Before You Buy: Questions to Ask a Sanibel Island Realtor

1. Before You Buy: Questions to Ask a Sanibel Island Realtor You have worked hard and you are finally ready to buy that special place on Sanibel. Please, be sure to do so with your eyes wide open. Ask Sanibel Island realtors the following seven important questions to find the realtor that’s best for you. 1. Who does your realtor represent? Most Sanibel Island realtors don’t represent the buyer! In many real estate transactions on Sanibel and throughout Florida, the real estate agent provides only a limited form of representation. These agents are transactional agents and they actually represent their broker, not the customer. 2. What information is the agent required to give you? An exclusive buyer agent is ethically committed to telling you everything they know about the property – including all known material defects, reports and rumors relative to your transaction. Their job is not to sell you one of their office’s listings, but rather to help you find the property that’s right for you – and get the best terms. 3. Can your Sanibel Island realtor keep a secret? When you are represented by an exclusive buyer agent, any information that you provide is never disclosed to the seller, their agent or anyone else. When working with a traditional real estate agent, this may not be the case, because of divided loyalties. 4. What are your realtor’s other duties to you? Sanibel Island realtors provide different types of representation. Ask them what type they will provide to you. If they are a transactional agent, meaning a realtor who takes listings, even though they may call themselves a buyer’s agent, they do not owe you loyalty or fiduciary responsibility as an exclusive buyer agent does. 5. Is your Sanibel Island realtor operating outside of their specialty? Is your realtor is offering advice on matters regarding surveys, laws or taxes? If so, ask to see their license in that field because it wasn’t part of their real estate license course. 6. What about other offers? Will your Sanibel Island realtor give you information about other offers that may have been made on the property? This could be important information to have and it is not necessarily guaranteed that it will be given to you. 7. Has your Realtor earned the designation of a Sanibel & Captiva Islands Specialist (SCIS)? Sanibel and Captiva Islands have different rules and issues from Fort Myers or Cape Coral. While anyone can call themselves an expert only Realtors who have taken the SCIS course have advanced education on island issues.