Did you ever wonder how popular WhatsApp or other apps are free ? In 2014 Facebook purchased WhatsApp for $19 Billion NOT to monetize the popular messaging service used worldwide but to integrate with Facebook. The developers of Whatsapp had a moral business compass not to sell adds to users nor to charge users monthly fee. The long story short is that Facebook merged all Whatsapp users with their database to increase their marketshare and as we found out later sold users habits to advertisers.
What does has to do with real-estate might ask? It's a different prospective for buyers especially to consider who is in their corner or does the realtor has their best interest at heart. Agent helping buyers in a transaction is paid by the seller and from time to time consumers may feel rushed or manipulated to make a purchasing decision which is one of the biggest purchase in a lifetime. As professional, I do not claim that I am perfect but I follow my own moral code of ethics and try to put myself in client's shoes. This blog is not meant to provoke or put a bad light on industry or anyone however, the conclusion is an educated consumer could make an informed decision which is in their best interest without pressures from market condition to mitigate any risks.
For this reason any consumer who is embarking on finding a new home the best decision they could make to interview 2-3 agents to get a sense and understanding that agent is working in their best interest. In the world where information is power, one cannot leave out any info that might be crucial and relevant for a willing and able buyer before making an offer. In the digital world we live in the information readily available from Google might not be as reliable however, buyers want to make sure they are in control of all decisions and do not always see value of a realtor in transaction because of the aforementioned. Tech companies are in real estate space due to potential profits but they not provide accurate info which confuse any consumer on what to believe. Case in point; a client of mine called me to say that a property they are interested in was previously listed and wondering what was the price. A quick search on history of this property on real estate board platform MLS show that this property was never up for sale and turns out that the client found the property marketed with Redfin whom pulled date from various online not reliable sources to make it seem like it is was for sale before but, consumer cannot easily decipher the truth.
The moral of the story is do not became the end product to purchase a property that you may regret buying later on having known the right info in timely manner. Due diligence is crucial before embarking on real estate transaction and use your gut check who best represent your interests.
