I worked with Josh Ortiz (at Vivre) as a buyer, and he was just awesome. He knows the SF market and its dynamics backwards and forwards, and provided expert guidance and great advice at every step along the way. He gave me a very early heads up about the property which I ended up buying, knowing it would be a great fit for me, so that I was the first person to contact the selling agent. He gave me great advice on pricing and negotiating strategy, communicated seamlessly with the seller, and got me the property that I wanted (and his prediction of the final selling price after a bit of a bidding war was very accurate). Besides being a consummate and very effective pro, Josh is super laid back and easy going, very pleasant to work with, and this helped me deal with all of the stress and anxiety...
Home buyer or seller, there are similarities when it comes to choosing a San Francisco real estate agent. You probably want someone with experience in the local San Francisco real estate market. You want someone full time and professional. You want someone with a strong track record. You want an agent you can trust. You want someone who has great connections with other agents and can get you intel on what’s coming soon. You want someone who can weed through the listings for you to find the best match for your needs and save you time. You definitely want a solid negotiator and someone who is organized and can oversee the entire process. And last but not least, you want someone you click with.
Who you hire as your buyer agent matters. It will impact how much advice, insider access, and information you’ll receive. It will impact your bottom line and ability to negotiate the best price and terms for the home you want.
Our team uses a Buyer Broker Agreement to formalize our relationship. It means that you are committed to buying a home and that you are committed to working with us. It does not mean you have to buy a home. Rather, it means that you want to and are serious about it. It also establishes a fiduciary duty to put your interests above all others, including our own.
How do we get paid?
Many agents like to say that as a Buyer you don’t pay for the commission. “It’s free!” Well, that is not exactly true. You are paying for the buyer side commission, but it’s baked into the sales price and does not come directly out of your pocket. 99.9% of the time, the Seller pays both the Listing Agent and Buyer Agent commissions from their proceeds at the close of escrow. If for some reason that’s not the case for a particular home, then you would know about it immediately and the cost of the commission would be factored into the negotiations.
