Eighteen Common Lies Realtors Tell
By Roberto Garabell
Realtors are agents of sellers, and it is not uncommon for them to exaggerate the income and appreciation potential of a given property to help sell it. It is a realtor’s job to obtain the highest possible sale price for a piece of real estate. The most common ploy realtors use it to attempt to create a sense of urgency in a buyer. In a seller’s market, prices are rising, and buyers already feel a sense of urgency. In a buyer’s market, prices are falling, and there is no urgency on the part of buyers. This fact does not stop realtors from trying to create urgency even if the truth is cast asunder.
The most counter-intuitive part of buying in a buyer’s market is to create a sense of urgency with the seller. Ordinarily sellers, or more accurately the seller’s realtor, try to create a sense of urgency to buy the house. They want the buyer to think other people are looking, there is going to be a bidding war, and the buyer needs to get an offer in today. Realtors thrive by creating fear in buyers. They will use lines like:
1. It is a good time to buy!
2. Hurry. This one won’t last.
3. Don’t throw away your money on rent.
4. If you are serious, you had better buy now or you might be priced out of the market.
5. They are not making land anymore.
6. If you see a property you love, you really need to make an offer.
7. The more earnest money you put down, the more seriously your offer is taken.
8. Things have been a bit slower than last year, but the last two weeks we have seen a lot more traffic.
9. Rates are at all time lows and buyers have more choice than ever!
10. Rates are creeping up, so you better get in now.
11. If you wait until the bottom, you will miss out on getting a property that you really like.
12. This property is priced at below market value.
13. Incentives this good won’t be available after…
14. Don’t worry about the asking price - just offer what you’re willing to pay.
15. Don’t worry. You can afford this house.
16. I will show my client the offer, but I just want to let you know that we have another offer for more coming in this afternoon.
17. Trust me.
18. It’s not just the commission. I really care about you.
In a buyer’s market these ploys are all lies (the truthfulness of these statements is questionable in all market conditions). Generally, the buyer is the only prospective buyer, and they can take as long as they want to buy the house. The buyer’s task in negotiating is to create a sense of urgency and panic in the seller. This is why buyers should make their first offer their best offer.
Realtors are often liars for hire. They will say things many owners are uncomfortable in saying. Realtors will play on buyer’s weaknesses and fears in order to extract as much money as possible out of them. The ethics of this practice can be debated, but the reality of this practice cannot be denied.
Lawrence Roberts is the author of The Great Housing Bubble: Why Did House Prices Fall?
Learn more and get FREE eBooks at: http://www.thegreathousingbubble.com/
Read the author’s daily dispatches at The Irvine Housing Blog: http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/ Visit Eighteen Common Lies Realtors Tell.
