TOP 6 MYTHS ABOUT REAL ESTATE DEBUNKED

To that end, we’d like to share with you 6 of the most common myths we’ve confronted in our years in real estate, and the truths that go along with them. 

Selling Your Home FSBO Saves You Money

Easily the most common misconception in real estate is that you can simply sell your home yourself. FSBO, or “for sale by owner,” has become more common in the world of doing it yourself. And look, we are all in favor of being strong, independent, and resilient. Hello? This is the midwest! But there are times when you should trust the experts so you get all your bases covered and get the deal you deserve. Selling your house is one of the times. 

Sure, you run the numbers and you think, “why should I give up 6% of my sales to a realtor when I can just sell my home myself?” Well, for a lot of reasons, the most important of which is that you are statistically likely to make more money when selling your home with an agent. And not just a little bit of money. The average FSBO home in the United States sells for 26% less than agent sold homes. The average Tyler Goff Group sold home sells for $375,589. Agent commissions run around 6% total, for both the seller and the buyer. It’s a no brainer. Get a realtor to sell your home and you have access to their network, resources, negotiation skills, and more. 

You Don’t Need a Realtor to Buy a Home

The same logic applies to buying a home. People figure they can do it themselves. How hard can it be? Well, when you’re buying a home, you’ll want access to all the houses on the market that fit your wants, needs, and budget. That’s incredibly hard to get without a realtor. Your real estate agent will even have access to houses that might not be on the market yet. They’ve got the network to provide them with hot tips on what’s coming. They can also help you negotiate your price, so you don’t end up overpaying. An additional, and perhaps critical, factor in working with a realtor to buy a home is that they will help you stay unemotional and objective on the search for your dream house. 

Plus, buyers don’t typically pay agent commissions, which come out of the sale price of the home. So you really have nothing to lose and everything to gain. 

All Realtors Are the Same

Yes. We’ve heard it. All realtors are the same. They only want to make money. They are cut throat and only out for themselves. 

Look, bad apples exist in every bucket, and it is a shame that a few bad apples taint the bucket for everyone. At Tyler Goff Group, we have worked with our fair share of realtors outside of our own office, and we have found the vast majority of them to be kind, caring, and invested in their clients’ success. Of course, we are all different. We have different styles, areas of expertise, and approaches to real estate. We are not the same any more than any other set of individuals in an industry are all the same. 

As to whether we are all out to “just make money,” the truth is of course we have to make money, but the realtors we know work hard to put their clients first and trust that they will make money by doing a good job, just like any professional with integrity. 

The most important thing you, the client, can do is to get references from friends and family for a realtor and then trust your intuition when you meet with your prospective realtor. You should feel heard, seen, and honored as a client. 

Price Your Home High and Negotiate Down

It seems this myth has trickled over from other areas of negotiation. You think if you ask for an astronomical number you’ll end up with what you actually want by negotiating down. That approach might, and often does, work in other negotiations, but not in real estate. When selling your home, pricing your home too high actually loses you a lot of potential buyers who never even consider your home as they figure it will be out of their price range. 

One of the benefits of having a trusted realtor on your side is finding that perfect price point that will allow for negotiations and get you a ton of interest. 

Make a Low Offer and Negotiate Up

This same thinking applies to the previous myth. You figure if you offer a really low price on a home you want, you can always negotiate up. The problem with this one is that some seller’s will be insulted by your lowball offer and shut you down and out, entirely dismissing you. The seller can simply decide they won’t sell to you. Period. To avoid insulting the current owner of your potential dream home, you want your offer to be right in that sweet spot area of not too high and not too low. 

Again, your realtor can help you not only decide on this price based on their expertise but also negotiate within the wiggle room you create. 

Renovations always Pay Off when You Sell

Some homeowners begin to think of their homes as potential flips. Look, flipping houses can yield tremendous benefits, including a lot of money. But if you have owned the home for several years and you’re ready to sell, renovating the house before you do may not be your best approach to getting top dollar. Sure, you may need to fix or repair a few things and clean the house really well to stage it to sell. 

But you are unlikely to make back every dollar you invest in total renovations, and you are even less likely to net incredible profits. Work with a trusted realtor to figure out where you can best invest your money before you sell to get top dollar. 

Work with Tyler Goff Group: Realtors You Can Trust

At Tyler Goff Group, we pride ourselves on giving everything we’ve got to our clients and making the entire real estate process smooth and easy. We have packages in place to make selling, buying, moving, and everything in between feel not like work but like a simple step-by-step plan to get you what you want, where you want, and when you want. 

Contact Tyler Goff Group today to get your next real estate deal started.