Here’s what you need to know about using real estate websites.
Real estate websites are the best thing that’s ever happened to real estate consumers, but they have some limitations. Real estate websites are sites such as Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, and all the other places where people look for listings. These sites post listings for one main reason: generating leads to sell to real estate agents. Sometimes these sites may want to buy your home directly from you and cut out the “middle man.”
When you look around on these sites and click a link that says something like “Let me talk to an agent” or click a phone number to call it, there’s a 99% chance that you won’t get the listing agent. Instead, it’s going to one to four agents that have an agreement with the website to buy your information as a lead. That agent will start trying to contact you, and they have to be fairly relentless because they’re often penalized if they don’t get into contact with you.
“Real estate websites are great, but they have limitations.”
I also want to share a couple of buying myths that apply whether you’re using one of these sites or not:
1. I can get a better deal if I go through the listing agent. Frankly, many agents don’t want to work with both the buyer and seller on the same transaction. It’s risky, and most don’t want to fool with it. You should get your own agent when looking for homes.
2. If I use the listing agent, I have a better chance of getting my offer accepted. In truth, that agent represents the seller, not you, so they’ll do what’s in the seller’s best interest, not yours.
If you have further questions about this topic or any other real estate matter, reach out to me via phone or email, and I can get specific with my answers. I would love to help you.
