What Buyers Need to Know Before Touring Homes This Summer

By Vicki Schamel

Has been a dedicated Realtor for over 30 years. She first entered real estate to balance work and raising her two young daughters, but it soon grew into a lifelong passion.

With school out and summer in full swing, now’s a great time for families to explore the housing market. But if you’re a buyer, there’s something important you should know before you start scheduling showings.

There’s a recent change from the National Association of Realtors due to a legal settlement, and it means that you’ll need to sign some documents before you can even step into a home.

What do you need to sign? First, you’ll need to have signed a Buyer Representation Agreement with your agent. This can be a general buyer representation agreement, typically covering a time frame like 30 to 90 days, or even an agreement specific to one property. Regardless of the format, these documents must be signed before any showings can be scheduled.

Why is this a good thing? This might feel like extra red tape, but signing a contract brings clarity and transparency to the buyer-agent relationship. You’ll know exactly who’s representing you, what their responsibilities are, and how they’ll be compensated.

We’ve been following this practice for about a year now, and we’ve seen it shift the way buyers engage with the home search process. It encourages more thoughtful interviews with agents and helps everyone align on expectations from the start. Some of us were unsure about it in the beginning, but we’ve come to see the upside: better service, more trust, and a smoother experience for you.

If you’re planning to buy this summer, reach out, and we’ll walk you through what these agreements look like. They’re just a few pages long and packed with useful information to guide your decision-making.

Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make. Let’s start it off right. Please call me at (607) 795-2904 or vickischamel@kw.com, and I’ll be happy to assist you.