My New Blog

1)   All Real Estate Agents are the Same

“So many options…. who should I choose to help sell my home? Hmm, I’ll just pick this one because all Real Estate Agents would probably do the same thing with my house anyways.”

 - FALSE! Every Real Estate agent is not the same! Believing in this myth can lead to huge mistakes when selecting an agent to represent you and your interests. Every single Real Estate agent comes from a different background, with different capabilities & different experiences. For example, an agent that specializes in sales and has been working for 2 years with mostly townhomes will NOT have the same skills as an agent who has been in the market for 15+ years specializing as a buyers agent with luxury homes. Remember, there is a very significant difference between agents working with buyers verses sellers!

2)   Real Estate Agents Will Say and Do
Anything to Make a Sale

Not many people know all of the rules and policies that go into being a real estate agent. They are highly held to a certain code of ethics. Many (if not most) Real Estate companies, like Palmetto Equity Group, heavily rely on referrals from pleased past customers. Doing great business, being trustworthy and proving your skills creates many great referrals and positive messages with word of mouth. Not saying that there aren’t agents that may lie, but most don’t because they are smart and know the consequences. Remember, it is very important when buying or selling, to use an agent you can trust and be comfortable with to make the best decisions for your future. 

3)   Real Estate Agents Can Only Show Their Own Company’s Listings

Ever heard of the MLS?? It stands for Multiple Listing Service. 

MLS ensures to not only even the playing field for all Real Estate companies around the town (big and small), but also allows for the public to get information on any property listed with the brokers discretion. So, to put it lightly, a Real Estate agent working for Palmetto Equity Group can show their own properties AND also properties that are currently listed by other companies. 

4)   A Home Doesn’t Need to be Prepared
Before Going on the Market

This myth can cost you thousands of dollars as a seller. Most of the time, a house is not perfectly ready to put on the market without an agents advice. This advice includes curb appeal updates, interior updates and additions, staging to make the home be more appealing, vendor contacts for house updates/maintenance/painting etc... the list goes on! There are several details that go into selling a property quick, that most of the general public don’t think about. Most buyers now-a days are looking for a home to buy that is MOVE IN READY. Also, the first 3-4 weeks a home is listed are the most important. If you don’t touch your home, leaving it outdated and covered with small imperfections, it will leave a negative idea in the buyers’ mind when they view your home. This will happen more than once, next thing you know your listing has been on the market for 4 months and you have wasted hundreds if not thousands on marketing. Not to mention the longer a property is on the market, the more questions buyers will ask out of their own skepticism. Do yourself and your selling experience a favor and have your home prepared properly, priced correctly and marketed strategically. If this is done, it is more than likely (not guaranteed, however) that your home will be under contract in less than 2 months.

5)   Selling a Home “For Sale by Owner”
Saves a lot of Money

It is very common for first time sellers to immediately have the idea of selling their property themselves to ‘cut costs’. They will believe it is as ‘easy’ and ‘simple’ as putting a sign in the front yard and inputting the address on MLS. It’s really not that simple…Often when FSBO’s (For Sale By Owner’s) try to take this on all on their own, they don’t realize how time consuming it is and what work goes into the sale of a property. The FSBO could mistakenly over-price their listing, mishandle a negotiation with a potential buyer, or even falsely grant a transaction to take place with a buyer that ends up being denied months later. In this circumstance, it’s better to be sure of hiring a professional than being unsure and taking it on yourself. 

6)   Getting Pre-approved is Done After
Finding Your Dream Home

Many home buyers make the mistake of waiting to find their perfect dream home before getting pre-approved. Having your finances approved for a mortgage is a major step of the home-buying process that you should worry about sooner rather than later. To be more prepared and prevent disappointment down the road, before you find your dream home, get pre-approved by your mortgage lender so you have more confidence going into your home search. Keep in mind, another huge reason being pre-approved is important is so you can have a leg up over other buyer competition to win over your dream home in the case there are multiple offers.

7)   You Get a Better Deal When Buying a Home Through the Listing Agent 

Another common Real Estate myth is regarding the home-buying process when purchasing from the listing agent. Many potential buyers believe they can receive a ‘better deal’ on the home using the listing agent because they think the listing agent will cut their commission percentage based on receiving ‘both sides’ of the transaction. Nope. Even when this happens, the listing agent still represents the seller. Just remember, if this is the case for you, the listing agent will have both parties to keep in mind. You need to have a good idea with how hard the listing agent is willing to negotiate price with seller (their other client) and vice versa. 

8)   All Real Estate Agents Make Bank

Obviously successful Real Estate Agents are able to make a strong income. What many people don’t know however, is the amount of time, effort & money that top producing real estate agents need to put forth in order to be super successful. There are many expensive classes, tests and hours of continuing education involved. There are also many Real Estate agents that literally start from the bottom, with not many contacts or involvement having to step up, make cold calls and really work extra hard on their networking skills to get their name in the field.

9)   When Selling a Home, Price it to
Leave Room for Negotiations

When selling your home, correctly pricing it is one of the top 3 important keys. There are many different real estate pricing mistakes that sellers commonly make. For example, purposefully pricing a home higher to ‘leave room’ for negotiation. NO NO NO! Doing this can create massive frustration and could ultimately lead to your home sitting on the market for ages. For sellers, it is critical to understand who today’s buyers are and what their interests are all about – buyers are savvier and more prepared nowadays because of info they can get off the internet. They also won’t waste their time looking at a home that is overpriced by thousands of dollars. 

Hope debunking these real estate myths makes you more prepared to hire a professional when the time comes! Palmetto is always here for you.