Usually, realtors are honorable and trustworthy people. But some might lie about things including their portfolio, the value of a property, or about the amount of interest a property has.
It is important to detect these lies and keep away from them. Here are some tips to detect if a real estate agent is lying to you.
They Might Make a Property Seem Like a Big Deal
One of the main problems with the real estate industry is that it’s competitive. This level of high competition compels real estate to lie about the details of any property they’re trying to sell you. They often use fancy words and make false statements to make a property loom like a big deal, while in reality, the property might be somewhat different from the description. Since the agent would only make money if you end up buying the property, they use all the lies they legally can to trick you into making a purchase as soon as possible.
Some agents are often too busy to visit a property, so, they’ll use the information gained from tax documents and other stuff to pretend they’ve visited the place in person. So, they’re trying to sell you a property that they’ve even never visited. To prevent this ignorance from becoming illegal, they might use words like IDRBNG that literally translates to information deemed reliable but not guaranteed”.
This is a trick to place the responsibility of checking the accuracy of the information on the buyer and his agent rather than the real estate agent. So, you can take some precautionary steps and visit the property thoroughly before talking any further. Also, ask any questions that come to your mind during the whole process. This allows you to check the property thoroughly before making a fair offer. You can also hire a trustworthy house inspector to inspect the property critically before making up your mind. This way, you can detect any problems beforehand and ask the agent to get them repaired before you make a purchase.
They Might Give You an Inflated Value
This is another trick that most real estate agents use to maximize their profit and to sell more properties. They’ll start misleading the sellers about the actual value of their properties and cause them to put a higher price on their listing to increase the overall value of properties in the area.
This is also a trick you can dodge by thinking calmly. You can check the prices of properties in a nearby neighborhood, and refuse the offer of the difference that is awkwardly high. Additionally, you can get an appraisal done or you can also check the value of properties sold in the near past to have a deep insight on the topic. Following these tips can help you stay safe and save a lot of money.
They Might Pretend To Have a Perfect Buyer
Another trick that most of the newbie house buyers often fall for is the fake buyer trick. In this trick, the agent would compel you to increase the offer price by telling you that they already have a perfect buyer willing to pay more than what you’re offering. Remember not to be anxious when buying a property, as this will signal the agent that you like the property and would buy it anyways.
Agents want to sell a house as quickly as possible. They use the fake buyer trick to force you into a decision quickly without you properly inspecting the rooms and kitchen of the house, but you have to be careful. If the agent uses the fake buyer trick, begin by asking the name and contact information of the buyer, and look for any signs of anxiety and frustration on the face of the agent when you ask that. This way you can keep away from any false tricks that these agents often use to sell properties at a higher rate than their actual value.
Conclusion
Remember that many of the real estate agents are honest people looking to make a good living by selling houses of their clients for a good price. It is a part of their business to sell a property for as much as possible. Now, it depends on your skills whether you can draw a fine line between a fair and unfair profit or not. This helps you save a lot of money, while giving the real estate agents a fair profit margin.