Published On: December 15, 2025|Categories: Buyer Advice, Buyers, Home Buying|Tags: Boca Raton Florida, Buyer's Agent, Buyers, Buying a Condo, Buying a Home, Delray Beach FL, Tips|

This is a true story of why a buyer should never call the name on the sign.

Some years before Covid, I took a listing. Since there was nothing on the market at the time, we decided to list it at a high price. Photos were taken, the house was cleaned up and on the market it went.

I got a call from an agent who was local but out of town. Would I show it to her buyers? Of course, I would. But “would I promise not to steal her buyers?”

This goes back to before we had to use Buyer Broker Agreements but, anyone who knows me, knows I agreed.

THE BUYERS

So I met her buyers. I showed the house and spent about two hours with them. They were tired and asked if they could sit for a few minutes. We sat down at the dining room table.

They told me they liked the house very much, and asked how much could they get it for. They were fishing for a number.

I told them they would have to speak to their agent. I was not their agent in this transaction. I was working for the seller in this transaction and, unfortunately, I could not answer their question.

They kept trying to prod me into giving them a number, which I was clearly not going to do.

My job was to get the seller the highest price possible.

So they finally left.

WHAT I KNOW BUT COULD NOT SHARE AS A LISTING AGENT

Now, I knew they could buy this home for considerably less than it was listed for.

But because I was working for the seller, I was not able to share this information with them.

Had I been their buyer’s agent, I absolutely would have pulled the comps, which would have shown nothing had closed anywhere near this price, and we would have discussed and come up with an offer.

THE OFFER

The next thing I know – I received a full-price cash offer along with all sorts of company documents.

Naturally, my seller accepted the offer and signed asap. Why wouldn’t she? It was far more money than she was expecting. It was cash. There was no appraisal. It was a no-brainer for her.

THE INSPECTION

The buyer’s agent came back to Boca Raton for the inspection. When she saw it was a two-story townhouse with the primary bedroom down, she told the buyer, “Oh, you can always install an elevator.” Easy to say. It just costs money!

THE CLOSING

This was the best part.

Although the contract was written as cash, buyers decided to take a mortgage. There are just no contingencies as far as the seller is concerned.

Now this goes back to when we still had closings in the office, but buyers and sellers signed separately.

Buyers were signing, the door was closed, and there were loud voices and yelling coming from the conference room.

What happened was that when the buyers took the mortgage, the house didn’t appraise. It came in $ 30,000 too low, which the buyers had to make up the difference in cash.

How could it appraise when we overpriced it to begin with?

Obviously, this buyer’s agent didn’t do her job.

BUT –

But the fact remains that if they had come to me WITHOUT an agent, I would only be able to hand them the comparable sales – in other words, the closed sales. I could discuss the sales or strategize an offer with the buyers, because I am working for the seller.

Does that make sense?

So if the buyers choose to overpay, well, then, so be it.

And that’s just one example of Why Calling The Listing Agent Could Cost You Thousands.

CALL A BUYER’S AGENT TO SEE THE HOUSE IN THE AD

In Florida, the listing agent is wearing two very different hats when you call them directly.

The first hat belongs to their client, the seller—the person who hired and pays them, meaning their primary goal is getting the highest possible price.

The second hat is the Transaction Broker that the law defaults them into when they deal with you, the buyer. This second hat requires the agent to be a neutral facilitator of the deal, but it explicitly comes with NO DUTY OF LOYALTY to you.

By calling the listing agent, you lost the chance to hire a buyer’s agent whose job is to work for you and have your best interests at heart and confidential. In short: The listing agent’s lack of loyalty to you is the “hidden fee” that allows you to negotiate against yourself—and it can cost you thousands.

For more information about pet-friendly housing in Boca Raton FL or the surrounding areas and Boca Raton Real Estate, please contact me. I am a Boca Raton Real Estate Agent. I can be reached at (561) 716-7824, by text or email at Elyse@ElyseBerman.com

PS – I also work with people who have no pets. It’s my pleasure to do so. And I work the surrounding areas of Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and Highland Beach.

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