You Vs real estate agents – Ten tips to take care

A real estate agent is a salesperson who earns a commission based on what a house sells for. Real estate may be transparent, but buyers and sellers aren’t necessarily exposed to everything. There are certain things a real estate agent is not supposed to disclose and also there are few other things they don’t want to.

Here are 10 things a real estate agent may not tell to buyers and sellers;

An open house – database of clients for brokers

Once you hire a broker to sell your apartment, the first suggestion he will make is to welcome all the potential buyers to your house to check out your property. It can be a great way of selling a property, but according to a research only 2% of homes are actually sold through this way. For brokers, this serves another purpose. Your open house is a database of clients for them. At open houses, all kinds of people come. Some people just want to see the house and some others come to see how much they can sell their own properties for. This way your agent will get a plenty of potential customers. Unless you like your broker and want him to be successful, you do not want to host an open house.

Commission is negotiable

Normally, any broker will say that his fees are not negotiable. This is not actually true. No broker’s commission is fixed. If you want to sell your property, interview a few brokers and try to know the rate in that particular area and before you fix your agent, see if anyone is willing to lower their rates. The higher the value of your house, the more bargaining power you will have. Also, if your house is in a desirable location with lot of traffic, negotiation will be easier. In case of small brokers, you need to ask and they will reduce the commission.

Expecting bigger commission

Legally, the broker you hire should tell you all the offers that comes in. But in reality, this doesn’t happen. A broker does not disclose a lower offer as it may affect their commission. They wait for someone who will make a bigger offer so that they can get full commission. You must clearly direct your broker that he should inform you about all the offers that come in. Do add this option in your agreement with the broker.

Don’t share your secrets

You spot a beautiful house with a sign ‘for sale’ and decide to call the broker listed on the sign board. This is how, many people happen upon an agent. The agent will be delighted to show you the house, but do not forget that you are dealing with the seller’s agent. Don’t let your tongue slip on how much you are willing to pay when you are ready to shift. For e.g. If you are ready to pay 56 lakh for a house, don’t tell the broker that you want to make an offer for 50 lakh, because that broker is legally obliged to help his seller to get the best price. So, whether you want to buy or not, stay focused and clear in front of the broker.

Two sided deals

When you appoint a broker for buying a property, there will be brokers who will approach you as your advisor, but mostly they will be brokers from the sellers’ side. They will list down your requirements and accordingly they will show you houses for which he is the selling broker. In this case, the broker will get fees from your side as well as commission from the seller. This may not happen if you choose your broker wisely.

Make your own decision

Real estate agents tend to be positive. So if you tell your agent the house you found would look better adding a deck or a garage, he will encourage you and make even make some suggestions. But don’t get fooled by such brokers. The broker will use tricks to make you fall in the pit hole to buy the house in any terms and conditions. A trustworthy broker will suggest you to check with your local zoning office if you can make alterations to the home before making an offer.

Property inspection

You might be impressed by your broker’s marketing skills and his knowledge about nook and corner of the house. In many cases, your broker will only let you know the pros of the house and not the cons, for e.g. water problem, electricity or maintenance issues. Ensure that you must appoint an authentic home inspector who checks each and every details of the house before you close the deal.

Review the contract by a lawyer

Whether you are the buyer or the seller, make sure that you get the contract reviewed by a lawyer before you sign the deal. In most cases, a deal closes before the possession happens. Until then the buyer rents the house to the seller for those many days. If a clause is worded improperly, the buyer could end up taking responsibility for the damage caused by the rental tenant.

Check for authentic website

Normally most of the house hunters look on the web assuming that a broker’s site can get them lot of options. Many brokers’ sites show that their roster is filled with houses and this brings a lot of people in,but often buyers get disappointed when they find out that the property they are looking for is actually sold out.  So, do not get carried away with the front page of the website, check for authenticity.

Do-It-Yourself

Often people think that property buying and selling is a complicate process and it is best to seek help of professionals. But this is not always true. It is said that a properly priced and advertised property sells itself. If you want to sell your property, you should consider putting sign on the yard and post ads online and in print publication, which helps in direct negotiation with buyers. This makes a difference as you don’t have to pay broker’s commission. Hire an independent appraiser and he will help you with parameters and legal documents.