WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE IN BUYER'S AGENTS AND SELLER'S AGENTS. It's easy. The seller's agent or listing agent has promised in writing to get the best price for the seller. Buyer's agents have promised to help the home buyer get the best property at the best price and the best terms and conditions including home warranty and inspections for the BUYER - that is YOU. MerriPerry.com agents are ALL buyer's agents.

Relying on yard signs to find a home will give you only a small sample of homes on the market bacause not all homes offered for sale have signs, and not all signs in yards are on active listings. Many home owners do not wish to have a YARD SIGN because they do not wish to have consumers knocking on their door. Most sellers prefer to have appointments made and buyers accompanied by licensed real estate agents. Yard signs remain in a yard until settlement. So, when you see a yard sign, the home may have been under contract for weeks or months.

YARD SIGNS
Concentrating on yard signs can be quite time consuming and cause a serious home buyers to loose valuable time. For one thing, driving through neighborhoods does not necessarily show all of the homes for sale. It often takes two-three days to get that wooden FOR SALE sing installed.

Homes may be entered in the MLS system that is available for agent's to search for all listings before signs show all listings. Yard signs do not show status. Yard signs generally stay up until the day or day following settlement. The house may be under contract just waiting for the sellers and buyer to settle. It is not available to prospective home buyers to show. The signs are left up by the listing agents to encourage prospective home buyers to call the listing office or listing agent. At that time, they agent will try to show you other office listings. Think of the time lost driving around only to find you concentrated valuable time on a property that was not available.

OPEN HOUSE TOURS - WARNING ! !
Prospective home buyers who visit Open House showings without their Buyer's Agent causes the agent holding the Open House to believe that they may have an interested party. This can lead to a lot of confusion when the agent showing the home believes that, if you buy that home, the Open House agent will earn the sales commission. Fact is, if you have already obtained the services of a Buyer's Agent and have a written agency agreement with that agent/broker, may set up an unpleasant fight between the agent holding the Open House and your Buyer's Agent. If at all possible, visit Open Houses with your Buyer's Agent.

It is also a good idea to have your Buyer's Agent show the home to you so that you may benefit from their experience. If you do decide to make an offer on the house that you and your agent toured at Open House, your agent will be fully informed by the Seller Disclosures, visual observations and comparing that property to others that have sold in the area.

SURFING THE NET FOR HOMES FOR SALE
Many, if not most prospective home buyers use the Internet to research homes for sale BEFORE contacting an agent. Once you have selected homes from listing databases that you would like to see, CONTACT YOUR BUYER'S AGENT. If you are contacting the listing agent for more information, you are speaking with the agent who has a contract with the seller to sell their home for the highest price and best terms and conditions for the seller.

SELECTING A BUYERS AGENT
Most, if not all real estate offices in Maryland and Virginia have agents that are experienced helping home buyers find their home of choice. They may work for an office that lists homes for sale, but the only time you are likely to have a problem is when you are considering buying a home listed by the same office at that employs your Buyer's Agent.

To completely avoid the risk of Dual Agency or, worse, undisclosed Dual Agency, contact agents who practice Single Agency or Exclusive Buyers Agency. A Single Agency company never represents the buyer and seller for the same property. An Exclusive Buyer's Agency company never lists property so there is no risk of Dual Agency which might not be the best representation type for a home buyer.