Let’s debunk these common Real Estate myths that you might not know about!
Whether you’ve bought and sold multiple houses, or even if it’s your first time diving into the real estate market, there are probably some falsehoods you’ve heard that are absolutely untrue! So we wanted to sort out the facts from the fiction of REALTORS®, real estate, and what it takes to make a successful home purchase or sale.
Myth #1: You’ll never be approved for a mortgage.
We see it more often than you’d think. A person is looking to rent a home because they didn’t realize they would be approved for a mortgage. But you never know unless you ask!
As mentioned in our blog, To Buy or Rent? Important Advice For Home Renters, mortgage brokers have access to many, many lenders that you may not have heard of. The big banks aren’t your only option! By gathering up your pertinent financial paperwork and talking to a mortgage broker, they could tell you what amount you would be approved for, and what your monthly payments would be.
You never know! Home ownership might be closer than you think!
Related: The Basic Steps To Getting Pre-Approved For a Mortgage
Myth #2: You can save money if you sell your home on your own.
We just covered this recently on our blog. The truth is, it can actually cost more to sell your home privately. It can be a risky undertaking.
You need a strong knowledge of the market. You’ll need a competent understanding of how comparable homes sold recently so you can set your listing price properly. And no, just because a similar home sold 6 months ago for a million dollars doesn’t mean that price is still feasible in today’s market. If you price your home too high you’ll scare buyers away. If you price it too low, you may be passing up on a ton of money that could have been yours.
You’ll have to cover the marketing expenses. Gone are the days of putting an ad in the classified section of the newspaper. Almost nobody searches for houses there anymore. So how will you market your listing? REALTORS® have access to a much wider audience of people that are actively looking to buy a home. We do reverse-prospecting, we spend a lot of money on advertising our listings, and we have a network of other agents that can share our listings with their clients. Will you be able to do that?
You’re liable for any mistakes. Selling a home comes with a LOT of paperwork and legal contracts. If something isn’t filled out properly, or if paperwork is omitted, you will be 100% liable for the error. And that can get expensive.
Myth #3: All REALTORS® are the same.
When choosing a real estate agent, consider what they bring to the table. Do they have plenty of 5-star reviews and testimonials from past clients? What do they do to market your listing? Where are they searching for homes that you’d be interested in buying? Who looks after you if your agent goes on vacation?
We believe in the TEAM approach at The Kate Broddick Team. We put 110% into marketing our listings to one of the largest social media audiences in the area. We advertise constantly, everywhere from billboards to movie theatres to television stations – because we believe in driving traffic to your listing. We have a HUGE network of buyers, sellers, and agents that we share with, so we’re always up to date on what properties are in demand. And between our large support staff of Client Care & Concierge, Deal Administrators and a whole Marketing department, plus a team of competent professional agents, you’ll always have the answers you need in a timely manner.
Don’t choose someone who is just going to throw a For Sale sign on your lawn and call it a day. You deserve more than one real estate agent; you deserve a TEAM.
Myth #4: Setting the price high “just to see what happens” will garner more money.
Some sellers believe that testing the waters with a higher-than-average asking price for their home is a good idea. They think “It couldn’t hurt, maybe someone will pay it!”
But in reality, you’ll be scaring buyers away. Now more than ever, buyers and their agents are quite aware of what houses in your neighbourhood are (and should be) selling for. By setting your price above all the comparable sales in your area, you’re actually discouraging people from even coming to see your property in person. Then you’ll have to lower your price weeks after your listing has hit the market when there may be less interest.
Myth #5: Setting the price low will invite multiple offers and bidding wars.
Again, this is a strongly discouraged myth. The prospect of having to go through a bidding war scares away a lot of buyers. They’ll simply keep looking for another reasonably priced home. And you may be stuck accepting an offer that’s lower than you had hoped for.
Trust your real estate agent to help you set your price at Current Market Value. It will save you a lot of headaches in the long run.
Myth #6: REALTORS® make (a lot of) Easy Money
We hear this one a lot. “Real Estate Agents are just trying to cash in… real estate agents make money for doing nothing.”
Honestly, it’s disheartening. REALTORS® do a LOT of work that you may not even know about, beyond taking clients to view a few homes and putting a house on the MLS®. In order to receive (and maintain) a real estate license, agents are required to continually update their courses and do ongoing training so they’re always at the forefront of the real estate market.
Then, when they do list a home, they cover all the marketing costs for your property. Professional photography, video tours, staging, cleaning, social media ads, billboards, commercials and more cost a LOT for a listing that hasn’t even sold yet. Those are out-of-pocket expenses that they cover as part of their contract to work for you. Not to mention the hours they’ll spend reverse-prospecting potential buyers, collecting feedback and analytics from showings and negotiating with buyers, all before ever seeing a dime.
When working with buyers, they spend countless hours, seven days a week researching potential properties that may be of interest, then travelling to those homes to show without being paid for their time & travel. Sometimes those buyers walk away without ever purchasing a home. Would you work that much for your job without any guarantee you’ll be paid?
Even in the event of a successful sale, an agent’s commission can depend on current market conditions. Then that commission is often split with the cooperating real estate agent and both of their brokerages.
We encourage our clients to ask us about our competitive commissions and how that money is spent to give you the best real estate experience possible.
Have you heard any other real estate myths you’d like proven or debunked? Let us know!
We believe in transparency and honesty with our clients, and we never shy away from these conversations. Contact our Team of Agents and find out what has made us a leader in our industry.
