One of the biggest headaches that comes with buying or selling a house is working with a real estate agent.
Many home buyers don’t feel like they can trust their real estate agent. And some people might feel like their agent talks down on them.
Especially rookie home buyers.
Well, don’t worry rookies.
We’ve done some research to find out what you should know about real estate agents. And what you should look out for in the future.
Here are 23 things your real estate agents will never tell you:
You Don’t Have To Buy A House Now
Wait to buy a house as long as you can. Moving sucks. You want to move as little as possible in life. And the longer you put it off, the more time you have to save your money.
But if you know you’re ready financially and mentally…
Then let’s get that house!
An Open House Helps Them More Than You
In the end, you’re only going to have one buyer. But an open house allows your agent to introduce themselves to a large pool of prospective clients.
Chances are you probably won’t find a serious buyer while your agent hands out their business cards to the entire neighborhood.
They Sugarcoat Things
A real estate agent might find it difficult to tell you things like: “your house is ugly” or “your house smells”.
They don’t want to lose you as a client.
But it’s important for you to know about any features that might prevent you from selling your house. Just be aware of that.
A Lowball Offer Can Work
Don’t dismiss a low ball offer right away. Who knows when you’ll get another offer?
Try to work with that prospective buyer. Your real estate agent usually overestimates the value of your house anyways.
Think Long Term
If you plan on settling down for 5 or more years, then you should probably buy a house. 10 or more years? You should definitely buy.
But your real estate agent is only interested on making the sale now.
Think about what’s going to make you happy long term.
Bigger Might Not Be Better
A big house might be the American Dream for many people. But bigger houses just create more headaches for you. And they suck up your money faster!
Pick a conservative house that will make your family happy.
Know Which Agent You’re Getting
Good agents with a strong reputation are hard to come by. And even if you do find one that you can work with, they usually pass you down to a junior agent that works with them.
Make sure you know exactly which agent you’re going to work with. You’re paying for it.
Read The Listing Or Buyer’s Contract Before You Sign It
Read your contract carefully to make sure there are no hidden fees in your contract. It’s common for some agents to slip in an administrative fee. These fees can cost you another $1,500.
Don’t worry if you do find the fee. Everything is negotiable. Just like their commission.
Don’t Skip The Final Walk-Through
Insist on having the final walk-through. Sellers decide to take things with them at the last second. You might lose out on the appliances or the chandelier that you liked when you first saw the house.
Do the final walk-through to ensure you’re paying for what you’re getting.
Don’t Let Them Overestimate Your House’s Selling Price
Some real estate agents will list your house at a higher price than they should. This might help them stand out among the other real estate agents that price houses more realistically. But overestimating the price of your home will keep your house on the market longer than you want.
Empty Rooms May Look Smaller
Don’t let them convince you to show your house with no furniture it in. It doesn’t always help the prospective buyers. They can’t visualize how much of their own furniture they’ll be able to fit in each room.
Clear Off Your Counter Tops
You should keep the furniture in your house. But you definitely want to clear up all the counter space you have. People love seeing a lot of counter space. And it’s usually at the top of many wish lists!
The Commission Is Always Negotiable
Your agent’s commission is not set in stone. In fact, you can even use it as part of the transaction. If you’re only a few thousand dollars away from selling your house, ask your agent if they can reduce their commision.
Don’t Go Overboard With The Set up
Setting things up to make the house flow is a good idea. Add some swag to your house.
But going overboard can turn off potential buyers. This includes things like music, rose petals and champagne glasses. Don’t add those to the presentation!
Who Lives In The Neighborhood?
It’s actually illegal for a real estate agent to tell you about the type of people that live in a neighborhood. It violates the Fair Housing laws.
If you really need to know about your neighbors before you move in, then do some research yourself. Drive through the neighborhood frequently and eat at restaurants in the area. Get to know some of the locals and ask them how they like the neighborhood.
They Don’t Have Buyers Ready
They’re usually lying if they tell you they have a bunch of interested buyers. The truth is, they’ll list your house, and the interested buyers contact them. That’s it.
They Underestimate Repairs
If you’re interested in buying a property, don’t take the real estate agent’s word on how much repairs are going to cost. They usually give you a lowball number and then the repairs end up costing more than they told you.
Always get a professional survey done and get multiple quotes on repairs before you buy a house.
Their Recommended Contractors Aren’t The Best
They make extra money when they send people to their recommended contractors. But you can save a little extra money by doing your research and finding the best deal for your situation.
They Don’t Really Lose Money If Your House Sells For Less
Yes, they might lose a little bit of money if you sell your house for a couple thousand dollars under the asking price. But it won’t be a significant loss. Their commission percentage will stay the same no matter what.
They Have Fake Buyers
Real estate agents sometimes hire fake buyers to show you the amount of potential buyers they have lined up for your house. But this number usually goes down as soon as they make the listing.
You Can Use More Than One Agent
If one agent isn’t working out, then try using another one. There’s no rule that says you can only use one. Hire multiple agents if you think it’ll give you a better chance of selling.
It Might Cost You Less To Rent
Sometimes it might be a better option for you to continue renting. You don’t have to make a long-term commitment now. And you’ll save money on maintenance too!
Just keep in mind that a real estate agent’s main objective is to sell your house or sell you a house.
You Don’t Need An Agent
You don’t need a real estate agent at all. In the end, the two sides are both working to get the same thing accomplished: sell your house. They make money off of it.
Do you think they spend time thinking about your decisions after the transaction goes through?
Nope.
Make sure you do your research and prepare yourself before you do anything. This can save you some money and headaches if you’re able to buy or sell on your own.
Most of the same property websites and online resources your real estate agent uses is available to you. Try to learn as much information as you can. And maybe you can catch them trying to play you like a fool the next time you work with an agent.
Have you ever worked with a real estate agent before?
We know not all of them are bad.
Tell us about your experience. What was good? What was bad?
We can’t wait to hear from you in the comment section!
You must have had a really bad experience with an agent. I can tell you, as a prior agent, I have never met an agent who has fake buyers lined up. I have never heard an agent low-ball repairs, they will do some research for you to get an average price of a repair. As far as overpricing a home? An agent will use sales statistics of homes in that neighborhood. If a few homes within a mile of your interested home has sold within the past year, the agent will use the average of those sold homes to set a price. It may be a bit higher but depending on the market at the time you are searching, it could be below market average. You make agents sound like leaches….this is not true! Agents spend a lot of time researching homes and pricing. They spend every dime out of their pocket for marketing, open houses and their own gas driving you around. It has not and never will be a turn key job!
Hey P Roberts,
I’m sure there are pro’s and con’s just like everything else. The things mentioned above are just what we found from our research.
But thanks for your comment! You’ve definitely inspired a future post about why you should have an agent.
I’m a new agent and what you said has a lot of credibility. It’s an uphill battle, as a new agent, to be perceived as anything less than a highly paid used car salesman. I guess we try to change this by being honest and truly working for the client – one transaction at a time.
It’s probably like any other profession. There’s always some that try to cut corners, and there’s some that try to do it the right way.
Thanks for the insight!
DAN AVINA:
Don’t let some bad taste ruin your ambitions. Real Estate can be a very rewarding field. You meet all kinds of people from all walks of life and it is fun to see inside of all the different homes. But most importantly, how you conduct yourself and the work you show your clients you do for them will catapult you to being a highly requested agent.
Good Luck on your future endeavors.