HomeTraq University

When you visit a public open house and an agent asks you to sign the "sign-in sheet" what should you say?   What should you write down?  What are the rules for who can represent you if you decide that the Open House is, in fact, your future Dream House?    Many times the agent holding the open house states the seller is requiring a list of everyone who walked through the house as a measurement of interest and to get feedback on the price and condition of the property.  Some agents state that their company policy, brokerage and/or seller require the list of visitors  for security reasons in case something ends up missing from the house.   While these are legitimate reasons, if you have ever provided your real contact information at an open house, you have probably experienced being contacted for something other than the explained reason.  Most likely you were solicited to see if you wanted an agent to show you a different house or if ...

"Procuring cause" is a real estate term which agents, brokers and sometimes buyers use to determine who will receive the commission on a house sale.    It is widely identified by the specific tasks performed by a real estate agent which lead to an accepted purchase contract and successful sale of real estate.   I n many cases, the "procuring cause" task could be identified as the first showing of a house by a real estate agent which a buyer purchases. "Procuring cause" could also be construed to mean the task of writing and negotiating the purchase offer.  Since there is no hard and fast rule as to what specifically triggers "procuring cause", its easy to  see how this situation can get tricky. Many buyers are not aware of what it means, and it is  a sensitive issue for many buyer’s real estate agents and their brokerages.   It comes into play many times when a buyer purchases a house toured with two different real estate agents. Mayb...

You can call the selling agent to setup an appointment to view a home, but not having your own representation could be tricky... Many home buyers aren’t aware of agency disclosure, nor understand the concept of a buyer’s agent and seller’s agent.  Many times the first agent a home shopper is exposed to is the "listing agent" of a home found online or the agent he/she meets at an open house. Last year, 63% of home shoppers walked through a home they were interested in after viewing it online.  When it is time to tour or inquire about a home, it seems like an easy solution to direct questions to the seller’s agent — but this presents an immediate conflict of interest.  A real estate agent’s loyalties and responsibilities change depending on who the agent is talking to.  Here’s a quick summary of roles an agent can play in any one transaction. The listing agent The listing agent or seller’s agent works for the seller and represents their interests in the sale. Th...