When buying or selling a home, most of us rely on a broker or an agent for their professional knowledge and experience, believing they will help us in this tough task. And while many of them can be really honest and straight-forward, others will only try to get advantage of us for their own profit. So, here are 6 things your real estate agent won’t tell you.
Real estate is before all a business, where everybody wants to make money, but every business has its ethics code. When you work with an agent, you are actually hiring them, which means they need to work for you and your interest. Sadly, this isn’t always the case.
“My commission is negotiable”
Real estate agents typically work for a commission, not a salary. This is a certain percentage of the price of the property, usually between 2% and 7%. However, the commission is often split between the buyer’s and the seller’s agents, or the listing company. In some cases, the buyer will represent himself, so the half of the commission is automatically eliminated. Actually, it doesn’t matter, as this isn’t a fixed salary, but a negotiable percentage of the sale price – something most agents will never tell you.
“You may never be able to buy your dream house”
There is a widespread, yet spoken of practice – secret sales, or the so-called “pocket listings”. Some homes, although available for purchase, never become really available in the public listings. Only a chosen few agents will know about this sale and they will offer it only to chosen clients.
- Read more: How to Buy a Luxury Home
Imagine you are looking for a two-storey, spacious house in a good condition with a flower garden and a garage. A house just like your “dream home” goes on sale, but a regular client of your agent wants it too. In that case, you will never be able to lay your hands on it. You will never even know about this listing, unless you are a top client or best friend to a real estate agent. It is worth it, indeed.
