AVONDALE AZ -- As fewer transactions are split up between a relatively fixed number of real estate agents, those agents are using whatever tools they can to hold on to home buyers, in some cases against the buyer's will. One of those "tools" is an outdated industry secret called "procuring cause," and it is frustrating many of today's home buyers according to the home buying specialists at the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA).

Procuring cause is an industry term that describes the ability of any agent who showed a buyer a home to claim that they should be paid if the buyer eventually wants to buy that home.

Many buyers get "married" to agents who show them a property without ever knowing it. Charlie and Meg Bear, of Acton, Massachusetts are like many buyers in today's market. When they started house-hunting, they went to the Internet. Click...they found a house to see; click...they sent a request to the listing agent. At the second house they saw this way, the agent who showed them the house disclosed that he was a "buyer's agent." He was the husband of the listing agent. Charlie did not want a buyer's agent who was married to the listing agent. “This disclosure is not a contract” was clearly on the form. Meg signed the form; Charlie did not.

Time went by. Charlie and Meg hired Connie LeDuc of Authentic Home Buyers Brokers in Southborough, MA. When they eventually decided to make an offer on that home they saw through the Internet, confusion reigned. The "buyer's agent" did not want Connie to represent Charlie and Meg on his wife's listing. The listing agent, his wife, was all for getting this home sold to the Bears, but her husband insisted that he was their "buyer's agent." After much negotiation between the brokers, the Bears bought their new home.

“Potential homebuyers who attend open houses or view properties with the listing agent, or a licensee working for the listing agency, may forfeit their opportunity to have full representation,” said John Sullivan, President of NAEBA . “To have 100% representation 100% of the time, homebuyers should have a written agreement with an exclusive buyer’s agent that spells out the duties and obligations of both parties before looking at any home.”

What did Charlie and Meg Bear learn from their experience? "People like us don't know they should find their agent before they find their house," says Charlie.

The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents was founded in 1995 to help consumers become educated home buyers. NAEBA is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to be the “champions of real estate buyers’ rights and representation.” NAEBA offers industry standard certifications, ongoing education, client referral services, technology, and information sharing. The NAEBA Code of Ethics pledges undivided loyalty to real estate buyers only. For the name of an Exclusive Buyer's Agent in your area, visit www.naeba.org.