New Virginia Buyer Brokerage Agreement law
What you need to know as of July 1, 2012
If you’re thinking of purchasing a home in Virginia, you’ll want to know that there’s a new Agency law that will take effect on July 1 that will change the way you can see houses no matter where you are in the state.
A great many of our clients already use our Solutions website to look up houses in our local MLS system and find out area information. We’re always happy to answer any general questions you may have and this won’t change with the new law.
What’s new about the law
The only difference is that after July 1, 2012, if you’d like to make an appointment to go see a house with one of our team of licensed REALTORs®, or any REALTOR® in Virginia for that matter, the state will now require that you first enter into a written brokerage relationship agreement with one of us regardless of whether this is the first time you’re contacting us to discuss purchasing a house or if you’ve been working with one of our Solutions team members for some time.
Before seeing a home for sale
What this means is that if you’d like to see a house you will need to sign a buyer broker agreement that contains the duties and obligations of all parties, a specific start date and end date, and how your REALTOR® will be paid. It can be good for one day or up to several months.
The intent of this new requirement is to ensure that buyers are aware of the types of representation available to them. You and your REALTOR® can discuss and agree upon the length of your agreement when you sit down and review the other terms and conditions.
Duties of an Agent
Typically, buyers will engage a REALTOR® as an exclusive standard agent, one who’s required to perform specific duties for his or her buyer client, which include:
- negotiating terms and conditions of a real estate purchaser contract;
- preparing written offers and counteroffers;
- promoting your interests;
- maintaining the confidentiality of your personal and financial information;
- and accounting for any money received, in which you have an interest.
There are other types of buyer brokerage service – limited service and independent contractor and we’d be happy to explain these to you as well.
Solutions for you
When you engage a member of the Solutions team as your standard agent, you have a professional advocate working hard on your behalf. We can offer you the benefit of solid business experience, training and access to timely market information, can negotiate solely on your behalf, reduce your stress and save you money.
Call us today and we’d be happy to explain the benefits of the new Buyer Broker July 1, 2012 law. It will take some adjustment in the next few months, and we expect some growing pains, but we believe this is a positive step forward in assuring our buyer clients that they’ll receive the best attention possible as they look for their new home in our beautiful Charlottesville area.