8 Things Your Real Estate Broker Won’t Tell You

When purchasing a home, a good broker is a treasured resource, especially if it’s your first time. We assist as guides to the neighborhood and the home buying process, which can get complicated. We know mortgage brokers, inspectors, and sometimes even listings that the rest of the public may not be aware of otherwise.

Several people like to consider themselves experts when it comes to real estate, but in reality the business can be rather complicated, and is best navigated by a professional. While searching online and reading various articles, I saw some confusion and need for clarification on our professional insight – some of things may not even be readily shared with you. Sometimes veteran agents, like me, forget that the novice agent or new home buyer may not know these things.

1. Qualified clients are my priority: If you have been preapproved for a mortgage, then any broker will be happy to spend day and night finding you the perfect home. If you’re just getting your feet wet to either rent or buy a new place or don’t quite have the cash to start the process, then go to open houses as opposed to a private outing with a broker. Open houses are designed to let people look and ask questions without wasting a broker’s time. Generally speaking, a broker will ask you up front if you’ve been preapproved for a loan. If you haven’t, they may ask you to call back when you have all your paperwork in order. Agents are here to best evaluate your situation and where you really are in the home buying process

2. It’s not a buyer’s market anymore: After the financial crisis five years ago, there were definitely deals to be found. But the economy has recovered a bit and housing inventory is shrinking.

3. Aggressive negotiating will get you nowhere: Sometimes this tends to be more common in men than in women, but there is no reason to start negotiations with a wildly lowball offer and make outrageous demands. The idea that you should never pay the asking price isn’t realistic, especially when inventory is tight. Sometimes the house is worth exactly what it’s priced at.

4. Just because information is on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true: Websites such as Zillow and Trulia can give unreasonably low estimates about what homes in area cost, because they are taking an average of the area, regardless of the specifics of each property. The only way to really know what homes cost is go out to open houses and see what’s available.

5. Cash isn’t always king: Many assume that entering into a real estate deal with all cash gives a buyer more negotiating power. Buyers may think it also gives them a license to make offers well below ask, because the deal will close sooner. In a tight market, this may not always be the case. In general, there’s a lot of emotion that goes into selling a house. Even if someone is coming in all cash and not making a fair offer, they could lose out to someone else with 80% financing who genuinely wants the home.

6. I have no idea how much your rent—or interest rates—will go up: A broker can give you an idea of how much these things might go up, but no one can tell you what’s going down a year from now. The best advice brokers can give is to live within your means—even if that means not maxing out your budget.

7. Some of the best listings never make it to the public: Some of the best listings never make it to the public – even with the multiple online services available. This is because top agents speak with each other and are aware of upcoming listings. If you’re working with a buyer specialist, they will know about it and inform their clients. To get in on this information, visit the “Coming Soon” Listings on my website.

8. Sometimes you have to miss out on a property: If your broker tells you not to make an unreasonable bid, or that there are five other offers coming in for one home and to be aggressive in your offer, believe them. Brokers know the best tactic for each case, and this is the insight that could get you into your dream home.

This Week’s New Listings For Sale: This Week’s Closings, Congratulations!

570 Kay Road $120,000 Mr. and Mrs. Dusten Doggett

27481 Kim Drive $359,900 Mr. Jason Wilborn

150 Abby Road $225,000 Ms. Whitney Long

3722 Railway Avenue 225,000 Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Lawson

268 West Highlander $134,900 Mr.Doug Budzak

11112 S. Memorial Pkwy K5 $91,500 Ms. Lisa Carr

2219 Southpark Blvd. $115,000 Mr. Keith Hardy

8687 Edgehill Drive $295,000 Mr. and Mrs. John Wessinger

218 Briarwood Circle $550,000 Ms. Jennifer Snowden

116 Chapel Hill Drive $442,000 Mr. Wen Jing Pan

6604 Lizzie Lane $229,000 Mr. and Mrs. Martin Valenzuela