As a prospective Buyer of your first home, or fifth home for that matter, you should be aware that in many cases the Sales Representative showing you a property is actually representing the Seller. This means that they are legally obligated to pass any information along to the sellers which you provide to them...information which could dramatically and adversely impact your ability to be represented fairly.

Working with a Buyer’s Representative to buy your first home eliminates any conflict of interest as the specialist works only to represent your needs. As well as providing dedicated representation, the Buyers Representative invests substantial time and effort in locating your dream home.

A large part of the Buyer’s Representative’s work is performed “behind the scenes” previewing homes, researching comparable sales, gaining market knowledge, evaluating changing legislations and maintaining professional credentials.

In return for the dedicated work that a Buyer’s Representative provides for you, the client, all they ask for is your loyalty and commitment to them. This will give the agent the security in knowing that they will be paid for their time. Remember that the Buyer Representative that is representing you will be investing considerable more time with you than a specialist who is just simply showing you homes.

Having a Buyer’s Representative will enable you to be represented professionally. They will not only help you find a home, but also guide you and make you feel comfortable with every decision you make along the way.

And Best of All, these services are free of charge to you!

In my opinion one of the best things a serious real estate investor can do is to develop a strong relationship with a good buyer's agent who will represent that investor in all or most of their real estate purchases in a given market area. There are five basic benefits to investors from consistently working with he same buyer's agent:

1. Market knowledge - Working consistently with a buyer's agent who understands the market in which you're investing can provide valuable insight into the day-to-day developments in that market. Even investors who themselves are very knowledgeable about the market can benefit from a buyer's agent's second opinion and on-the-ground perspective.

2. Single Point of Contact - For investors with multiple properties in their investment pipeline at any given time working with a buyer's agent provides a single point of contact for all their transactions. Instead of spending all day following up on dozens of different leads and transactions investors can shift that responsibility to their buyer's agent, freeing up time to focus on other issues such as property management, raising capital, or just enjoying the returns from their investments. Having a single point of contact also means that you, as an investor, don't have to manage the egos and eccentricities of multiple agents, just one.

3. Pre-Screened Deals - By working with any buyer's agent investors ensure that they will receive a steady flow of investment property leads. By working with a good buyer's agent on a consistent basis investors can expect to receive pre-screened leads that really make sense for them. The better your relationship with your buyer's agent the better they will understand what does and doesn't work for you and the less time you will waste looking at dead-end leads.

4. Transactional Efficiency - Consistently working with a buyer's agent can make your investment transactions much more efficient. By working with the same agent on many deals you can streamline the process of viewing properties, making offers, completing due diligence, and closing sales. This saves you time and avoids the mistakes associated with learning to work with a new agent on every deal.

5. First-Look Advantage - Finally, working with a buyer's agent may provide investors with what I call the "First-Look Advantage." This means that if you establish yourself as a go-to buyer for an agent, that agent will consistently show you properties first, before other clients or the general market sees them. This can allow you, as an investor, to scoop up deals with less competition from other buyers.

from Activerain website: James Yoakum