11 Deceptions Real Estate Agents May Engage in to Get a Listing or a Sale
It may seem strange for a real estate agent to write an article about how Realtors can mislead sellers. But in reality, no one finds dishonesty among some agents more upsetting than a reputable Realtor.
As with any profession, there are always a few bad apples—even among agents. There are some agents out there who will stretch the truth or even lie outright to get a listing or make a sale. It’s unfortunate, but it’s true.
Let’s take a look at some of the top deceptions among real estate agents to understand better what you should keep an eye out for.
Obviously, the best way to avoid these situations is to hire a reputable agent—but sometimes you don’t know a reputable agent, so it can take a little trial and error to find the one you need.
If you notice an agent you are considering stretching the truth in any of the following ways, walk away and find another agent. Sellers need to ask real estate agents lots of questions. The vetting process for hiring a real estate agent should be considerable. It’s your largest asset, right?
Here are the top eleven lies a real estate agent may use to get your listing.
1. Telling you a price that you want to hear.
It is prevalent for homeowners to assume that their house is worth more than it is. You are not constantly watching the market and regularly pricing and selling homes, so you are unlikely to have a clear understanding of what your home is worth right now.
You might incorrectly believe that a Zillow estimate is your home value. Sorry more than likely, that is not the case. A significant percentage of the time, the value is off by tens of thousands of dollars.
But an exceptional real estate agent will know precisely what your home is worth. However, a deceptive agent may tell you your home is worth more than it is to get your business. After it takes an extended period of time for your home to sell, they will then turnaround and tell you to lower the price. They still get their commission, while you miss out on selling your home for the right price from the beginning.
Real Estate agents intentionally deceiving homeowners about the value of their home has been going on since the industry started many moons ago. Agents who do this don’t have the skills to win a client fair and square. They resort to tactics that eventually lead to mistrust.
The wrong price is the number one factor why homes don’t sell. It is crucial to get the price right from day one. Keep in mind that market data doesn’t lie – people do. Never, ever choose a real estate agent based on price.
2. Telling you they have sold more homes than they have.
Real Estate agents love to lie about their production. Isn’t it funny how multiple agents claim they are #1 in town? You want an agent who has a consistent history of selling homes, especially a strong recent history.
Agents know how important it is to have a steady production level to demonstrate competency. A track record of success is one of the most important factors in choosing a real estate agent.
Unfortunately, some may be willing to lie about how many homes they have sold to attract sellers. You can uncover the lie really quickly, though, by making a simple phone call to their broker. Sellers make mistakes picking a real estate agent all the time. It is not hard to understand why they do when ninety-four percent of all real estate sales are done by six percent of all licensed agents. The odds are stacked against you that a bad choice could be made.
3. Tells you that they have potential buyers standing by.
This is one of my favorite lies that real estate agents love to tell. The “ole I have the perfect buyer for your home” is another common BS tactic unethically agents will use to get you to sign a listing contract.
First, it typically takes some marketing and legwork to attract the right kind of buyer to a sale. Second, even if an agent has “potential buyers,” it does not mean that they are the right agent for your needs.
The buyers could fall through, and you would be left with an agent that may or may not be to your liking.
Focus on the things that are important to you in an agent. You want someone you can depend on, someone who has the skills and experience to get the job done. With those things, the buyers will come.
Additionally, you don’t want to enter into a dual agency agreement where the agent you’re hiring becomes a neutral party. A significant percentage of agents practice dual agency, which is horrible for consumers.
Agents who practice dual agency rarely explain the significant downsides. Why? They want you to accept it! The real estate agent gets paid double while you no longer have representation. Simply AWFUL!
4. Claiming that they specialize in an area that they really don’t.
When choosing an agent, it makes sense to look for someone with experience selling homes similar to yours. Selling waterfront homes, luxury homes, condos, and other specific house types bring their own challenges, difficulties that may be easier to overcome for an agent who has done it plenty of times before.
Some agents may claim to have experience in an area of interest to you even if they don’t actually have that experience. If you have an affinity for an agent who specializes in a certain type of property, make sure you ask them to back up that claim. Have them give you a few recent sales that match what you’re looking for.
5. Claims that open houses are the way to sell a home.
You can always spot a weak real estate agent if you hear open houses are needed to sell a home. Not only is this extremely dishonest, but it also shows the agent needs open houses to prospect for business. Homes are rarely sold at open houses. Some figures put the number of homes sold at open houses at less than 2%. That is not a promising number.
In cases where a buyer purchases a home after seeing it at an open house, they would have scheduled a showing if the time wasn’t convenient. You see real buyers schedule showings for properties they are interested in viewing.
Any agent that tells you that open houses are the key to selling a home is not telling you the truth. Most of the benefits of open houses come to the agent—who gets to offer services to every party that walks through the door.
You might be wondering what’s the big deal. Who cares if the agent wants to do an open house? Isn’t it just another way to get more exposure? Sure, but at what cost? Many real estate agents fail to explain to sellers that open houses are a magnet for crime. Theft is very common at open houses.
Don’t believe someone who claims open houses are what you need to make a sale. You’ll be stuck with a lousy agent.
6. Uses gimmicks like a guaranteed sale.
Some agents will use hokey gimmicks to get you to list with them. One of the more well known deceitful marketing programs is the guaranteed home sale. Agents who use this gimmick to get you to sign on the dotted line will say they will sell your home in X number of days or they will buy it.
You’ll see the advertisements that will say something “sold in 60 days,” or we’ll buy your house. These con artists don’t tell you that the price they will buy your home for is tens of thousands of dollars below market value.
Yippee! Don’t be suckered!
7. Pretends to have social media skills in real estate.
Social media offers some useful ways to help market your home. While it is not the end all be all of selling—there are many other channels that your agent should be taking advantage of—it is certainly one type of marketing you want to take advantage of.
Agents know this, which is why some may claim to be real estate social media gurus even if they are not. Talk to your agent about social media marketing and verify that they have a plan of action to take advantage of it.
Will they be using Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin to market your home? How will they do that? Ask them for examples.
8. Claims they are the only one to have a website that gets a lot of traffic when it really doesn’t.
The best real estate agents today have some sort of web presence, including a website. But there are agents out there who do not have a website, and those agents may claim to have one anyway. Using the companies website is NOT the same thing as having your own custom website designed to capture business.
You can definitely check to see if they have one in a matter of minutes. But even if they have one, does it get plenty of local traffic? Because local traffic is important. You can use sites like Ubersuggest or Alexa to find traffic estimates on your agent’s website.
9. Make claims about using the internet to sell homes that are not true.
The internet is the main way that people find homes for sale. This is an undisputed fact. Agents are keen to tell sellers that they use the internet to sell homes, but they can be deceptive in what they claim. A skilled agent will have a website, a blog, social media account, and more.
Not only will they have these things, but they will also have a track record of using them to sell homes. If you find an agent that claims internet skills, verify them. And if you have an agent telling you that they are the only one using the internet, steer clear. You can definitely find others who are using the internet and using it well.
10. Pretend to have more experience than they actually have.
Everyone likes to hire experienced professionals. Most people feel some hesitation about hiring someone new to the game. Of course, some people are perfectly fine hiring agents who are just getting started.
An agent with little experience will not necessarily be a bad agent. As long as the price you pay reflects your giving them a chance to get started in the industry, there is nothing wrong with hiring someone new. What is wrong is when an agent claims to have experience when they don’t.
You can verify the experience of an agent quickly by doing a little research. Search the agent online by using Google, or just contact the local real estate association.
11. Tells you brokerage fees are going to be lower than they actually are.
Brokerage fees are negotiable in real estate. Anyone who tells you differently is not telling the truth. Like any other service, the cheapest tends to come at a price.
The lowest-priced services are going to suffer in one way or another. The lowest commission will not net you more money when selling a home. In fact, the odds are that you will sell for much less by going with a discounted commission rate.
Most real estate agencies charge a similar commission rate. Agents that try to tell you things like brokerage fees are fixed or that they have the lowest commission in town are not the kind of agents you probably want to work with.
You could end up costing yourself lots of money by picking a real estate agent because they offer you some special deal.
Read the article above on why commission splits are so important. Never penalize a buyer’s agent. You want them to be thrilled to sell your home!
Final thoughts on Real Estate Agent Lies
When selling a home, the real estate agent you decide to work with will significantly impact your success. You must take the time to really vet the candidates you’re considering.
Going with Aunt Sally’s friend’s cousin is not the best way to pick a great agent. You’ll end up disappointed and very stressed in the process. Always be on the lookout for an agent who will lie to win business and avoid them.
Additional Useful Home Selling Articles
- Pricing on a luxury home is critical – when you sell a luxury property, it is vital to get the initial listing price correct. You’ll put yourself behind the eight ball when you overprice your home.
- Why a pre-approval letter is so critical – one of the essential things a listing agent does for a seller is verify that the buyer is a strong candidate to get a mortgage. See why having a pre-approval letter is so vital.
- Why an open house isn’t needed to sell a home – see why open houses are the biggest waste of time for home sellers. Don’t believe the hype – an open house benefits real estate agents, not homeowners.
Use these additional home selling resources to make great business decisions when marketing your home.
About the Author: The above Real Estate information on lies real estate agents tell home sellers to get a listing was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-625-0191. Bill has helped people move in and out of many Metrowest towns for the last 34+ years.
Are you thinking of selling your home? I have a passion for Real Estate and love to share my marketing expertise!
I service Real Estate Sales in the following Metrowest MA towns: Ashland, Bellingham, Douglas, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Natick, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Wayland, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Upton, and Uxbridge MA.
Realtors lie more than a used car salesman. You forgot the #1 lie – we have several offers and you will have to bid this up to win the home.
Robert – your example is a real estate agent lying to a buyer, not a seller.
I have 40 yrs in business, hold open houses and often sell to open house prospects. Totally like them and they work for me!
Janet the fact of the matter is the same person who is purchasing from the open house would have done so by scheduling an appointment. The difference is there would not be a whole bunch of other people is the sellers home that don’t belong. Open houses put clients homes at risk of theft unnecessarily.
I have a beautiful 1 yr. old home in St James Plantation, NC for sale but cannot find an agent/broker that I trust. I just fired the one I had. I’ve owned 11 homes over the last 50 years and sold 4 myself but not able to here in a strict 24 hr gated community. I Need help.
Bob I will send you an email.
Thank you for this valuable information. We just listed our home and wish we would have seen this sooner.
Thanks Mickey I am glad you found the article helpful.
I don’t know what state you work in but, I’m a Realtor in middle TN. We have very strict ethics code that we must abide by and violating it can result in stiff fines and or forfeiture of your license.
I would never even dream of lying to a client. I worked too hard to build my career and I rely a great deal on word of mouth referals because of my specialty. I primarily deal with investors and builders. My focus is mostly off market properties. I deal with people who are spending a great deal of money and I must have a relationship built on trust or I will lose my clients so quick your head would spin.
The code of ethics is not state specific. Every Realtor is supposed to follow the COE. Do they? Hell no!
The real estate agent we had taken advantage of us, big time!!! He tricked my father into a reverse mortgage that he didn’t want or need. We got a house that actually ended up being a foreclosure that had sat empty for about 20 years!!! It was overrun with feral cats and my allergies sent me to the hospital!
The stress and frustration helped lead to my father’s stroke 3 years later.
I lost my home after his death and am subsequently homeless.
Laira sorry to hear about your bad experience with a real estate agent. It happens from time to time. I have met tons of outstanding agents over my three decades in real estate but you do see a few bad apples along the way.
Could you tell me what lies an real estate agent has when you’re buying a home? I was told a lot of BS
when looking to buy a home. He kept saying how cheap repairs would be. Not true, once you get in
and find out it’s a bit more for repairs. I think the are just pushing people into buying a house in a hurry.
Al at some point I will write about the lies you hear when buying a home.
I have a very high success rate as an agent holding open houses. The reason why is I provide comparble home listings, HOA amenity info, advertise the open house well in advance, invite neighbors, ask a lot of questions and make sure the home is attractively staged.
Mark you are making me laugh. You should be doing these things whether you have an open house or not. The fact of the matter is any serious buyer is going to schedule a showing. What you are doing is put the seller’s home at risk by letting anyone in the door with a pulse. Showings with agents = vetted buyers while open houses = free for all.
Open houses are an archaic marketing activity that serves the interests of the real estate agent. They are completely unnecessary to sell a home.
I recently did not get a listing because I was 100% honest with the sellers. They hired another agent who told them the “market didn’t matter” – their house has been on the market now for months because it was priced incorrectly. GREAT information!
Sonja I feel your pain. My biggest pet peeve in the real estate industry is agents who mislead sellers about the value of their home. Other than dual agency there isn’t much worse in this business.
Bad real estate agents are every where. It’s all over Brown County Ind.
Bill great information. What is your opinion of an agent insisting on planting their sign on my yard?
Mike – while a sign is not the most important marketing activity, I would not discount it’s use. You don’t want the sale of your home to be a secret. Aiming to capture the widest net is important.
I have been a Realtor for 40 years and know some agents may use these tactics. However, misrepresenting and lying never works because one will eventually find out. In our area social media is not as effective as Realtor.com, Remax.com, Zillow, and Facebook. Farming one’s data base is effective. Open houses can be challenging and yet it may be possible to acquire good buyers – essential for new construction.