Now it seems that everyone wants to be your Buyer's Agent.  Buyer Agency is not something that started yesterday.  In fact, it has been around for more than 30 years.  Large corporations have employed their own Agents even longer than that when purchasing or leasing property. These corporations knew they needed someone they could trust who would research properties to see if they were suitable, delve into property values to discover the property's real market value, not have a conflict of interest, and negotiate skillfully with the Seller or the Seller's Listing  Agent. The only way to meet all these objectives was to employ their own Agent. So take a tip from these corporations: Insist on having your own Agent to represent you!

In 1983, a Federal Trade Commission study revealed that more than 72 percent of homebuyers in the United States mistakenly believed that the Agent showing them homes represented their interests. As a result, laws requiring agents to disclose whom they actually represent have been passed across the country.

The fundamental difference between a traditional real estate agent who is acting as a Buyer's Agent when it is convenient and a genuine Buyer's Agent who has specialized training and experience representing Buyers. Every real estate licensee can claim to be a Buyer Agent. You should demand the individual representing you as a Buyers Agent is a Realtor who has earned the Accredited Buyers Representative "ABR" professional designation and is a member of the Real Estate Buyer Agency Council. Fewer than one in twenty agents meet this minimum standard. If you want a higher standard, look for a Realtor who has also earned the professional designation of a Certified Residential Specialist "CRS." In addition to meeting these minimum standards, an experienced Buyer's Agent may have additional training. Still, all good Buyer's Agents will clearly understand representing Buyers and a written plan. They will tell you exactly how they will go about finding you the right home at the best possible price with the best possible terms in a sales contract that best protects your interests.