174" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: none; display: block; margin: 5px auto; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="ES Builder_Every Home Rated" width="190" /></a></div>
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In making the commitment these builders has been designated by RESNET as an RESNET Energy Smart Builder. RESNET Energy Smart Builders are leading the transformation of the housing towards high energy performance homes. These leading builders are committed to having all of their homes energy rated following RESNET’s stringent standards and marketing their homes HERS Index.</div>
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The RESNET HERS Index is the industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured. The HERS or Home Energy Rating System was developed by RESNET and is the nationally recognized system for inspecting and calculating a home’s energy performance. Certified RESNET Home Energy Raters conduct inspections to verify a home’s energy performance and determine what improvements can be made to increase it. For more information click on <a href="http://www.resnet.us/home-energy-ratings" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; color: black; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">RESNET HERS Index</a></div>
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RESNET is interested in entering into similar agreements with other regional and local builders. Energy raters who have builder clients interested in entering into an agreement with RESNET should go to <a href="http://www1.resnet.us/builders/mou.aspx" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; color: black; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">RESNET Energy Smart Builder MOU</span></a></div>
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The listing of all builders who have made the commitment go to <a href="http://www.resnet.us/builder-partners" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border: 0px none; color: black; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Builder HERS Index Commitment</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">http://www.resnet.us/blog/new-resnet-energy-smart-builders-designated-in-november-2013/</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-55953350499480818132014-02-24T15:42:00.002-08:002014-02-24T15:42:22.441-08:00Why HERS Rated Energy Efficient Homes Are Better!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKWTgljx3chS4xmd2KmPyumb0RdNgapvfSiugMP4bEfYncHejXHErWfyMnMJA5ODxgSqisBrS5Feb0FSDYGk1s50s9kZ6tVHIcLmz_DK6SD7kIhZpKxAMJ6q7eTetR9a7004YlhoDgEcqe/s1600/Why_HERS_Rated_Homes_Are_Better.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKWTgljx3chS4xmd2KmPyumb0RdNgapvfSiugMP4bEfYncHejXHErWfyMnMJA5ODxgSqisBrS5Feb0FSDYGk1s50s9kZ6tVHIcLmz_DK6SD7kIhZpKxAMJ6q7eTetR9a7004YlhoDgEcqe/s1600/Why_HERS_Rated_Homes_Are_Better.jpg" height="116" width="200" /></a></div>
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Capital Home Builders are the only builders building quality energy efficient homes in Thomasville and South Georgia. If your next home is not HERS Rated than you are just buying a box not a quality home. Our homes are worth more then any typical home built in Thomasville and South Georgia...<br /><br />Imagine being able to buy a home the same way you would when buying a car or a major household appliance – by knowing how much it’s going to cost you to run. Consumers can examine MPG stickers for cars and Energy Guide labels for appliances to get a good idea about how energy efficient they are. But what can homebuyers look at to <a href="http://www.resnet.us/library/what-is-an-energy-rating/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #002664; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">assess the energy performance</a> – and affordability of the homes they are viewing? They can ask for the HERS Index Score.</div>
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The Home Energy Rating System Index, or HERS Index as it’s better known as is the nationally recognized system for inspecting, testing and calculating a home’s energy performance. The HERS Index Score informs consumers about how a house ranks for energy efficiency as compared to other similar homes. As a result, homebuyers can view homes based on their projected energy costs and make better informed buying decisions.</div>
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The <a href="http://www.resnet.us/hers-index-large-scale" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #002664; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">way the HERS Index Score works</a> is the lower the score, the better. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a typical resale home scores 130 on the HERS Index and a home built to the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code is awarded a rating of 100. Therefore, the lower the HERS Index Score, the more energy efficient the home.</div>
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Unlike the automobile and appliance manufacturing industries, the housing market has long suffered from a lack of transparency when it comes to home energy efficiency. Many potential homebuyers remain unaware of the fact that just because they can afford the mortgage doesn’t always mean they can afford the home. That’s because outside of the home loan, the highest cost of homeownership is energy.</div>
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HERS rated homes cost less to run, are more comfortable to live in and enjoy higher resale values. Furthermore, a recent study shows that <a href="http://www.resnet.us/library/lower-mortgage-risks-with-energy-efficient-homes/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #002664; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">mortgage default risks are 32% lower</a> on HERS rated, energy efficient homes. So what makes HERS rated homes better? Everything!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-66535083987994932952014-02-23T12:05:00.003-08:002014-02-23T12:06:06.422-08:00What is a "Buyers Agent" and How do the Laws of Agency Affect Me?<h1 style="font-size: large; font-weight: bolder; padding-left: 40px; padding-right: 250px;">
You need to know a little something about the laws of Agency</h1>
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If you want to purchase a property in Santa Rosa, Windsor or the surrounding areas, chances are very high that you will be dealing with the seller’s agent (the listing agent). The NAR research shows that 93% of all open-market real estate transactions are done through the use of a real estate agent. This includes the one you are excited about too.</div>
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Because you are going to be dealing with a real estate agent, you should know a little bit about the laws of agency, the different types of agency and the agent’s loyalties. So, here we go…</div>
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Agency and Loyalty in a California Real Estate Transaction</h1>
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One of the fundamental concepts in real estate relationships is the concept of “Agency”. California licensed real estate agents are governed by the California Department of Real Estate and the laws of agency. The California laws of agency require that an agent must maintain a <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">fiduciary</strong> responsibility to their client.</div>
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A fiduciary responsibility is a much higher level of loyalty than simply acting “honestly and fairly”. A fiduciary responsibility requires that every action the agent performs must be in the best interest of their client. This is above and beyond “Honest and Fair”. This responsibility goes so far as to require that even if a particular course of action is NOT the most advantageous action for the agent, but IS in the best interests of the client, the agent must act for the benefit of the client. With everyone other than the client, the agent is only required to act honestly and fairly, but NOT NECESSAIRLY in the “other person's” best interest.</div>
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The key point is that when there is a conflict between the best interests of the client and the best interests of “other people” in the transaction, the agent is required by law to act in the <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">client’s</strong> best interests. So all this begs the question: “Who is the client”? Well, it ‘aint Batman or the Lone Ranger, so read on…</div>
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Three types of agency; Single, Separate and Dual for a Santa Rosa real estate agent</h1>
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Before we answer the “who is the Client” question, let’s look at an example. Suppose you want to buy a house in Santa Rosa or Windsor <strong style="margin-top: 0px;">without</strong> the help of an agent. You look through the newspaper, attend some open houses, find a home that you like and want to make an offer. Because the <strong>vast majority</strong> of homes for sale in Santa Rosa or Windsor are offered through a listing agent, in these cases your offer would have to be presented to the real estate listing agent. By law, the listing agent must inform you that they will be acting in one of two ways; as a <strong>Dual Agent</strong> (representing BOTH you and the seller), or as the <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px;">Seller’s Agent</strong> only (you do not have an agent; you are on your own).</div>
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There is also a third agency scenario called “<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Separate Agency</strong>” where you get your own agent before the offer, and this type of agency is discussed in the last section of this article.</div>
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Single Client Agency in a Santa Rosa or Windsor Real Estate Transaction</h1>
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So, you are making an offer to buy a home in Santa Rosa on your own, and the only agent involved is the seller’s listing agent. This smarter-then-average agent knows dual agency stinks and so tells you that you are on your own, that they are NOT going to represent you. You are NOT the Client, the Seller is the Client. Let’s assume a <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">“best case”</strong> scenario where this agent is completely honest and ethical, they could even be a friend of yours.</div>
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Due to the laws of agency, no matter how fair the agent wants to be, if there is a conflict between what the agent knows is in YOUR best interests and what is in the seller’s best interest, the agent is <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">required by law</strong> to act in the seller's best interests, not yours. Even your friend would legally have to act for the benefit of the seller. With the complexities of real estate transactions in Sonoma County, you really want a professional acting in YOUR best interests, not the other person’s. In my opinion, single agency is the worst of all scenarios because the other person has the benefit of professional advice, and you have nothing (well, ok… at least you read my article, that’s a good start).</div>
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Dual Agency in a Santa Rosa or Windsor Real Estate Transaction</h1>
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OK, let’s go back to making that offer to buy a home in Santa Rosa, and the only agent involved is the seller’s agent. This time the Seller’s agent doesn’t care that there is a much higher risk of a lawsuit and so suggests that he can represent you in a “Dual Agency”. Dual-Agency in real estate is when the real estate agent <strong style="margin-top: 0px;">represents both</strong> the seller and buyer of a given property. BOTH buyer and seller are the “Client”. How handy is that! Remember, the real estate agent is required by law to act in the best interests of the client. The problem of course is that in dual agency, the “client” is <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px;">both the seller AND the buyer</strong>, each of whom often have very different “best interests” when it comes to the property transaction. </div>
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For example, the seller wants the highest sales price, the buyer wants the lowest. The seller would prefer that certain "blemishes" of the property do not become a "problem"; the buyer wants to know absolutely every detail about the property before buying. The buyer may not want the seller to know details of their financing arrangements, while the seller wants this information to determine the probability of closing escrow. The list goes on and on, and in each case the real estate agent is supposed to act in the best interests of BOTH? How the heck do you do that? </div>
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Dual agency is such a bad idea that it has been outlawed in other states, yet it is still legal in California. However, while it is still legal, even the California Department of Real Estate has issued a warning to real estate agents about Dual Agency. In an article they published called <strong style="margin-top: 0px;">"The Perils of Dual Agency" </strong>(<em>CA Real Estate Bulletin, Fall 2007, page 2</em>), they stated that “…<a href="http://www.dre.ca.gov/pdf_docs/rebfall07.pdf" style="color: blue; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px;" target="_blank">dual agency arrangements present an increased risk of liability and/or discipline to the licensee</a>”. <span style="color: red;">Honestly, when the Governmental agency responsible for licensing real estate agents publishes an article like that, why are we still allowing Dual Agency?. When it comes right down to it, dual agency is a dinosaur that should be dead, but is still lurking in Sonoma County, and if you are not careful it might step on your real estate transaction. Ouch.</span></div>
<h1 style="font-size: large; font-weight: bolder; padding-left: 40px; padding-right: 250px;">
Is Dual Agency in a Real Estate Transaction Fair to the Buyer and Seller?</h1>
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The question in dual agency is not whether it is "possible" for an agent to be <strong style="margin-top: 0px;">fair</strong> to both sides of a transaction, because in some situations this is certainly possible. The real question is whether dual-agency truly serves the <strong>best interests</strong> of both clients <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px;">better</strong> than if each client had their OWN agent (separate agency). I have not read or heard a convincing argument that leads me to believe that this is true.</div>
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In Santa Rosa and the surrounding areas, some agents actually prefer dual agency, mostly because it means they make more money. However, considering that <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">“some percentage”</strong> of real estate agents in the Santa Rosa area are ignorant, untrained, or just plain unethical; in my opinion, dual-agency is a ripe opportunity for these individuals to prosper at the expense of one or both of the clients. Not only does the client suffer, but so does the real estate profession.</div>
<h1 style="font-size: large; font-weight: bolder; padding-left: 40px; padding-right: 250px;">
In Santa Rosa, Windsor or ANYWHERE, Your Real Estate Agent Should be working for YOU</h1>
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In my opinion, you don’t want a buyer’s agent that finds a “happy middle ground” for both buyer and seller. You want an agent that is BETTER than the seller’s agent. You want to come out ahead. What you REALLY want your agent to do is work hard and ethically to find out as much information to your advantage about the other side of the transaction as possible. Some of the information you may want to know would be illegal or unethical for a dual agent to disclose because of their fiduciary responsibility to the Seller. In my opinion, at different points in the transaction <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">both sides get ripped-off with dual agency</strong>. </div>
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In every real estate transaction I have been involved in, I have found at least a dozen things the other agent wanted to do, but were not the best path for my client. Dual Agency in Sonoma County is just as crazy as having the same lawyer represent both sides in the same lawsuit. You'll never see that on “CSI”!!! In Santa Rosa, some agents (myself included) will not enter into a dual agency relationship if at all possible. Yes, this means I am giving-up a portion of the commission, but I feel that dual agency prohibits my ability to aggressively represent my client. I don’t care that my commission would be more with dual agency; I just don’t think it is right.</div>
<h1 style="font-size: large; font-weight: bolder; padding-left: 40px; padding-right: 250px;">
A Separate Buyers Agent is YOUR Professional in the Deal</h1>
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The concept of a "buyer’s agent" is relatively new to the real estate industry, and in Sonoma County this may still be the exception rather than the norm. Remember that in the beginning, the real estate industry in California only had one type of agent. This agent represented the seller of a property and the phrase “Buyer Beware” was the motto of the day. As time passed, people buying real estate realized that the listing agent was frequently assisting the buyer in some fashion and so dual agency was created. </div>
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Dual agency was never designed to be the “best” solution for both parties, so much as an attempt to keep the buyer from getting totally screwed. Oh yeah, and it also let the real estate listing agent keep the entire commission. That was sweet. Savvy buyers in the Santa Rosa area eventually realized that if they hired their OWN agent, an agent who had no fiduciary relationship to the seller, they had a BETTER chance of getting the best deal. These savvy buyers began bringing their OWN agent to the party and insisted that their real estate agent represent them exclusively. And so, the concept of the buyer’s-agent was born. Best of all, it the cost of this buyers agent is normally paid for by the seller, not the buyer.</div>
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<strong style="margin-top: 0px;">Legally speaking, buyer agency removes the fiduciary duties of the agent to the seller and replaces this with a fiduciary responsibility to the BUYER only.</strong> The real estate agent must, by law act in the buyer’s best interests, even if this is NOT in the best interest of the seller. The agent must certainly treat the Seller fairly and honestly, but removing the handcuffs from your agent lets them fight for YOUR best deal. Buyer Agency also gives a buyer the opportunity to pick their own agent based on what is important to them, not the seller. Just because the seller “has” to use their Cousin George as their agent, doesn’t mean YOU have to. Also, in most cases the <strong>buyer’s-agent fee is still paid by the seller</strong>, it really doesn’t get much better than that. I have some suggestions in <a href="http://davidhartsrealty.com/buyer_content/How_to_select_buyers_agent.html" style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;">helping you select a buyers agent</a> if that is the route you decide to take. The point to this article is NOT that you "<a href="http://davidhartsrealty.com/buyer_content/Must_I_use_an_agent_to_buy_a_house.html" style="color: blue; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px;">have to have an agent</a>", but rather how imperative it is that you understand the loyalties and legal requirements of agency, and whose interests are truly represented.</div>
<h1 style="font-size: large; font-weight: bolder; padding-left: 40px; padding-right: 250px;">
Just say “No” to Dual Agency!</h1>
http://davidhartsrealty.com/buyer_content/How_dual_agency_can_hurt_the_buyer.htmlUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-61950595044667540242014-02-22T06:56:00.000-08:002014-02-22T06:56:02.545-08:00Georgia's Buyer Agency Law....How Does it Affect You?<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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For years <st1:country-region>Georgia</st1:country-region> did not have a buyer agency law in place. As a matter of
fact, the only party to have representation in the transaction was a seller.
However, the state of <st1:country-region>Georgia</st1:country-region> passed a law that provides the buyer to have the <a href="http://www.ehow.com/facts_7459198_agent-representation-agreement.html" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="color: purple; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">representation</span></a> as well, but with a
few provisions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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First, the buyer needs to put his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buyer_agency_agreement" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="color: purple; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">request for representation</span></a> in writing by
signing a contract with a real estate broker. Â And, this request needs to
be in writing before going to look at houses and certainly before writing a
contract. Without this request in writing, Â every agent the buyer
talks to is technically representing the seller according to the way the law is
written. So, why would you want everyone in the transaction representing the
seller??<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well most don't. However, the way the law is written,
without a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buyer_agency_agreement" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="color: purple; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">buyers agreement</span></a>, the agent is obligated
to protect the  sellers price and interests and is NOT allowed to offer
advice or opinion to the buyer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span _extended="true">Unfortunately, what this means is that
any agent the unrepresented buyer talks to should not be given any confidential
 information as it may be used to the advantage of the seller, whom
legally, the agent represents.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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So, let's say that a buyer, who decided not to sign a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buyer_agency_agreement" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="color: purple; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">buyers agency agreement,</span></a> decides to put an
offer in on a home. The buyer has to tell the agent exactly what they want in
the offer, without any advice or guidance being offered by the agent and the
buyer may or may not understand the contract or the real estate process, can
find himself in a world of hurt.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ideally, the buyer should seek <a href="http://seasonsrealtygroup.com/about.html" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="color: purple; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">representation</span></a> as
soon as they are ready to look at houses. I recommend even before hand because
there is a lot of education that goes into lending laws, pre approvals, etc
that can save a buyer a boat load of time. Â And Just a Few More Tips <span style="color: #0054a6;"><a href="http://www.zillow.com/profile/WinterBaserva/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="color: #0054a6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">When Hiring a Buyers Agent:</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>When you <a href="http://www.zillow.com/profile/WinterBaserva/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="color: purple; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Google the Agent</span></a>, What Do Their Clients Have to
say about their services?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>If you are concerned about
the commission, remember the commission is paid by the seller and can be
negotiated with a for-sale-by-owner seller as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.zillow.com/profile/WinterBaserva/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="color: purple; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Meet with the agent first</span></a>; see if there is a
comfort level with both the person’s knowledge and personality.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·</span><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>ASK QUESTIONS!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Remember, it doesn’t cost you a thing to <a href="http://seasonsrealtygroup.com/HGTVs-House-Hunters-2011.html" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="color: purple; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">have us represent you,</span></a> but it could
end up saving you a fortune. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Visit <a href="http://www.seasonsrealtygroup.com/Our-Team.html" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.seasonsrealtygroup.com/Our-Team.html</span></a> to
learn more about how our<a href="http://seasonsrealtygroup.com/about.html" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="color: purple; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">EXCLUSIVE BUYERS AGENTS</span></a> can help you
succeed in a world of uncertainty!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1aa6; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">http://www.trulia.com/blog/winterbaserva/2012/02/georgia_s_buyer_agency_law_how_does_it_affect_you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3946301965339810685.post-11633568078066501912014-02-21T03:51:00.000-08:002014-02-21T04:45:12.785-08:00Avoid Dual Agency Pitfalls<h2 class="node-title" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; border: none; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 2.5em; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 5px 0px;">
Avoid Dual Agency Pitfalls</h2>
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APRIL 2007 | BY <a content="Brad J. Boyd" href="http://realtormag.realtor.org/author/brad-j-boyd" property="dc:creator" rel="foaf:publications" style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none;" typeof="foaf:person">BRAD J. BOYD</a></div>
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Wouldn’t it be nice if life were clear-cut? Often in residential real estate it is: The most common legal arrangement in the business is for a listing agent from one company to represent the seller and a buyer’s agent from another company to represent the buyer in a transaction. The advantage to this scenario is that when negotiations arise or the parties are sending counteroffers back and forth, the two sides have a relatively balanced opportunity to obtain guidance and strategy from their own representative. But dual agency creates relationships with clients and customers that aren’t clear-cut.</div>
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For example, Rita Real Estate Broker is the listing agent holding an open house for her client, Sam Seller. Barb Buyer asks Rita details about the property during the open house, tells Rita she isn’t working with an agent, and asks Rita’s help in preparing an offer for Sam’s house. Rita has to stop, ask Barb if she’s asking for representation, and decide if she wants to enter into a dual agency relationship.</div>
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First Rita must resolve whether her state’s laws and her brokerage’s policies permit dual agency. Next, she must determine whether Sam Seller has agreed to let her act as a dual agent in the transaction and obtain his full, written consent to Rita’s new role. She must also disclose the limitations the dual agency will place on her ability to assist Barb and Sam. Only then will Rita have done everything necessary to create disclosed dual agency.</div>
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If she does enter into a disclosed dual agency relationship, Rita must observe her state’s dual agency laws, which probably require her to keep some types of information from each party confidential. In a dual agency relationship, Rita’s fiduciary duties to her clients are much more limited. She can no longer be an advocate for either party because each client has opposite goals.</div>
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Designated Dual Agency</h4>
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Dual agency relationships occur not only when one agent represents two parties but also when two agents from the same company represent two parties in the transaction. If Rita’s friend Alice Agent, who works out of a different office of the same brokerage Rita is affiliated with, comes to Rita’s open house with her buyer clients, Bill and Betty Buyers, and the Buyers later make an offer, once again, a dual agency relationship may be created.</div>
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In some states, there’s another option, designated dual agency. In these cases, the broker of Alice’s and Rita’s brokerage could designate one agent to represent the buyer-client and another to represent the seller-client. The broker would screen off some transaction information so that neither agent has access to the confidential information of the other party.</div>
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Although designated dual agency can work well, it poses the same general challenges as a typical dual agency arrangement. Designated agency still places significant responsibilities on each agent and on the brokerage to follow strict management policies to avoid compromising the integrity of the transaction.</div>
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Avoiding Dual Agency Traps</h4>
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In a few states — Colorado, Florida, and Kansas — dual agency is prohibited. This prohibition ensures that the real estate practitioner isn’t put in the difficult position of trying to satisfy both parties and risking that one or both parties may walk away feeling they didn’t receive the focused and thorough representation they expected. That dissatisfaction could lead to legal action, especially if there are problems with the transaction.</div>
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However, if dual agency is legal in your state and you want to make it a part of your business model, be sure to take these steps to ensure that both clients are treated fairly.</div>
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<li style="list-style-position: inside; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px;">Review your state’s laws (consult with an attorney if necessary) to determine if dual agency is legal and what disclosures and procedures you must follow.</li>
<li style="list-style-position: inside; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px;">Review your brokerage company’s policy to see if dual agency is permitted and exactly what actions you as a dual agent may not perform for each party.</li>
<li style="list-style-position: inside; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px;">Disclose the dual agency and what it means to all clients in writing, and obtain their timely, written consent to the relationship. Be sure to explain how dual agency limits your ability to fully represent each party.</li>
<li style="list-style-position: inside; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px;">Review and discuss with your client any state-mandated agency disclosure forms. Some states also have statutory language that must be included in all dual agency agreements. Failing to properly disclose dual agency is illegal.</li>
<li style="list-style-position: inside; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px;">Recommend that both parties retain attorneys to advise them regarding the purchase agreement, contingencies, price, earnest money, or other negotiated issues. This can be a win-win for all parties involved since the client will be adequately represented and the attorneys’ participation will take pressure and liability off of the sales associate.</li>
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If you’re careful in informing all parties about the requirements of a dual agency relationship, acting as an agent for both can be a viable way to close deals. Just don’t let your desire to get the deal done lead you to inadvertently overstep the limitations dual agency imposes.<br />
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<span style="color: #1a1aa6; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">In
</span><st1:place><span style="color: #1a1aa6; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">South
Georgia</span></st1:place><span style="color: #1a1aa6; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"> you have to look out for Realtors building and selling new
homes. So in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="color: #1a1aa6; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">Georgia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: #1a1aa6; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";"> you not only have do
deal with dual agency, but also realtors building and selling homes to
consumers. This is a win; win for the Realtor not the consumer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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http://realtormag.realtor.org/law-and-ethics/law/article/2007/04/avoid-dual-agency-pitfallsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0