Part I: Back in 1987, before the advent of podcasts, when all there was to do for entertainment was talk to each other, I made my first and last acting debut. I was working for a local television station at the time, and we were doing a story on urban legends. Since local stations do not budget any funds for actors, the employees of the station would mandatorily “volunteer.” This particular piece surrounded the local legends that had been told and retold so many times, it became thought of as true — when in fact, it was not.

For my part, I played a girl who had parked at a campsite with her boyfriend to “look at the stars.” The radio was playing in the background, and a story came on about a man with a pirate-like hook for a hand who was stalking campsites for victims to attack and kill. Upon hearing the story, the girl freaks out and insists her boyfriend take her home immediately. He complies, but when they arrive at her home and he walks around the car to open her door (this is the old days, when dudes were still gentlemen), there is a hook on the door handle … and cue horror music.

Unfortunately, myths and legends still abound. There is a slew of them in the real estate industry as well, myths we wish would have become victims of the pirate-hooked killer. But alas, these legends are still alive, perhaps to be retold for generations to come. Thus, in this three-part series, I alone, will attempt to lay them to rest once and for all.

Myth 1: Real estate practically sells itself nowadays. If that were the case, I should be able to have a day off, or take a lunch break. While many homes are selling fast right now, it does not make things any less complex. In fact, there are numerous hours that go into the preparation, groundwork, research, phone calls, and consistent and specific market focus all behind the scenes that many consumers don’t realize or see. If only we had billable hours.

Once an offer is accepted, after additional hours of negotiating, scrutinizing, calling lenders to verify and calling every agent who submitted offers on behalf of their client, only then does the real work start. At that point, the primary responsibility of the agent is to keep tabs on all the key players: escrow officers, inspectors, appraisers, lenders, title companies, possible sub-contractor facilitating for recommended repairs. If any of the players duck out at any time during the game, the game could be forfeited unless the team coach is present to call in a bench warmer and push the team to a touchdown.

Myth 2: No preparation necessary to sell a home in the current market. A few weeks ago, I was approached by a client who needed to have their home under contract within a week. As I toured the home, I asked the potential sellers if they would rather have an offer at $500,000 or $525,000. Obviously, they picked the latter. I explained that they would need to invest about $2,500 but it would net them considerably more in the end. They agreed. I gave them a list, I helped them facilitate the contractors and we got it done. Seven days later, we were under contract for $525,000. This is just an example of what any hard-working Realtor will do to help a seller maximize their offer price. Dinged up doors, fingerprints on the walls and missing switch plates simply won’t bring maximum possible appraisal price.

That is all for now. There are many more real estate urban myths to debunk. Stay tuned next week for part II: angry fruit-throwing hobbits living in the middle of the capital city.

Jen Fischer is an associate broker and Realtor. She can be reached at 801-645-2134 or jen@jen-fischer.com.

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