Dowelltown

Selecting An Agent

Purchasing a home or property may be one of the largest investments you’ll make. As a member of Center Hill Realty, the National Association of Realtors, and the Eastern Middle Tennessee Association of Realtors, I’m trained and committed to strict codes of professionalism and ethics that allow me to represent your interests.

Whether you’re a buyer or seller interested in DeKalb County, you should understand the different types of agency relationships that exist. Each determines the service and information that agent provides you. They can take three forms, and agents are paid a fee or commission for their services, based on the sales price.

Tennessee real estate professionals must inform you in writing, what, if any, formal agency relationship they have with a buyer or seller, before formal negotiations can begin.

A seller’s agent, as the label implies, has signed a contract with the owner/seller of the property to market that listing and put the seller’s interests first in all negotiations. Their obligation to interested buyers is to be fair, honest and forthcoming with information about the property, but their first allegiance is always to the seller.

A buyer’s agent, on the other hand, has signed a contract to represent buyers in finding appropriate property, negotiating the sale, and advising them on steps they should take to protect their interests as the transaction progresses from contract to closing. Often the buyer’s agent fee is covered as a share of the commission the seller agreed to pay in their listing agreement as a condition of featuring that property on the local MLS.

A transaction broker, or disclosed dual agent, represents buyer and seller—both sides of the sale— in the same transaction. Both parties must be informed in writing and accept this arrangement. This can occur when an interested buyer contacts the listing agent, is willing to meet the seller’s terms, and buyer and seller are confident the agent can fairly represent both their interests.

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