For buyers
Buying blind in a new market is optional.
Relocations, second homes, investment and vacation properties: the same evidence-first process, pointed at the buyer's side — where the agent you pick determines what you see, what you offer, and what you sign.
When buyers use this
Relocating somewhere you know nobody
A new metro, no network, and every agent's website says the same thing. We source and vet candidates who actually work your target neighborhoods and price band — before you get adopted by whoever answered a portal inquiry first. Moving out of one home and into another? See selling and buying at the same time.
Second homes & vacation property
Tahoe, Napa, coastal North County: markets where permit rules, HOAs, and rental restrictions decide whether the home you buy can do what you're buying it for. The vetting weights that specialized knowledge — verified, not claimed.
Specialized purchases
New construction and builder contracts, condos with association complexity, 55+ communities, investment property. The right agent for these is rarely the same person as the neighborhood generalist — and the difference shows up in the contract you sign.
What we vet on the buyer's side
Not the seller scorecard with the labels swapped — six buyer-specific dimensions:
Buyer-side transaction record
Closed buyer sides in your target market and price band over the last 12–24 months — not listings, not "total volume." An agent who mostly lists homes negotiates against buyers for a living; you want one who wins for them.
Offer strategy & win rate, in context
How their buyers actually win: offers written vs. accepted, use of terms beyond price — inspection strategy, appraisal gaps, rent-backs — and whether wins came from paying the most or negotiating the best.
Property-type fluency
New construction and builder contracts, condos and association documents, vacation rentals and permit rules, acreage and wells — the specialized knowledge your purchase actually requires, verified with examples, not claimed.
The agreement they ask you to sign
Post-2024, every buyer signs a written agreement before touring. We compare each candidate's terms: the fee, the duration, exclusivity, cancellation rights — and flag anything longer or stickier than the market norm.
Team structure and access
Who shows you homes on a Tuesday night, who writes the 11pm offer, and who negotiates the counter — the agent you interviewed or a rotating buyer's assistant. We ask directly and verify with references.
References — recent buyers
Direct calls with buyers who closed recently in your segment: did the agent surface problems or gloss them, push to close or protect the walk-away, stay reachable after the offer was accepted?
When the assignment is a lot, a spec, or a rebuild
Vacant land, fire-rebuild parcels, and builder contracts change what the right agent looks like: parcel diligence and insurance bindability instead of comps and staging, builder-contract fluency instead of the standard purchase agreement, and first-visit registration rules that can lock out representation before you've decided anything. The six dimensions above still apply — eight more join them.
The assignment page: for lot & new-construction buyers. The published criteria: the Lot / Spec / Rebuild Addendum.
The fee reality for buyers in 2026
Since the industry settlement took effect in August 2024, you'll sign a written buyer representation agreement before touring homes — it must state the agent's fee specifically, and that fee is negotiable, not set by any law. Sellers commonly still cover some or all of it through negotiated concessions, but that's negotiated deal by deal now, not assumed. In California, buyer agreements are capped at three months and can't auto-renew. Every candidate we present comes with their proposed agreement's terms laid out side by side — fee, duration, cancellation — so you compare before you sign, not after. The full picture: who pays the buyer's agent now and what to check before signing a buyer agreement in California.
What it costs you: on the referral path, nothing added — if you hire a candidate and close, their brokerage pays Compass a referral fee out of the agent's side, at the same fixed standard for every candidate, disclosed in writing. Already talking to agents? The flat-fee Evaluation Report compares buyer's agents you found yourself, same as it does for sellers.
Find a buyer's agent for me See what the comparison looks like →
You're never obligated to hire any agent we evaluate or present, the decision to hire is solely yours, and we're not a party to any agreement you sign with an agent. Our comparison supplements — never replaces — your own due diligence. Full details: terms & service disclosures.
Let's talk.
Straight answers, no pressure, no obligation. You'll hear back within one business day.