Can you trust your REALTOR to provide you with the information you need when buying or selling your home?
Your real estate agent orchestrates the largest buying and selling decisions of your life. You need to be able to trust their expertise.
Not just anyone can call themselves a Realtor. When becoming a Realtor through the National Association of REALTORS (NAR), agents must agree to a code of ethics.
“The term REALTOR® has come to connote competency, fairness, and high integrity resulting from adherence to a lofty ideal of moral conduct in business relations. No inducement of profit and no instruction from clients ever can justify departure from this ideal.”
From NAR Code of ethics.
From a young age, my father taught me to hold myself to high moral standards. He always recommended transparency and taught me: “Omission of information is dishonest.” As a Realtor now, I understand how important these values truly are.
Image via Ian Burt modified under Creative Commons.
Realtors Often Walk a Fine Line
Real estate agents everywhere, not just in Sanpete County, are often asked to walk a fine line to keep their clients happy and their morals intact. A Realtor provides advice even if there client doesn’t want to hear it. Even if you’re just starting your search for the most relevant homes for sale in your area, you deserve an agent willing to protect your interests.
Bill Gasset, a top RE/MAX Realtor with 25 years of experience, recently shared 9 Things You’ll Never Hear Your Real Estate Agent Say. If your agent does say these things, consider it time to re-examine your choice. I discuss three of the statements and express my opinions below.
This Realtor Will Never tell a home buyer or seller…
1.“Don’t say anything about all that mold in the basement. Just throw a coat of paint over it and keep moving.”
Realtors must disclose problems to potential buyers and find solutions in a professional fashion. Long gone are the days of putting one over on people. You shouldn’t want to do business with anyone so shady. What does that say about how honest they are being with you?
2.“How much do you want to sell the home for? For $50,000 more than any other home in the area? Perfect, let’s do it!”
The value of a home is tied to what buyers pay not what sellers want. This is one step many agents dance around.
You want to sell your home for as much as you can. So do I. Your Realtor’s information should come from market research. It won’t help you if your house sits on the market with no offers.
Agents should not allow clients to overprice a property just to gain a listing. You need your agent in the home selling process to be honest, trustworthy and do what is best for you.
Some real estate agents will overprice a home because:
- They are scared to tell you the truth.
- They plan to sell you on the idea of lowering the listing later.
- They figure they may get some free advertising and attract some other clients.
- They figure an overpriced listing is better than no listing.
None of these reasons instill much faith that the agent will sell your home.
3. “I will use whatever camera I have available to photograph your home. Buyers don’t care about picture quality.”
Thinking back to my first home purchase, when I looked through the MLS listings in Sanpete County, certain homes stood out to me. What grabbed my attention most and the longest was the pictures. People are visual creatures.
Even in a small community, an agent needs to make your home stand out. Quality photographs provide a leg up on every other home a prospective buyer will see.
Although the basis of Bill’s post came from a humorous view of real estate agent statements, these statements are said by agents with a twirling moral compass too often. Does your agent provide a level of trust and transparency in everything they do? If your agent shocks you with a recommendation, take a step back and measure the information they provide against your moral compass.
Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest decisions of your life. Choose an agent with the ethical standards you deserve. If you are interested in real estate for sale in Sanpete County, Utah, I would love to be your advocate.
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