Course Credits:

• Required course for the ABR® Designation

• The ABR® Designation counts as two electives to be applied towards the RSPS Certification.

Duration: 2 Days

Format: Classroom, Online

Course Objective

The overall goals of the Accredited Buyer's Representative(ABR®) Designation course are to:

• Prepare real estate professionals to represent buyer-clients in real estate transactions and provide the quality of service and degree of fidelity to buyers that sellers have customarily enjoyed.
• Offer ideas and methods for building a buyer representation business.
• Develop a self-customized tool for conducting a buyer counseling session.

Upon completion of the two-day course and successfully passing the exam, you will have achieved ABR® candidate status, a three-year period during which you must fulfill the educational and experiential requirements to earn the Accredited Buyer's Representative (ABR®) Designation awarded by the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council, Inc.

Course Outline

Chapter 1: Forward

• About The Real Estate BUYER'S AGENT Council, Inc.
• REBAC Membership Benefits
• The ABR® Designation: A Market Distinction
• ABR® Benefits
• New Designees
• Take up to 3 Years To Complete Requirements
• When Can You Start Using the ABR® Designation?
• FAQs about the ABR® and ABRM® designations?
• Course Goals
• Learning Objectives
  

Chapter 2: Agency Relationships

• What is Buyer Representation?
• Evolution of Buyer Representation
  1. Elimination of subagency
  2. Vicarious liability
  3. NAR policy changes
  4. Buyer Representation Trends
• Parties in a Real Estate Transaction
• Types of Relationships
  1. Single agent
  2. Dual and designated agency
  3. Facilitator and transaction broker
  4. Finder
• Office Policy

Chapter 3: Creating an Agency Relationship

• How Relationships Are Formed
  1. Express agreements: Written and Oral
  2. Implied agreement
• Agency Disclosure
  1. Timely
  2. Meaningful
  3. Written
• How We Work With Buyers
• Advantages of Buyer Representation
  1. For the buyer
  2. For the seller
  3. For the buyer's representative
  4. For Sale By Owner (FSBO) properties E. Buyer Representation Issues
• When Agency Relationships Change
• Compensation

Chapter 4: Client and Customer Relationships

• Fiduciary Duties to Clients and Customers
  1. Responsibilities to a client
  2. Responsibilities to a customer
• What is Reasonable Care and Diligence?
• Controversy
• Agency Conflicts
  1. Imputed knowledge
  2. Imputed notice
  3. Vicarious liability
• Recognizing Conflicts of Interest in Fiduciary Relationships
  1. Single agency
  2. Disclosed dual agency
• Limiting Scope of Services
• Penalties for Breach of Fiduciary Duties

Chapter 5: Buyer Service

• Services Buyers and Sellers Want
• Buyer Services Provided in a Real Estate Transaction
• Needs Assessment
  1. Needs assessment with a buyer-client
  2. Needs assessment with a buyer-customer
• Property Selection
  1. Needs assessment with a buyer-client
  2. Needs assessment with a buyer-customer
     
• Viewing Properties
  1. Needs assessment with a buyer-client
  2. Needs assessment with a buyer-customer
     
• Negotiating the Purchase and Sales Agreemen
  1. Needs assessment with a buyer-client
  2. Needs assessment with a buyer-customer
• Follow-through After the Purchase Agreement
  1. Needs assessment with a buyer-client
  2. Needs assessment with a buyer-customer
• Providing Lists of Other Professionals
• Finding Properties
  1. Resources to find properties
• Working with FSBOs
• Foreclosures
• New Home Construction
• Risk Reduction and Management
• Subprime, Predatory, and High Risk Lending: What Buyer's Representatives Need to Know
  1. Subprime loans
  2. Mortgage fraud
  3. Predatory lending
  4. Why are buyers attracted to these loans?
     
• Non-traditional Loan Programs
  1. Choosing the right loan
  2. Interest-only loans
  3. Buydown mortgage
  4. Graduated payment mortgage (GPM)
• Adjustable Rate Mortgages
  1. Convertible ARM
  2. Fixed-period ARM
  3. Two-step mortgage
  4. Option adjustable rate mortgage (Option ARM)
     
• Fair Housing and the Buyer's Representative
  1. Which law prevails?
  2. Statement of fair housing policy
  3. Fair Housing Self-Assessment Questionnaire

Chapter 6: The Buyer Counseling Session

• Goals of a Counseling Session
• Conducting a Buyer Counseling Session
  1. Prepare a presentation packet
  2. Build rapport with the buyer
  3. Disclose agency obligations
  4. Determine previous home search efforts
  5. Perform a needs assessment
  6. Determine the buyer's price range
  7. Determine the level of motivation
  8. Discuss financing with the buyer
  9. Determine if you want to represent the buyer and if the buyer wants client or customer level service
  10. Explain the advantages of buyer representation
  11. Obtain commitment
  12. Review the buyer representation agreement
  13. Provide client-level services
• Modes of Compensation
• Relocation Buyers
  1. After-the-fact referral fees
• Buyers to Avoid
  1. Unmotivated buyers
  2. Unqualified buyers
  3. Buyers with unrealistic expectations
  4. Buyers whose actions create a conflict of interest
  5. Under no circumstances represent buyers who expect you to perform unlawful acts

Chapter 7: Offers and Negotiation

• Creating an Offer
• Preparing the Buyer
• Protecting the Buyer's Interests
• Working Toward a Purchase Contract
  1. Present your client's offer
  2. Create a friendly atmosphere
  3. Explain the offer
  4. After the offer has been presented
• Adhering to the REALTOR® Code of Ethics
• Handling Multiple Offers
• When You Cannot Present an Offer
• Negotiation "Know-How"
• Strategies for Buyers' or Sellers' Markets
• Identify the Buyer's Objectives
• Plan a Negotiation Strategy
• Assess the Big Picture
• Follow-Through

Chapter 8: Building Your Buyer Representation Business

• Developing a Personal Marketing Plan
• Finding Qualified Buyers
• Reaching Out to Potential Clients
  1. Develop a presentation package
  2. Author articles for newspapers and magazine
  3. Create a newsletter
  4. Consult with a publicist
  5. Conduct telemarketing
  6. Market to new and relocating companies
  7. Develop relationships with property management firms
  8. Present home buying seminars
• Ramp Up Your Web Site
• Use your ABR® as a Marketing Edge Ethics
• Marketing Support for REBAC Members
  1. REBAC national consumer marketing
  2. Marketing tools for the buyer's representative
  3. Find a Buyer's Representative Referral Network
• Next Steps
  1. Complete one ABR® Designation elective course
  2. Document five transactions
  3. Maintain REBAC membership

Chapter 9: Exam