Real estate agents: 5 debunked myths and believes!

Being a Real Estate agent is an hard work. You have to fight daily with false myths and popular believes. During many years as a real estate agent I’ve seen and heard many things (mostly bad things!). I’ve always replied politely and tried to debunked them but, you know, it’s not so simple.
Here is a list of most common myths about real estate agent that you may hear when speaking with people about this “bad”category of professional:

1. Real Estate Agents Say And Do Anything To Make A Sale

Many people believe that real estate agents will say and do anything to make a sale, because they don’t get paid until a home is sold. This myth can certainly be possible however the majority of real estate agents will not. Agents are held to a very strict code of ethics and also many rules and regulations. There are heavy fines to pay in case of breach of law with the possibility to be cancelled from the professional roll.
Most real estate agents business relies heavily on referral, word of mouth business and if the agent lies to clients just to make a sale, is unlikely to receive any of the above mentioned business.

2. The Real Estate commission is too high.

When it’s time to pay the commission the most famous phrase is “ You gain more money than the Seller! or .. Shall we negotiate your commission? We have to pay other expenses, the notary, the seller…” Damn! Do you think that being a real estate agent is not a real work?
The amount of time, effort, and money that top producing real estate agents need to put forth is significant.
There are many expenses that agents incur that most don’t realize. Items such as fuel, car maintenance, and advertising expenses just to name a few of the expenses that real estate professionals are responsible for.

3. The More You Pay for a House, The More an Agent Makes

An other famous believe is that most of agent try to overprice properties in order to make more money. That’s absolutely false! Do you really think that a property that is listed with a high price has more possibilities to be sold? Good real estate agent always try to give a real market value of the property before put it on sale. Good agents want to sell more properties in one year, so the cheaper is the price more likely is sell the property.

Local Real estate market

4. Real Estate Agents just want your money.

I’ve heard that someone thinks that agents are like sharks, that we don’t care about the feelings of a buyer/seller, that we only think of you as a way to earn money. This is a big misunderstanding. What agents want is an easy life. They want to help you find a home you love, and they want to make their (often small) bit of commission off of it. They do not want your soul, just some patience, consideration, and a positive home-buying experience for all.

5. Real Estate is an “easy” job since its just “driving around and looking at pretty houses.”

The job of a real estate agent is VERY hard. It’s not only driving around and spend few hours with a client having a coffe and chat with him. Agents are constantly answering calls, emails and texts. Nights, weekends and holidays included. It can be a lot of time and effort with no guaranteed return. It can be extremely stressful. It’s very rewarding to find someone the right property, but until the transaction closes, it’s pretty high stress for the agent as well as the client.
And it’s not easy either. Agents work with people on the biggest financial transactions of their lives. It’s emotional and complicated.