Interested in buying a condo in a new Boston condo development? Have you considered working with a Buyer’s Agent, or do you want to buy directly from the development’s sales center staff (i.e. the seller)? You should think twice before moving forward without a Buyer’s Agent representing you exclusively.
If you’re a real estate agent yourself, or a professional real estate investor, it might very well make sense to “go it alone” when buying into a new condo development, but for the majority of the buying public, it’s wise to leverage a Buyer’s Agent not associated with the development’s sales center.
Why would you want to do this? Let’s look at some of the reasons why using an exclusive Buyer’s Agent is something that you should seriously consider.
- The price you pay is the same if you are buying a condo with Buyer’s Agent representation or through the sales center. It is oftentimes misunderstood that you will get a better price buying directly from the sales center without a Buyer’s Agent present – this is almost never the case since developers want to create a win-win relationship with the thousands of Buyer’s Agents and their clients across the city.
- Having an independent Buyer’s Agent (not directly affiliated with the condo development like someone from the sales center staff) protects you from being pressured into any one particular condominium project. Remember, the sales center staff are employed by the project developer and are compensated for selling only units from their development. An independent Buyer’s Agent, on the other hand, gets paid (not by you, but by the Seller) regardless of which development you buy, thus, advice and analysis of the entire market, including other developments, will be more objective.
- A Buyer’s Agent can assist in a lot of the legwork before you make your decision. Buyer’s Agents answer questions like what’s a fair price per square foot for this area and comparable quality, what do comparable condos now on the market look like, what new listings are on the horizon, is this a building all the agents are talking about as an investment for themselves, how would this specific unit and layout appeal to future buyers, etc.
- A Buyer’s Agent is also a project manager. Buyer’s Agents work on your behalf, representing your best interests exclusively, throughout the entire buying process.
All this sounds too good to be true, right? What’s the catch for the Buyer, how is the Buyer’s Agent getting paid for their work? The answer to this is simple; the Seller/Developer pays the Buyer’s Agent. When a Listing Agent (the party responsible for representing the Seller/Developer in marketing the condo development) takes the listing, the Listing Agent and the Seller agree upon an overall transaction commission, which includes payment for the Listing Agent’s services, as well as those of the Buyer’s Agent. That’s right, a Buyer does not pay any out of pocket expenses to have an expert exclusively represent them.
This all makes sense you say, so who do you work with? Boston Condo Guy is looked at and respected in the Boston real estate market as one of the top information sources for downtown condos and condo developments. Boston Condo Guy is recognized by not only Buyers and Sellers as a great information source, but Agents, Brokers, and Developers come to Boston Condo Guy to find out the latest information about the Boston condo market – this speaks volumes. Boston Condo Guy is a leader in online technology, and provides professional representation throughout the entire buying process. Learn more about Boston Condo Guy.
Keith Munsell 
This is great advice. I think too often buyer’s don’t understand how much benefit they get from having representation. In Boston, it seems like it would be foolhardy at best to buy a condo without such advice and expertise.
This is a great post, although as a Boston Buyer’s Agent I am frustrated by many sales agents who are telling clients to get rid of their buyer’s agent if they want a discount off the list price. 285 Columbus Lofts has now told two of my buyers this.
I definately agree that you should use an agent, but make sure you interview agents before having them represent you. My husband and I lost out on a house because our agent was trying to get our closing costs paid for by the builder (even though we made it clear that we didn’t mind paying them, we just wanted the house). The builder’s agent warned that the builder probably wouldn’t go for that, but our obnoxious agent insisted it be written in the offer. Well, the house was sold to another buyer, and we eventually found another house (along with another agent to represent us), but since then we make sure to interview agents. We moved to a different state a few years ago and interviewed 4 agents. The buying experience was so much better!