By Dorange Ousa, Target Homes Limited.
When buying or selling a home, one will always need some help. So the big question is who should you reach out to? Real estate professionals go by various names. This includes a real estate agent, real estate broker or Realtor. How do you tell the difference?
We often use these titles interchangeably but there are some important differences, as well as varying requirements for using particular titles. They include the following;
- Real estate agent
A real estate agent is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. Real estate agents fall into four categories of representation:
- Seller’s Agents, commonly called “listing agents,” are contracted by owners to assist with marketing property for sale and/or lease.
- Buyer’s Agents are brokers or salespersons who assist buyers by helping them purchase property.
- Dual Agents help both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. To protect their license to practice, a real estate broker owes both parties fair and honest dealing and must request that both parties (seller and buyer) sign a dual agency agreement. Special laws/rules often apply to dual agents, especially in negotiating price. In dual agency situations, a conflict of interest is more likely to occur, typically resulting in the loss of advocacy for both parties. Individual state laws vary and interpret dual agency rather differently, with some no longer allowing it. In some states, Dual Agency can be practiced in situations where the same brokerage (but not agent) represent both the buyer and the seller. If one agent from the brokerage has a home listed and another agent from that brokerage has a buyer-brokerage agreement with a buyer who wishes to buy the listed property, dual agency occurs by allowing each agent to be designated as an “intra-company” agent.
- Transaction Agents: If a buyer is not represented by their own exclusive agent, the listing agent may have to write an offer for the client. In states where dual agency is not legal, a listing agent can be elect to become a transaction agent. Under these circumstances, the agent acts as an impartial facilitator throughout the transaction.
2.Real estate broker
A real estate broker negotiates, arranges, and oversees real estate transactions. They may also own/run brokerages. He/she has taken education beyond the agent level as required by state laws and passed a broker’s license exam. They are also more experienced.
“Brokers have in-depth knowledge of the real estate business,” says Jennifer Baxter, associate broker at Re/Max Regency in Suwanee, GA. A broker acts as an umbrella company and the agent is essentially a salesperson working for that company.
Common responsibilities of real estate agents and brokers include:
- Represent buyers and sellers
- Marketing residential sales and lettings units, commercial sales and lettings units, industrial sales and lettings units or lands for sale
- Negotiate prices and managing transactions
- Prospecting buyer and seller leads
- Hold open houses and showing homes
- They also source for clients’ needs if they do not have the property in their listings.
- Manage properties on behalf of the landlord