There are real estate deal killers out there and here are some things you need to know!
Sellers
You put your home on the market and priced it at market value. Within the first week you have your first offer very close to your listing price. You tell your real estate agent, "we want to wait for a higher offer". Meaning you want full price. You take your chances on the hopes of getting another offer at asking price. It may happen, but chances are it will not happen. This is what your real estate agent will most likely tell you. If that first offer comes in close to your asking price and the buyer is pre-approved, take their offer. If not, you just became your own deal killer. Then if you do not receive any more offers after a few months that your home as remained on the market, you will be upset with your real estate agent. You will tell them, "why did you let us not accept that first offer? You should have pushed us". We can't push you. We already told you what could happen when you received the first offer and you didn't want to take it. You didn't heed their advice. Sellers tend to think that when an agent wants their sellers to take that first offer, it's only because they will get their commission faster. That is so far from the truth. A good and ethical real estate agent only has your best interests at heart.
Buyers
After weeks or maybe even months, you finally found the home of your dreams! You have financing in place and everything is good. Now you need a real estate attorney. You tell your agent that you have an attorney in the family but they do not practice real estate, they are a divorce attorney. Stop right there! You need to have a real estate attorney. They know the laws inside and out and will rarely have to refer to their law books unless it's something out of the ordinary. Would you hire a real estate attorney to handle your divorce? I think not. I know you want to be loyal to that relative but that relative attorney could actually become a deal killer because their knowledge is not in real estate. Most real estate forms are standard. But, an attorney who doesn't practice real estate, could take all the standard jargon and tear it apart without having to. All because of their lack of knowledge. That will hurt your deal and you could actually lose that dream home that took a long time to find. Just tell that person, no offense but it's in our best interest to hire a real estate attorney.
I just had my buyer's attorney, who doesn't practice real estate and is also his girlfriend, tell him to cancel the Buyer Agreement he has with me. Well, I voided it and now my client is now my customer. Now I owe fiduciary duties to the seller of the home he is now buying, but I still owe my buyer fair and honest treatment. I now cannot tell him anything about the seller that could hurt that sellers best interest. My buyer, after all this happened, asked me to pull comparatives of other homes in that neighborhood but now I can't because that information could hurt the seller. I explained why I can't but because this attorney is his girlfriend, he doesn't feel right "firing" her now. I told my buyer in the beginning to not hire her because she doesn't practice real estate law and she is a potential deal killer. But my buyer became his own potential deal killer because he ignored my sound, professional advice. It is what it is.
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