Besides driving you around town and showing you homes and affordable properties or helping to sell your home; your real estate agent knows -and hopes you don’t know- the following things. This doesn’t imply your real estate agent mean bad about you; knowledge is power and if we all have the same level of knowledge about real estate, where does the leverage lies?
- YOUR OPEN HOUSE HELPS YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENT MORE THAN IT HELPS YOU.
Your real estate agent knows the majority of visitors to your open house are your nosy neighbors and not necessarily buyers. This gives him an opportunity to establish a connection with your neighbors and broaden his clientele. If you’ve ever wondered why real estate agents always encourage open houses, you no know why. It works both ways- while it exposes your home to more buyers, it also gives him an opportunity to broaden his clientele.
- YOU MAY BE ABLE TO GET MORE SELLING YOUR HOME YOURSELF
Contrary to what your real estate agent may say, there is no doubting the fact that you would most times, make more by selling your home yourself than engaging the services of a real estate agent. Surprised? Please don’t be- when you take out the agency fee, consultancy fee and all fees accruing to your real estate agent, you can easily see why you make more. The only downside to for sale by owner is that your property may take longer to sell than using the services of a real estate agent.
- YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENT MAY TELL YOUR BUYER MORE ABOUT YOU THAN YOU THINK
Your real estate agent in a bid to convince your buyer to buy your property may end up divulging more information about you to the potential client than you may feel comfortable with. Although many agents claim they only converse with potential clients to the extent that helps the client’s case, the truth is almost always farfetched. Your agent and the buyer’s agent are working closely to ensure the deal works out which makes them prone to sharing as much information as is possible that they feel may help to close the deal faster.
- COMMISSION IS NEGOTIABLE
Although most clients would insist their commission is fixed and “standard,” you could always hard bargain it. Most real estate agents would end up dropping the commission “just because it is you.” Most times, this is just a trick to make you or your property feel special. The downside to over bargaining this commission is that your real estate agent may not have enough incentive to put in his best for the success of your property.
- FURNITURE MAKES YOUR HOME LOOK BIGGER
Contrary to popular belief, an empty room doesn’t make your home look bigger; it makes your home look smaller. This is because empty rooms make your buyers at a loss as to what amount of furniture may fit in the room. In a room with enough furniture, the buyer has an idea of how spacious it is and furniture that would fit into the house.
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