Won’t I have to pay extra money to have a buyer representative?
That is very unlikely. Though the agreement you will sign will obligate you to pay a fee equal to a percentage of the purchase price, the amount you will owe will be reduced by the portion of the seller’s commission paid to the agent who brings the buyer to the transaction. Statistics show that in over 95% of transactions involving buyer representatives, this covers the amount the buyer would owe. In any event, you should consider how much money you might save from the Top Ten Reasons You Need a Buyer Representative.

Won’t the agent get paid twice—once by me and once by the seller?
No. The commission paid by the seller offsets whatever is owed to the buyer representative by the buyer.

Can I work with more than one buyer representative?
No, by its nature, the buyer representation agreement denotes an exclusive commitment.

How long does this agreement last?
The term will be mutually agreed upon when entering into the agreement. They can be any length from a day to a decade, but a typical agreement lasts for six months.

I signed something when I started looking at houses with a real estate agent. Does that mean he is my buyer representative?
Almost definitely not. What you signed was more than likely the Agency Disclosure Agreement, where you probably acknowledged that you understood that he was working on behalf of the seller.

But I have spent six different days looking at houses with this salesman and he is giving me a lot of the services discussed in the Top Ten Reasons above. Shouldn’t I just keep using him, since I’m getting the services without the possibility of paying any fee?
No. While this commonly occurs when buyers spend time with salespeople, the fact of the matter is that he is breaking the law (the legal term is "undisclosed dual agency”). If the seller were to find out and decides that this agent did not act in his or her best interests, there is a possibility of litigation. Your new house could end up in the middle of this and you could even be called as a witness at trial. Given all the benefits of having a legitimate buyer representative, this is definitely a situation where it makes sense to go by the book.

Does our agreement have to be in writing?
Yes, the written agreement is to everyone’s benefit, so there will never be any misunderstandings.

What if I end up buying a For Sale By Owner house? Won’t I have to pay the fee then since the seller isn’t paying a commission?
Perhaps, but not necessarily. In these transactions, the fee you would owe is often made as a contingency of the offer to the seller. Since these sellers are not paying a commission, they are often amenable to negotiations such as these. In addition, statistics show that these houses sell for less than those listed by real estate brokers, so you would probably be saving money compared to what you would pay for the same house listed by a broker. And of course, you must consider all advantages in the Top Ten Reasons above.