Bought, Not Sold: Single Agency, Buyers' Brokers, Flat Fees, and the Consumer Revolution in Real Estate

by Ray Wilson

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0966013506
• ISBN13: 9780966013504
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Cogna Books
• Length: 315 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Self-Defense for Buyers & Sellers

This book is about the real world that they did not teach me or my classmates in law school! I have been in the business of real estate brokerage and buyer agency for close to a decade and I still found myself highlighting throughout the book. Six years ago organized real estate was still in a struggle to preclude real estate brokers and agents from representing buyers. Today, every part-time, know-nothing with a license is a "buyers' agent." (The organized real estate industry is still fighting laws that force them to tell sellers and buyers who they represent!) What do you really know about agents, selling real estate, or buying real estate? What does "buyers' agent" really mean? What are the agents' and brokers' duties? What does "your" agent owe you? Why is a dual agency too often dual fraud? If you are about to enter the real estate game, this book will tell you the rules. Every homebuyer and seller needs this book for his or her financial self-defense and for his or her peace of mind. Will it matter to you if "your" agent harms you from malice and greed or harms you from simple stupidly? Trust me, it is going to hurt either way. You can pay attorneys thousands of dollars after the problem or you can read this book and preclude the problems before they happen.

To buy or sell property, you NEED an Exclusive Buyers Agent

BOUGHT, NOT SOLD will help you recognize the consumer quality revolution in real estate -- it's all about customer awareness and empowerment. You now have resources at your disposal at an unprecedented level when you engage the services of an exclusive buyers' agent. Note: the term exclusive is most important. As a buyer, your purchase prospects should be unlimited -- don't accept anything less. An exclusive buyers' agent will make available properties for sale by owner and even properties that may not be listed for sale. You didn't know that? Neither did we, but now we know that an agency's listings, or even those in the local Multiple Listing Service are not a complete presentation of what is really on the market!For example, as a seller, you employ a real estate agent to help you sell your property; as the employer, you determine the level of service to be provided by your employee, as well as the fee you agree to pay for those services. Ray Wilson advises you on how to select a real estate agent to represent your interests -- and gives you information that empowers you as an employer, with practical advice on defining your service expectations. Insight into avoiding traps set up by the traditional commission set up in favor of listing agents is invaluable -- this is where you really can save by understanding details seldom revealed to sellers or buyers. This book is highly recommended by the webmasters of pru-florida.com -- Prudent Florida Home Buyers and Sellers, the realty web site for consumers.

Move over, Ralph Nader. A new consumer champion is here!

If you're about to buy a house you should read this book even before you start looking for open houses. This is the first book I have ever seen that lays it on the line about how Realtors work and what agency means.

Bought, Not Sold for both consumers and R.E. practitioners

Ray Wilson has brought reality to the homebuying consumer in Bought, Not Sold. He has sifted through the traditional practice of real estate, emphacizing the benefits, while pointing out the pitfalls. He gives specific direction to the homebuyer, from choosing a real estate professional through the actual process of purchasing a property. In addition, the information is a wake-up call to real estate professionals, who will have to be prepared to perform at top level for the educated homebuyers who have read this book. About time!

A MUST READ for anyone about to buy a home. Wow!

I read this with a jaundiced eye as someone in the "business" as a consumer advocate and was quite favorably impressed. The author takes great pains to explain the pitfalls of the homebuying process as it exists today, and some of the explanations of technical terms are quite excellent. His in-depth explanation of the difference between the types of real estate agents is critical to understanding their motivations and loyalties, something directly related to what the homebuyer will eventually pay for their new home. It occurred to me that most buyers never find out what the wrong decision actually cost them, as the seller's agent has a duty to keep that information "confidential".With the largest financial decision of most people's lives before them, a book like this is invaluable in understanding the home buying process and how to avoid incredibly costly mistakes. Most folks unwittingly place their trust in the agent who represents their "opponent" in the home buying process, the seller. The author explains why that is usually a very costly mistake, and how to find the right agent to represent them.I think education about the homebuying process is a key element in one's overall financial security. The numbers the author is speaking of here are substantial, running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, so mistakes can be very costly indeed. It's quite ironic to me that most folks will research and question a $100 purchase, and get financial advice for a $1,000 stock or mutual fund purchase, yet go blithely down the garden path with a loyal ally of their opponent, the seller of the home, on a $150,000 purchase. Why would you trust someone who's job it is to get the highest and best price for the seller? An excellent question!This book goes a long way to ensure you get the education you need to make the right decisions.Highly recommended!