Jgnet Real Estate Blog

When trying to sell or buy a property, it is recommended for anyone to hire their won real estate agent. But there are different types of real estate agents that can help you. The question is which type of real estate agent can help you the most? The different types of real estate agent determine their work and specialization in the real estate business. Once you know the types of real estate agents, you’ll be able to get the right agent that can help you the most. Here are the types of real estate agent:

Real Estate Broker

A real estate broker is basically more educated than an agent. But that’s not always the case. There are different ways of getting a broker’s license. The first method is to complete a four-year degree and finished eight courses on real estate to qualify for the broker’s exams. Another method is to have at least two years of sales experience of real estate and completing eight college-level courses. The last method is to be a lawyer that has passed the bar exam to qualify for the broker’s exam.

A real estate broker may choose to work independently or hire a real estate salesperson. The Broker’s exam is way more difficult than that of a salesperson’s exams, which means that brokers are known to have a higher standard of knowledge.

Broker Associate

A broker’s associate is a broker that chooses to work under another real estate broker. They get to work on a larger real estate network to get a pay from the employing broker and have a percentage of each transaction they made.

Real Estate Agent

A real estate agent is a salesperson and not a broker. They must work under a broker and a broker is responsible for the agent’s actions. Requirements to become an agent vary from different states.

REALTOR®

A REALTOR® is either an agent or a broker. This title means that they belong to the National Association of REALTOR® and abides by its Code of Ethics as well as paying an annual due. Not all the brokers and agents belong to NAR.

Listing Agent

A listing agent is more popularly known as a seller’s agent. They are the representative of a seller and they abide by a listing agreement. A listing agent can be a broker or an agent.

Buyer’s Agent

A buyer’s agent is also known as the selling agent or a buying agent. Depending on a local custom, a buyer’s agent may require a buyer to read, understand and sign a buyer’s broker agreement. An exclusive buyer’s agent does not work for sellers but many agents would prefer to work along with buyers and sellers.

Dual Agent

A dual agent is both the buyer and the seller’s representative. Dual agency occurs when there are two agents involved that work for the same broker. Be reminded that dual agency is illegal in all 50 states.

Transaction Agent

A transaction agent is the solution to dual agency. A listing agent might find himself writing an offer to a buyer and so becomes a transaction agent. Transaction agents do not represent either the buyer’s or the seller’s party.

If you have been thinking of making an offer on a real estate property you have chosen, it is important to consider a few things.  Writing an offer is not actually as easy as buying a car or investing in stocks.  After all, when writing up an offer, you are not only talking about money but also other crucial factors when buying a house.

Writing an offer is said to be the first part in the negotiation process when purchasing a real estate property.  You have to include other things along with the offer.  This may consist of indicating how you plan to finance the property, the down payment, if you want to have repairs done and who would finance this, house insurance and clauses that indicate what would happen should you cancel the property.  These things are very important for it talks about what you are expecting from the seller and what the seller is expecting from you.

As for the monetary value of the offer, try to put yourself in the seller’s shoes.  It would be very wise to offer something reasonable.  Of course you want to get the best possible deal but if you bid on the property too low, the seller might not think you are serious.  Consider also the situation of the seller.  Is he or she in a hurry to sell?  Is the house under a bank mortgage?  These things could actually affect the negotiation process.

It is also important to compare the house you are buying with similar real estate.   This is referred to as comparable sales.  Look at the most recent sales of properties with similar features as the house you want to buy.  Compare the number of floors, bedrooms, bathrooms, garage space, floor area or the total land area.  There are databases that you may also use to look at properties prices.  However, these are only accessible for certified real estate agents.  Nonetheless, you may look into some of the public records and multiple listings that can be accessed by the general public.  Comparable sales in public records are from sales made by sellers and buyers in the past.  When a property is sold and the title is transferred from seller to buyer, the deed is recorded and registered at the local county’s office.  They do this so that they can assess the property taxes properly.  This record usually includes the price, number of rooms and the floor area of the property.  The good thing about using public records is that they are, as earlier mentioned, easily accessible.  Your real estate agent can also access these through title insurance companies.  If you don’t have an agent, however, you can simply go to the record’s office and ask for the record yourself.  The only trouble with this record is that it is usually six to eight weeks behind.   As such, it is not that all current.   However, by looking at public records such as this, you at least get an idea of the rate you could somewhat aim for.

A real estate agent can help you sell or buy a real estate in various ways. But there are certain things that a real estate agent can and cannot do for you. There are limitations to the things that a real estate agent can do and one of the restrictions on them is the Federal Fair Housing Act.

The Federal Fair Housing Act

The Federal Fair Housing Act is probably the biggest constraint on real estate agents. According to this law, discrimination is prohibited in the real estate business. Here are the things that the Federal Fair Housing Act forbids:

On sale or rental of housing, no real estate agent is allowed to do any of the following acts that might discriminate according to sex, race, religion, color or nationality:

• Decline to negotiate, rent or sell housing
• Make housing unavailable
• Deny lodging
• Set unusual conditions, terms and privileges on selling or renting a house
• Offer unusual services or amenities for housing
• Convince the owners to rent or sell their properties for their own profit
• Restrict someone from achieving amenities or services that is connected to the rental or selling of the house

For mortgage lending, these are the actions that a real estate agent is now allowed to do:

• Decline to bring information on loans
• Decline to make a mortgage loan
• Single out on assessing a property.
• Make use of unusual terms or conditions for getting a loan
• Enforce unusual conditions or terms such as unusual fees, rates or points

A real estate agent under any real estate transaction is forbidden to:

• Make use of advertisements that implies on restrictions on real estate that is based on the discrimination of religion, sex, race, color or nationality. This law also applies to single-family and owner-occupied housing that are originally exempted from the Federal Fair Housing Act.
• Intimidating, interfering, coercing or threatening a person who exercises their Fair Housing rights

There are also other limitations to how much a real estate agent can help. Some expectations of the client according to a neighborhood may not be accepted by a real estate agent. For example, if a client wishes a real estate agent to get them a house that is close to a protected class’ area, an agent must not comply with the request. The agent should not even dare to advertise the type of neighborhood where he is selling a real estate. If a client demands to get a house to a neighborhood of, let’s say African-Americans, a real estate agent must refuse.

Another limitation of a real estate agent is the use of specific words in advertising. An agent must not use words that would reckon to signify a type of protected class. Words such as handicapped, married, singles only, couples, sports-minded and other similar words or phrases should not be used by an agent on his advertisements.

Clients might also request for a house near a school district. The problem is, the children of the client might not be accepted to a school for certain reasons. So a real estate agent must ask for the limits of the client’s search and explain that their children might not get into the school they like. To guarantee a certain school district for a client is not the agent’s job.