Is it better to find homes without a real estate agent? Should you make a low ball offer? Is it really necessary to get pre-approved? Here's a look at 7 common myths about buying a home and why they aren't true. While we specialize in homes for sale in League City TX, you'll find these myths and truths apply to homes across most of the US.

Myth 1 - "Lets make a low ball offer, we can offer more when they counter."

Now this is definitely dangerous because the owner (especially if you're dealing with banks and foreclosures) is not obligated to counter at all if they choose. A lot of times it will offend them and they won't take you serious as a buyer, and they can even go as far as not letting you re-submit at all. Sometimes you only get one shot at getting the home, so you just need to make a fair offer and remember that you're buying a home to live in and if you mess around trying to steal it or make unreasonable offers, you can very easily lose it.

Myth 2 - "We don't need to get Pre-Approved, we'll find the League City Home first and worry about it then."

This is also a common situation we come across. The homeowners these days want to know more than ever that buyers are Pre-Approved through a reputable lender. The mortgage market has been all over the place lately and it's probably harder than it's ever been for someone just scraping by to get approved. You can expect to submit a Pre-Approval letter along with your offer. Not to mention that it just makes sense to know what you can afford, what your payments are going to be, your interest rate, closing costs, taxes, insurance, etc. and that's all part of getting Pre-Approved.

Myth 3 - "If I don't have a real estate agent, I'll get a better deal on something."

Sometimes it's literally the opposite, where you will actually get a discount because you have an agent representing you. Granted if you're an expert buyer and understand real estate contracts, you can represent yourself if you choose but you won't get a better deal because of it. Even if you found an owner willing to discount their asking price because you didn't have an agent, it's going to be a for sale by owner and you are completely on your own, so you better understand the buying process and how to protect yourself.

Myth 4 - "It's a buyers market, we can get a steal on anything right now."

This is also very common and usually due to the national news telling everyone how bad the real estate market is. But what they don't tell you are the areas that are not only doing well, but have shown some price increases and heavy buyer activity. The truth is, sometimes you can find a deal on something, but most of the time you will have to pay market value. It depends on the clients' goals and what they're trying to accomplish. Do you want a home to live in for a long time? Or are you looking for an investment property? The answer to those questions will help determine how many options you'll have, and where you will need to look.

Myth 5 - "We will never have to offer full price for a home."

This will depend on a few things...

1. Your time frame for closing on a home.

2. The current market conditions and how many buyers are competing with you on that property.

3. What houses are selling for in the area, and if they're currently overpriced, under priced, or priced right.

4. Your budget and maximum price range you're comfortable spending.

5. Your emotional attachment to the home

So if you've been looking for a while and you need to close soon to get into a home before school starts for the kids, there are several offers on the house already and you have to compete, the house is priced really well, it fits within your budget, and you have fallen in love with the home, then you may have to offer full price for your home.

Myth 6 - "This is a foreclosure, the bank will do whatever we ask because they want to get rid of it."

This is something I come across often as well. A bank will never agree to do repairs, and sometimes they won't pay anything toward the buyers closing costs either. They sell the properties AS IS and expect the buyer to adjust for the repairs on their asking price, if the bank hasn't done so enough already. They usually have their own set of rules and hoops you have to jump through if you want to deal with them.

Myth 7 - "I can look at 20 or 30 League City homes a week until we find one."

I applaud your work ethic and eagerness to find a home but the truth is, looking at that many homes (if you even have all those options) will only make every house start looking the same. You will mentally exhaust yourself and start to settle for things you wouldn't normally settle for under normal circumstances. We usually recommend around 10 League City homes a week, give or take. You will need time to digest all the information about each one.