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When you’re new to a country, you’ll want to have someone working with you who is genuinely interested in your interests and well being, and has relevant experience, rather than dealing with somebody simply wanting another sale. There are other reasons as well:
Why do you need a buyer's authority?
A buyer’s agent works for you, not the vendor, and that makes a big difference to how your interests are represented. In New Zealand all listing agents work for the vendor in terms of the Real Estate Agents Act. They are obliged to:
- Get the highest possible price for the listed property.
- They can’t disclose any personal information of the vendor e.g. financial difficulty etc. or they will be in breach of their agency agreement.
- On the other hand if you tell a listing agent that you could pay a bit more for the property than the offer that you have made they are under a legal obligation to disclose that fact to the vendor.
Getting you, the buyer, the best deal will result in a conflict of interest for a listing agent, and that is why you need us as your buyer’s agent to represent you and your interests alone. All the duties set out below apply to our agency agreement - between buyer and agent. Now there is no conflict of interest.
Benefits of having a buyer's agent are:
- You are working with only one agent, who can organize for you to see any property regardless of who is the listing agent.
- You gain the benefit of local knowledge, both geographically and of the market.
- Working with one agent only eliminates difficulties when your requirements change – you don’t need to deal with several people wanting to provide information that is irrelevant to your needs.
- When you work with one agent it is easy to organize your diary and to allow for some private time.
If you need your privacy protected, then it is best to work with one agent alone. We will sign a confidentiality agreement to protect your identity and other private issues.
Will I miss out on properties of other companies?
As your buyer’s agent we liaise with the various real estate companies so that you see the most relevant and suitable properties on the market to meet your requirements, regardless of which company has listed the property. You will not miss out on any property.
How will I be protected?
You are protected by both Common Law and Legislation. Here is a short summary of The Law of Agency in New Zealand These are our duties to you when we have an agency agreement (buyer’s authority) in place:
We must:
Follow lawful instructions
Be diligent and use reasonable skill
Act personally, i.e. not delegate the authority
Not disclose confidential information to any third party
Keep accounts
Act in the principal’s interest, i.e. no competition with the principal, no secret profits (including commissions not disclosed to you) and no conflicts of interest.
What we expect in return
Pay the agent any comission or other payments agreed upon
Indemnify (pay) the agent for all expenses and costs necessarily incurred by the agent in carrying out of the agency duties.
By working with us on an exclusive basis, you will receive a dedicated, focused service. If you want this type of service, then we would like to email the buyers mandate to you.
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