Relocating To Boston, Why Dont More Buyers Use a Buyers Agent?

It has always puzzled me that so many buyers do not use a Buyers Agent.
I have been going over possible reasons in my mind. What are buyers thinking? An adviser and representative to work for you at no charge? Why would anyone say no to that?

I have heard it said that buyers think they will get a better deal without their own Buyers Agent.

OH Boy!  Those sellers love to see you show up unrepresented.

Even if they actually did give you a good deal, how would you know? Is Zillows algorithm going to tell what the home is really worth? I dont think so. Zillow is a computer and needs a human brain to interpret the results and add anecdotal knowledge.

Example: I entered a 2 bedroom at 75 Clarendon Street into Zillow and it gave me a fair market value of 750K. Zillow however does not know about the auctions at the Bryant across the street and the possibility of the 1.5M square foot Columbus Center project giving them construction across the street for the next 3 years. These and other considerations helped me arrive at the fair market value of 550K for that same property Zillow says is worth 750K. So if you walk in to an open house at 75 Clarendon Street be prepared to be told that Zillow has the property priced 200K too high.

Zillow does not add the possibilities so as a do-it-yourself tool it makes a better parlor trick.

Privacy

I think many buyers feel insecure and would prefer to look at properties alone. An agent will invade their privacy, eventually knowing all about them and their finances. They say men especially dont like asking directions and therefore want the autonomy of looking without representation. Whatever the reason, from embarrassment about finances or fear of being sold some real estate, you will pay a higher price if you deal directly with sellers or listing agents.

Buyers Are Suspicious

I dont think buyers really get what a good Buyers Agent can do for them. They just can not get that their Buyers Agent is not there to SELL them some real estate. Buyers Agency in its purist form detaches from the outcome and will urge the buyer to walk away if the price and terms are not what they should be. This is real news to many and many will not believe it anyway. To most it must sound too good to be true.

Here is a list of things you probably WILL NOT GET without a Buyers Agent.

 * A real statistically correct statement of fair market value, rigorously arrived at with a quantitative approach minus personal opinion or conjecture.

 * Someone with you who is accustomed to looking for potential buyers problems. A good Buyers Agent will help keep the cost of ownership down for at least the first five years.

 * A counter point to the non-stop monologue of positive features of the property that streams endlessly out of the sellers agents mouth.

 * A Buyers Agent will track down the minutes to condo meetings. These are hard to get because no one has a vested interest in you getting to read them. This is critical because the condo association may not have any current assessments which they are required by law to disclose to you. If you read the minutes you may find out about other very expensive projects for the near future. They do not have to tell you and they will not tell you so getting the minutes may inform you that the building is going to need a new this or that soon.

 * Help with your search results. I can usually eliminate 50% of the MLS numbers that visiting buyers send me and explain why I have eliminated them. This saves 50% of their time running around looking at the wrong properties. Typically when a buyer relocates to Boston they go through the do-it-yourself process of looking at listing sheets online. This is great but keep in mind that ALL listing sheets whether they are on the kitchen table or on the internet were written by agents of the seller and are missing anything the seller wishes withheld from you.

    * Recommendations of the best home inspectors and lawyers who are geared toward protecting buyers. Sellers agents cannot do this under current agency law.

So basically I think that there are so few really good Buyers Agents around that most folks do not believe that a Buyers agent will truly have their best interests at heart. I can see it in their faces when I tell them there is a noise transference problem between there unit and the next, or that the owners have neglected the building. Their jaws drop when I level some bad news about certain condo associations or a property management company. But each time I volunteer some deal killer information that I could have kept to myself, I can tell my observations gather more and more weight with them.