buyer-consultation-builder

Disclaimer: Buyer representation agreement requirements, agency disclosure obligations, and compensation rules vary significantly by state and have been evolving following the NAR settlement (effective August 2024). This skill provides a professional framework — it is not legal advice. Always verify current requirements with your broker, your state's real estate commission, and a licensed real estate attorney. Compensation must be disclosed in writing per current NAR settlement requirements and state law. Do not present any agency agreement to a client without your broker's review.

Buyer Consultation Builder

STEP 0: PREFERENCES

Check memory for saved agent preferences first.

mcp__cloud-brain__search_notes: "real-estate-agent-pro preferences"

If preferences found: Display and confirm — "Using: [Agent Name], [Brokerage], [Market]. Proceed or update?"

If not found: Run the setup interview below, then save:

mcp__cloud-brain__write_note:
  path: brain/preferences/real-estate-agent-pro-preferences.md
  content: |
    # Real Estate Agent Pro — Preferences
    Agent: [name]
    Brokerage: [brokerage]
    Market: [market]
    Preferred Lender: [lender-name, phone]
    Default Rep Agreement Duration: [duration]
    Buyer Agent Compensation: [fee structure]
    Updated: [date]

Setup interview questions:

1. Your full name?
2. Brokerage name?
3. Primary market / city?
4. Preferred lender partner (name, phone) — optional?
5. Default buyer rep agreement duration (e.g., 90 days, 6 months)?
6. Your typical buyer agent compensation / fee structure?

Show a preferences banner at the top of every output:

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Agent: [Name] | [Brokerage] | [Market]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

---

What This Does

Generate a complete, professional buyer consultation package from basic buyer info. Post-NAR settlement (Dec 2024+), buyer representation agreements are now critical — agents must explicitly sign buyers and explain compensation. This skill automates the entire first meeting: personalized welcome, market snapshot, buying timeline, agency agreement explainer, process walkthrough, pre-approval checklist, and discovery questions.

What You Need

Provide buyer information:

• Buyer name(s) and contact info
• Pre-approval status + approximate budget (or range)
• Target location(s) (neighborhood, city, zip)
• Home preferences (beds/baths, type, must-haves)
• Timeline (moving in 60 days? 6 months? open-ended?)
• Current situation (renting, own home to sell, relocating, first-time buyer)
• How they found you (referral, online, open house, etc.)

Output: Your Full Consultation Package

1. Personalized Welcome + Agenda

A warm, professional opening that addresses the buyer by name, acknowledges their unique situation (renting, relocation, first-timer), and outlines the meeting agenda. Sets a collaborative tone. Auto-signed with agent name and brokerage from preferences.

2. Local Market Snapshot

Ready-to-fill template covering:

• Current inventory levels (# active listings)
• Average days on market (market velocity)
• List-to-sale price ratio (are homes selling above/below ask?)
• Recent price appreciation trend (6-month, 1-year)
• Buyer's vs seller's market indicator
• Guidance on WHERE to pull this data (your local MLS, CAR/NAR reports, Zillow, REALTOR.com)

This section educates buyers on why timing and strategy matter in today's market.

3. The Buying Process Timeline

A clear, visual step-by-step journey from pre-approval to keys:

Pre-Approval → Search → Offer → Under Contract → Inspection →
Appraisal → Final Walk-Through → Close → Keys

Each stage includes realistic timeframes (e.g., "Search: 2-8 weeks depending on market"). Buyers see the full road ahead and understand where they are at any point.

4. Agency Agreement Explainer (Post-NAR Context)

Plain-English explanation of the Buyer Representation Agreement:

What it is: A contract stating you represent the buyer's interests exclusively for a defined time period (usually [rep agreement duration from preferences]).

Why it exists (post-NAR settlement): The National Association of REALTORS settled antitrust claims in Nov 2024. The old MLS commission rule (showing compensation) is gone. Now agents must have signed buyer rep agreements and explicitly discuss compensation before showing homes. This protects both agent and buyer.

What it means for the buyer:

• You have a fiduciary (legal) duty to act in their best interest
• You won't show them properties where you have a conflict
• You'll negotiate on their behalf
• You keep their information confidential

How compensation works:

• Seller typically pays commission (split between listing agent and buyer's agent) — this hasn't changed
• If buyer chooses to work with a property discount site or FSBO, they may need to negotiate their own fee
• Buyer's agent fee is typically disclosed by seller's agent or negotiated in the offer

Common Objections (Pre-Answered):

• "What if I find a house on my own?" → If you find it while we're working together, the agreement covers it. If you cancel and find it 6 months later on your own, it doesn't.
• "What if I want to fire you?" → You can end anytime, but the agreement may include an early termination clause. Discuss.
• "Do I have to pay you?" → No, seller typically does. If buying FSBO or short-sale, we'll discuss upfront.

5. How We'll Work Together

Your process overview — auto-populated with agent name, brokerage, and preferred lender from preferences:

• Communication: How often you'll touch base (weekly calls? texts when new listings drop?)
• Listings: How you send opportunities (email, text, MLS alert link, private showings?)
• Offer Speed: Your commitment to moving fast ("I review offers within 2 hours", "We submit within 24 hours")
• What You Need: Clear expectations (pre-approval letter, signed rep agreement, loan pre-quals, ID, proof of funds if cash buyer)
• Market Intelligence: You'll keep them updated on neighborhood trends, sold comps, rate moves

6. Mortgage Pre-Approval Checklist

If buyer isn't pre-approved yet, provide a checklist to gather:

• Last 2 years W-2s
• Last 2 months pay stubs
• Last 2 months bank statements (all accounts)
• Copy of ID (driver's license or passport)
• Employment verification letter or recent offer letter
• Explanation letter for any credit issues or employment gaps
• (Optional) Proof of funds if closing with cash

Lender suggestions: "Shop with 2-3 lenders to compare rates and fees. Consider your bank, credit union, and a mortgage broker. Pre-approval is free and takes 3-5 business days." Preferred lender from preferences auto-referenced here.

7. Discovery Questions for You to Ask

Use these to uncover true motivation, urgency, and deal-breakers:

Timeline & Urgency:

• When do you ideally want to move in?
• Is there a hard deadline (job start, school year, lease end)?
• Would you rent for 3 months if the perfect house needs 60 days?

Motivation:

• What's driving the move now?
• Are you growing a family, downsizing, relocating for work, upgrading?
• What does your ideal home look like?

Deal-Breakers:

• What's a must-have vs. nice-to-have?
• Any neighborhoods you absolutely won't consider?
• How far from work/family do you want to be?
• Commute time tolerance?

Emotional Drivers:

• Is this your first home, or have you bought before?
• How are you feeling about the buying process?
• Any concerns or anxieties I should know about?

Offer Strategy:

• How aggressive would you be in a bidding war?
• Any inspection contingencies non-negotiable for you?
• Would you consider a subject-to-inspection-waiver for the right home?

---

Why This Matters Post-NAR Settlement

Before December 2024, buyer rep was implicit and compensation was MLS-visible. Now:

• Explicit agreements required — avoid liability, set expectations
• Transparency demanded — you must discuss compensation upfront
• Professional positioning critical — formal consultations differentiate you from discount agents
• Buyer education essential — many buyers don't understand the new market rules

A polished, thorough buyer consultation shows you're professional, knowledgeable, and acting in their interest. It converts prospects to signed buyers and reduces friction down the road.

---

How to Use This Output

1. Print or share the consultation package with your buyer before or at the first meeting
2. Customize the Local Market Snapshot with your latest MLS data
3. Walk through the timeline to reset expectations and reduce surprise at closing
4. Have the buyer sign the rep agreement during the meeting (if they're ready)
5. Keep the discovery questions handy — they're your roadmap for uncovering their true needs
6. Follow up with a polished PDF version and any next steps (loan pre-qual, scheduling showings)

This turns a casual "let's grab coffee" into a formal, professional buyer onboarding that protects you and sets your buyers up for success.