Buyers Beware - Buying a Home Soon?
 

Home Buyers Beware!
Buying a home?
Your favorite Realtor is now 'handcuffed' by the ongoing NAR Lawsuit Settlement.
You will have to sign, first a "Pre-Showing Agreement", then the 'Showing Agreement" before you can look at any listings.
And also there is a "Compensation Agreement" which dictates how and how much they will be paid. (By You?)
The 'Showing Agreement' allows them to review your credit report, demands that you disclose the fact that you have or will be working with another Realtor and, what scares me most is this "indemnifying and holding the Broker harmless from losses, damages, costs, and expenses of any nature" because of (what they deem to be) your 'negligence, misrepresentation, or default on these agreements'.
Paying a Buyer Broker, though not typical, is nothing new.
These new forms are way too wide-ranging and complicated to spell out here.
If you use a Buyers Broker, you're on the hook for a fee.
They can't collect their fee, which exceeds WHAT YOU PROMISE THEM from anyone else, so it's likely to be a lot of money..
My advice, never sign anything without a prior review by your lawyer.
Also be aware that, while the Listing Realtor acts exclusively for the Owner/Seller, they are not required to use any of these forms, nor should they charge you a fee/commission.
Stay Safe !

LOL. I don't need a lawyer to review the contract. There is no way I would ever sign it. The real estate agent may be handcuffed, but I'm not.

have been reading about buyers agent agreements being litigated for many reasons on my socials

What I am waiting to see is how "Open Houses" are going to make it in the future. Uncertain at this time.

Many are currently defiant today, but as a buyer, will be interesting to see how the new requirements shake out. It's not all about the commissions, but about many other constraints which people won't like or will need to get used to.

good luck to the new buyers...

Open houses are very popular in The Villages. What would prevent a buyer from attending an open house and making a cash offer? That is what I would do, and it would not include a buyer's commission to an agent.

you may not be allowed to do so under the new rules. . . just because you think you can at the moment, you may not be able to in the future without a signed buyers agreement.

its all still in the pre execution / pre reality stage. . which is why I typed, will be interesting to see how this shakes out. .

Thanks. I predict that this arrangement will never fly because it sifles competition. It's still a free country, and no one can stop a person from making an offer to buy a house from the owner. It's just not logical. I will never pay an agent a commission to buy a house.

No one is required to have a buyer's agent. An individual can absolutely walk into a house and make on offer on their own accord.

The whole thing is about buyer's agent compensation. No buyer's agent, no compensation worries.

Thank you. I have never hired a buyer's agent and I never will.

Many go to open houses with no intention or interest in immediately buying that particular house. I have not seen these so called new rules for real estate but once again on the surface it smells of another overreach by government.

Maybe, but it sounds to me like real estate agents want to have their cake and eat it. They want to pretend to represent a buyer but be paid by the seller. If a buyer needs an agent to hold their hand, then they should pay them for it.

Also, the law states that you can attend open houses and ask questions without signing anything. You don’t need an agent to buy if you prefer to DIY.
This law will reduce double dipping by selling agent and reduce seller fees by offering half of the usual 5 - 6 % commission as the buyers are on their own.

A lot of misinformation in this post.

That isn't unusual now. But as a buyer you are entering a transaction unrepresented and since Florida doesn't allow dual agency the seller agent really has no obligations to help you out with info or anything.

How is the current system "double dipping"? The seller knows that their agent is paying a co-broke commission to the buyer agent.

The changes aren't going to do a darned thing. The seller agents will still recommend the seller pay the buyer agent. Buyer agents are still going to want to get paid and if you are a seller you will want your house to be shown.

I could see circumstance where seller refuses to pay buyer agent, and the buyer agrees to pay their agent. But in the end, what the buyer has to spend will have to include what their agent is paid. This is all smoke and mirrors, just shifting how it's communicated.

Does this apply to the non-MLS sales agents of The Villages????