Sign a buyer's agreement before even being shown a house?

[bpaikman]

This isn't directly RV related but there is a lot of wisdom and experience in this group. So I'm going to ask your opinions:
We noticed a house for sale in our area, and I found it listing through realtor.com. It seems to be a good fit for us so I click the button that said text me and never got a text. So the next day I click the button to contact an agent and never got a reply to tha.
So I contacted a well-known local realtor to arrange for a showing ...and the receptionist said that an agent would be in touch with me. They never contacted me.
So I called a different company that seems to be especially active in the area, and after speaking with the receptionist, the owner herself came on the line to speak to me. She says there's a new thing that's been an effect since September that requires me signing a buyers agreement before they would even show me the house. This smells fishy to me - I've had several bad experiences with realtors and sellers, so I trust them about as much as.... time-share sellers. I'm sorry if some of you are realtors, I have sold 3 houses and bought two houses through realtors, and had some unpleasant quirks every time (failure to disclose, lowballing, etc.) I'm uneasy about any commitment at this stage.
now I'm beginning to wonder if this is why that beautiful house been sitting on the market for six months.
I decided to drop the whole thing, until I find out more about this so-called buyers agreement.
I did see a couple of Google articles that say "beware"..... well what am I supposed to do?

 

[AbdRahim]

I would look elsewhere.

 

[bpaikman]

I would look elsewhere.

But supposedly this is something in effect for any house listed with a realtor. I do my looking on apps like zillow, trulia, realtor.com....but eventually I need to physically visit a house,

 

[BGMAC]

There was a law passed requiring this. I’m working from memory so don’t quote me, but here is a link about it.

Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements

When searching for a home, you will be asked to sign a written buyer agreement after you’ve chosen the professional you want to work with. Here's what you should know about these agreements.

www.nar.realtor

 

[AbdRahim]

Wow. Just bought a house and looked at many and never ran into this. Perhaps, it depends on what state one is in.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

There was a law passed requiring this. I’m working from memory so don’t quote me, but here is a link about it.

Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements

When searching for a home, you will be asked to sign a written buyer agreement after you’ve chosen the professional you want to work with. Here's what you should know about these agreements.

www.nar.realtor

Interesting. Define your expectations before you employ What a novel idea.

Maybe easier to get what you expect, but like any contract, don't leave open blanks and expect honesty. Also, boilerplate contracts may be in the realtors favor.

Just do your due diligence!

 

[Buster]

These are becoming the norm by us. With the Realtor settlement last year, the seller has the option to pay the entire commission (~5% in our area) on the sale of their house split between both realtors OR they can just pay their realtor. In the second scenario, the buyer would then need to pay their own realtor since the seller won't be doing it.

As the buyer, you still can call the shots. You can sign with a realtor for just a specific house or you can sign with a realtor for anything they show you. Since you are only interested in just this one house, I'd recommend just signing with a realtor for that house only in the contract.

 

[GTS225]

RED FLAG on the play!!

IMHO.....Roger

 

[Joe Hogan]

As the buyer, you still can call the shots. You can sign with a realtor for just a specific house or you can sign with a realtor for anything they show you. Since you are only interested in just this one house, I'd recommend just signing with a realtor for that house only in the contract.

Agreed. Realtor protecting their interest. Sign for a specific house. This is now a common practice in Florida.
The idea of being loyal to the agent/person that shows a house was the practice. Today this idea is no longer commonly understood.