First came the Top 3 Real Estate Myths for Louisville Home Sellers, where we hit the biggest reasons why certain homeowners have completely failed when it came to selling their Louisville home fast.
This was followed by Top 3 Real Estate Myths About Louisville Real Estate Agents, which highlighted the biggest misconceptions (and surprising!) when it came to real estate agents.
Today we’re looking at the Top 3 Real Estate Myths That May Mislead Louisville Home Buyers:
Real Estate Myth #1: Buyers Don’t Need Their Own Louisville Realtor, They Can Just Call the Listing Agent
I can see where a Louisville home buyer might think that if they want to buy the home on 123 Maple Street, the first thing to do would be to call the phone number on the yard sign or online listing. As it turns out, that’s one of the worst things they can do.
The concept of agency, as it applies to real estate, dictates that the listing agent’s primary responsibility is to the home seller, not the home buyer. They are required to work in the seller’s best interest, which means selling at the highest price in the fastest time.
Those goals are diametrically opposed to the goals of the home buyer.
Home buyers should always find their own Louisville Realtor. That way, their buyer’s agent has the requirement to work in the best interest of their buyer—first and foremost.
Combining that with the fact that buyers don’t pay commissions to any agent, means they should always have a real estate professional looking out for them.
This applies to Louisville’s new construction too! There are a number of ways a home builder can take advantage of an unaware buyer, so don’t let that happen to you, get your own agent.
Be loyal to your agent and your agent will be loyal to you.
Real Estate Myth #2: The Agents With the Most Listings Are the Best Louisville Agents
There is a certain logic to this line of thinking. Top agents have done the most deals so they should be highly skilled in getting deals done. Yes and no.
The agents with the most listings certainly have the skills necessary but do they have the time? Do they want to help you if you’re only considering lower-priced homes?
Most of the leading Louisville Realtors have built teams. That’s how they continue to increase their sales totals.
Agents delegate many tasks to others, most of the time, non-licensed assistants. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with this, but it stands to reason that the busiest agents may be less likely to be responsive to your calls and emails.
Try scheduling busy agents to show you homes on Saturday afternoon and you might hear back, “Well, I’m booked this Saturday and next, how about in three weeks?”
It can be a challenge.
Real Estate Myth #3: If I Just Keep Looking, I’ll Find the Perfect Home
Louisville is obviously part of America, and as such, we Louisvillians often romanticize each story we encounter.
- The guy gets the girl at the end of the movie.
- Against all odds, the emergency worker saves the child from the burning building.
- The underdog sports team comes from behind to win the championship.
This mindset assumes there is that perfect home if only we could find it. Wrong! There’s no such thing as the “perfect home” because there are always aspects that could be improved.
The goal should be finding the best possible home out of the currently available homes.
Create a plan that first gathers the top options from an online search. Work with your Realtor to pare these down to a manageable number to see in person.
Plan some days/times to visit each, maybe with a follow-up on the top two or three. Then write that offer on your favorite before someone else beats you to it, which has already happened to two of my clients this year!
There’s no such thing as the perfect house, so set expectations at the start and you’ll not only save yourself time and mental energy, you’ll be much more likely to get the best possible home for yourself.
