Every state is a little different in the way a home purchase works. Some states are more hands off than others. Some state involve attorneys and others use title companies. Even the relationship you have with your broker may not be what you are used to. Many areas use different terms for the same process. Even if you have bought and sold multiple properties you can feel like a fish out of water if you aren’t familiar with a Colorado transaction.
Let’s start with the relationship with your broker. In Colorado your broker can be your Agent, either a Buyer’s Agent or a Seller’s Agent, they can be a Transaction Broker or you can just be a Customer, with no relationship. Unless the agent is already in a relationship with the other party, you and your agent are in a Transaction Broker relationship by default. That means they will facilitate what you want but may not take on your plight and do all they could. Their main objective is to put the sale together. You can choose to work with your broker in a Buyer or Seller Agent capacity instead of a Transaction Broker. That requires a signed contract and more of a commitment from both parties. The best way to explain the difference is with a sports analogy. A Transaction Broker is like the referee of a football game. Their job is to make sure both sides play fair and the game is completed. They have no interest in who wins the game, just that it happens. An Agent is like the coach of a team. That coach is doing what they can to help their team win the game. Their job is to do what is best for their team. The third way you can interact with your broker is as a Customer. That means the broker is working for the other party and has no obligation to you. Anything you tell the broker can be passed along to the party they are working for . A consumer should always know the type of relationship they have before disclosing much information about themselves and their motivations. A broker is required to disclose their relationships in relation to each consumer. Because this subject is somewhat hard to grasp, the conversation may not happen as early as it should.
It is our preference to work as your agent, doing everything we morally and ethically can to get you what you want.
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