The Association of Property Finders and Buyers Agents is launching a major initiative with its members and partners to promote professional representation for property buyers in the UK and to raise the awareness amongst consumers of the benefits of using buyers agents.
Buyers agents (also known as property finders, relocation agents or property search agents) act on behalf of a buyer and not the seller in the property purchase transaction.
Whilst Estate Agents represent the seller of the property and are contracted by the vendor to get the highest sale price for the property, Buyers agents act on behalf of the buyer and specialise in searching, evaluating and negotiating the best possible price on behalf of the buyer.
Buyers Agents have been operating in the UK since the mid 80s but have mainly been the preserve of the wealthy looking for million pound-plus country homes. According to The Observer (source Wikipedia) only 1% of UK property buyers currently use buyers agents whilst in the USA around 63% of homes are bought using Buyers Agents. Regulations have long been in place in the USA to protect the buyer and eliminate the conflict of interest, which exists when one firm attempts to represent both buyer and seller in the same transaction.
For UK homebuyers there are no such regulations and estate agents have acted as the intermediary between vendors and buyers. This has resulted in the buyer being severely disadvantaged when it comes to the negotiation stage as the estate agent is paid by the vendor to get the best price for the property, and most buyers have not had their own ‘buyers’ agent to negotiate the lowest price they could achieve on behalf of them. Also, many buying decisions are ruled by the heart and not the head, and estate agents have been able to capitalise on this fact for the benefit of their vendors.
Without a Buyers Agent working for them buyers have no way of gauging whether the asking price set by the estate agent is realistic and what level of offer would be reasonable in the current market. What has made matters worse in the falling market is that the estate agent’s valuations have been proved consistently wrong as prices have kept falling. Without anyone to advise them and negotiate for them buyers have lacked the confidence to make offers in case ‘either the offer is deemed too low and they risk upsetting the vendor and losing the property or they offer too much and risk the value dropping further afterwards and the possibility of being in negative equity.
The APFBA believe that these problems and the lack of homebuyer confidence can be resolved by making a buyers agent service available for everyone in the UK, just as it has been in the USA and Australia for many years.
Professional Representation is now available for more UK Property Buyers
Since the formation of the APFBA in October 2008, over 100 Buyers Agents have signed up as members to promote their services to UK property buyers and many of these agents are now taking on searches for properties valued at under £500,000.
New Buyers Agent companies are being established throughout the UK and we are actively recruiting and supporting new members so that soon a Buyers Agent service will be available nationwide for everyone, at any level of house value they plan to purchase. The APFBA insists that agents adhere to a strict code of practice when working exclusively for property buyers to give homebuyers peace of mind.
We believe that a greater awareness of the role of Buyer Agents and better clarity of the role of estate agents will help create a more stable UK property market and restore homebuyer confidence. A Buyers Agent can provide you with all the knowledge you need to make an informed decision about the value of a property without all of the sales “hype” often generated by estate agents and their glossy brochures.
Professional Advice Needed for Property Buyers
What is needed now, and I believe more than at any other time is a structure for professional advice for property buyers. This is why now is the right time to launch the Buyer Representation Initiative for UK Property Buyers. Says Tim Hammond, Chief Executive of the APFBA.
Buyers' Agents represent the Buyer
Buyers need representation in the deal, they need a professional agent to work for them and help them research, plan and negotiate on their property purchase. We all know that buying your home is likely to be the largest single purchase you will make in your lifetime, so why leave yourself exposed to the risks and consequences of buying privately and without any professionals backing your corner?
We are passionate in our belief that our clients' best interests can only be served when they are exclusively represented by an agent for buyers
You wouldn't fight a legal battle without a lawyer so why should you look to negotiate on your property purchase without a 'buyers agent' when the vendor has their own 'sellers agent'?
For more information on the Buyer Representation Initiative or to join the list of members or partners supporting the initiative please contact my office.
Support the initiative now
Provide property buyers throughout the UK with your support by joining the Buyer Representation initiative.
Simply register your name here
Tim Hammond
Chief Executive Officer
APFBA