Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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!

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!

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.

Author describes the ultimate in real estate buying service. Hiring a real estate company to represent you the buyer instead of using an agent who drags you around to all of the "in house listings". The exclusive buyer agent works only for your best interest. You hire the agent to help you buy the best home, save money, and avoid surprises. Having bought three homes and using an Exclusive Buyer's Agent on our last home, I know from personal experience what a godsend this is. A true EBA tells the buyer everything. This is so popular now that almost all agents claim to be Buyer Agents, look for the company that does not represent sellers, hence "exclusive" buyer agents. All others try to get you to buy the in house listing and think you shouldn't mind their conflict of interest.

There is too litle written that takes a consumer/buyer point of view in the home buying process. This book and good support will save many buyers thousands of dollars.

This book is a great work on the inside on the real estate industry. The book tells what will happen in the future to the industry and why. I highly recomend this book to any realtors who plan on working for the next ten years.