New Real Estate Law & Buyer Agency Agreement Explained: Mama Breaks It Down

Confused about Buyer Agency Agreements and what they mean for you as a homebuyer? In this episode of Your Real Estate Mama, Jan Scott tackles the latest real estate laws and the hot topic of Buyer Agency Agreements. She breaks down how these changes impact your homebuying experience and shares clear, actionable tips to help you confidently navigate your relationship with a real estate agent.

Don’t miss Jan’s signature Mama Wisdom & Inspiration, leaving you informed and empowered on your real estate journey. Whether you're a first-time buyer or seasoned homeowner, this episode is packed with must-know insights to guide you through today’s market!

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Chapters

• 0:00 Opening Skit and Intro
• 1:24 Background on the New Real Estate Law
• 3:04 Here Are The Specifics
• 3:52 Buyer Agency Agreement and What is on It
• 7:00 Mama Wisdom & Inspiration
• 7:39 Outro

Transcript

(Jazzy music plays in background)

Realtor: 

Thanks for calling Shady Acres Realty, where your dream home is just a signature away. This is Karen. 

Caller:

Oh, hey, Karen. Hi there. I was calling about the house on Maple Street. I wanted to take a look. 

Realtor:

Sure thing. 

Caller:

Great. So when are you... 

Realtor:

But I'll need you to sign a buyers agency agreement first. It's the new law, ya know.

Caller:

Wait, sign an agreement? But I don't even know you. 

Realtor:

Oh, honey. It's not like a proposal... just paperwork. 

Mama:

Fear not my friends, because I'm going to explain why you have to sign this agreement in mama fashion, of course, and give you the perfect questions to ask your potential agent so you can feel confident about proceeding with finding your dream home. Let's get to it!

INTRO MUSIC

Hey, come on in and welcome to another episode of Your Real Estate Mama with me, Jan Scott. Every week, I share tips, know how, and encouragement for buyers and sellers. My mission is to educate, Inform and help you make wise choices on your real estate journey. I've been wrangling the real estate market for over 35 years.

Along with this gray hair comes a whole lot of wisdom. And if you're new to the podcast, I sure hope you subscribe. Today, I'm diving into some important updates that could impact everyone in the housing market. If you have looked at homes over the past few weeks, hopefully your REALTOR has asked you to sign a buyer agency agreement before they showed you a home.

If they have not, They are in violation of the new real estate law that went into effect on August the 17th, 2024. The new real estate regulations from the National Association of Realtors, that's NAR for short. For those unfamiliar with NAR, it's the largest trade association in the U. S. With so much speculation and misleading opinions circulating in the news, I'm here to set the record straight and to provide you with the facts and truth that you need to know.

Since this change, I can honestly say the only thing you will notice is more transparency with some new forms to sign in a different order. Now, this change happened not because someone was harmed, but because an attorney felt like agents commissions were too high. Mama's not going to bore you with all the details, but an attorney saw an opportunity to make millions by forcing agents to cut their commission and making buyers hire and pay for their own agents.

Hey, being in the business 40 years, I was just as confused as the commentators on the nightly news who were trying to explain this. Because of this new law, the agents have to figure out the commission structure on who's paying which agent. Because it has to be in writing before you see the house. So here are the specifics on how it works.

You want to see a house, so you call an agent to see it. Then that agent calls the agent who has the house listed to ask what commission, if any, is being offered by the seller for buyer's agents, where before it was published for all agents to see in our MLS. All this has to be done because the percentage has to be written in the buyer's agreement before looking at a house.

That's why you see agents out there who are advertising the buyer agent commission on their signs, flyers, Facebook, and it's all over social media. So that's telling me that most all sellers want it to be business as usual. So as bad as those attorneys wanted to stir up things, we have overcome it. So now that we know that, here's what you need to ask a REALTOR when you're asked to sign the form.

This form is called a Buyer Agency Agreement right now, but personally, I think it should be called a Showing Agreement. That would definitely help clarify a few things. But hey, they didn't ask mama. So this agreement states your name, Agent's company, your agent name, and has a term length of time. That is very important for you as a buyer.

Control the length of time. If you have known this agent for a while and you know that they are the type of agent mama would approve of, then you might want to sign it for a longer period. Let's say maybe 30 days. It depends on your time that you're looking for. But. And this is a big but. If you have just met the realtor, not sure if you want to work with them, then just do a one time showing of one home.

That's it. You are only committed to that agent for the time you are in that home and it will give you time to ask the five questions I have given you in my first podcast to see if they are a good fit for you. Still not sure? Then sign another day. Just one day, one hour, five minutes. That's all you have to commit to.

Do as many days as you need so that you can do your homework on the agent to see if they have the skills it's going to take to help you with the biggest purchase of your life. The next line on this form should be properties that are covered for that day. If you're going to work with this agent, say, for a period of 30 days, you may want to just add general description of suitable properties and areas for them to look at.

Remember, Everything is negotiable on this agreement. This includes the length of time as well as the percentage the agent will ask for. Let me say one thing about the percentage, which is always and always has been negotiable. If you're looking to save a few bucks and you just want the lowest percentage, well, you might just get the lowest help.

The lowest knowledge and the lowest care. Shop agents, not percentages. You know the right agent can help you save a lot more money on closing costs and sales price than lower commissions. On this form, it will also list the buyer agent services, what they are committed to do, and your buyer obligations, which means if you sign this agreement with this agent, then if you buy that house, it must be through that agent on the agreement.

This agreement will also have a place for you to initial saying that you are not under any agreement with another agent at this time. Those are the main key facts for our Buyer Agent Agreement here in Baldwin County, Alabama. Now if you're in a different area and you do not have a good realtor that can explain this form to you, send me an email, jan@yourrealestatemama.com and mama will find you an agent that fits my standards. 

MAMA WORDS & WISDOM:

I always like to end the podcast with mama wisdom and inspiration. I want to encourage you today to not fear or get discouraged when the world we are living in makes things a whole lot more difficult than they have to be. I'm reminded of where Joseph pointed out divine providence in Genesis chapter 50 verse 20.

But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. In order to bring it about as it is this day to save many people. You know, I truly believe that there's a lot of good to come out of what was meant to divide and disrupt.

OUTRO:

Well, that's a wrap. If you enjoyed this episode of your real estate mama, don't forget to leave a review rating or comment on your favorite podcast platform. Feel free to send me an email to jannatyourrealestatemama. com. I love hearing your questions and comments, and I'd be happy to help you find a great real estate agent anywhere you live.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook at Your Real Estate Mama Podcast. Until next time, y'all take care, happy house hunting, and remember, you should always listen to your mama.