Do you ever read those articles about what buyers should and shouldn’t do and you think to yourself… well ya, duh! I’m not an idiot.

There are SO many places to get advice about real estate transactions, but not all are created equal and not all advice is good.

We don’t live in the times of classified ads anymore. No one finds a home in their local newspaper or magazine. We have the glorious internet, an endless source of information. You buyers are educated. You buyers know what you want.

Realtor.com® recently highlighted some of the most common advice home buyers hear that no longer applies in the current housing market, including:

“Wait for spring.”

Advice like this is KEY for sellers when deciding when is the best and most likely time to list their home to have the best advantage, but buyers don’t need to wait for any “good” time to buy. Yes, spring is busy and there’s more inventory on the market, but that also means there’s more buyers out looking too. More buyers = more competition. Plus, sellers feel like since it’s the best time to sell, they are less likely to negotiate on price.

Buy when you find the right property that will meet your needs today, tomorrow, and the next five to ten years.

“Wait for home prices to come down.”

There’s always that fear of buying at the top of the market. It’s not all that irrational. But when you consider the cost of renting (which is also probably at its highest) you’re literally throwing money away. Paying high rent now and hoping that you’ll find a better deal two or three years down the road won’t work.

The better advice is to make a smart buy today for a property that will appreciate over the longer term.

“Make a lower offer so you have room to negotiate.”

Some buyers may be told to make an offer that’s less than what they’re actually willing to pay for a home. “Give yourself room to negotiate.” They say.

The old adage to offer 10 to 15% below asking is not necessarily the case anymore. (This advice does not apply to overpriced homes. That’s a whole other blog post for another day.)  Sellers are competing against other homes in their area and most likely have already priced their home competitively.

The better advice is to base your offer on sales of similar homes in the area.

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