7 Times a Real Estate Agent May Come Across as Pushy to a Buyer, When They’re Really Just Trying to Help

Nobody likes a pushy salesperson, especially when it’s a big ticket item like a house. And unfortunately, many home buyers come prepared to brace themselves against the slick sales tactics of real estate agents who they think will be pulling out all the tricks in their sales book to get them to buy as expensive a house as possible, as quickly as possible.

To be fair, there are some pushy, money-hungry agents in the business. But most aren’t like that at all. The majority of agents just want to make sure you find a house you love, within your price range, and help you get it for the lowest price possible, in whatever amount of time it takes to help you do so.

But even the most laid-back, least “salesy” agent in the world may still come across as pushy to a buyer at times, when in reality they’re just trying to help you avoid making a big mistake, or help you achieve the best result possible.

So let’s take a look at 7 times a real estate agent may come across as pushy to a buyer, when they’re really just trying to help you:

1) Pushing You to Get Pre-approved

The pushiness seemingly starts the minute you start even looking for a house! Buyers often get frustrated by agent after agent they come into contact with asking if they’ve been pre-approved for a mortgage yet. Many buyers feel this is pushy because they just want to see a house, and aren’t even sure if they’ll want to buy it, and they’ll just get approved once they find a house they want to buy. Yet many agents a buyer speaks with won’t even show them a house unless they get pre-approved.

While this may feel like an agent is just trying to find out how much money you can spend so they can sell you as expensive a house as possible, agents are actually trying to make sure you don’t make a huge mistake. If you start looking for a house without knowing if you can get a mortgage, or how much you can afford, you can waste a lot of time, or end up very disappointed when you find a house you love only to find out you can’t afford to buy it.

2) Pushing You to See a House Quickly

When you first start looking at houses, you may not be in a rush to buy. But when a great house, at a great price hits the market, the sellers aren’t going to wait around for you to be ready. A desirable, well-priced home will be scooped up by a serious buyer within days (or even hours!) of being listed.

So even though it may seem pushy if your agent is calling you the day a house is listed pushing you to go see the house that day, it’s really just to make sure you don’t miss out on a house that’s perfect for you. And depending on the market, that opportunity may not come around all that often…

3) Pushing You to See Houses You Don’t Want to See

The internet has made it easy for home buyers to see pretty much any house that’s for sale online. So you can more or less just browse through them all and tell your agent which ones you want to actually see.

But sometimes agents will push you to go see a house that you didn’t want to see because you didn’t like the style or location. When they do that, it’s because experienced agents can often assess what you’d like better than you can for yourself. Trust that they think it’s something you’ll like and humor them. The worst that can happen is you don’t like it after all, but the best case scenario is that your agent made sure you didn’t miss the house of your dreams based upon your initial reaction to what you saw online.

4) Pushing You to Make an Offer on a House

When you find a house you like, it’s normal to want to “sleep on it” before making an offer. But sometimes you “sleep” on a house, there’s a good chance you’ll never sleep in it!

Agents know from experience that even a house that’s been sitting on the market for months can get bought by another buyer in the blink of an eye. Going through that heartbreak with just one client in their career teaches them to give the rest of their buyers that little push they need to make an offer ASAP, to avoid seeing them get heartbroken too.

5) Pushing You to Make a Higher Offer

Everyone dreams of getting a great deal on a house, and many buyers think they can do that by coming in with a low offer and some tough negotiating. But the truth is, getting a deal happens more often with houses nobody else wants.

Low-balling a seller is the quickest way to lose any chance you have at getting a house you want. So if your agent is encouraging you to increase your offer, it isn’t because they don’t want to help you try and get a deal, it’s because they don’t want you to lose any hope of getting the house at all. If getting a bargain is your goal, your agent will be glad to help you find a house you can get for a steal… but it won’t necessarily be on any house you like. You’ll have to look specifically for the ones that there’s an opportunity to make a deal on.

6) Pushing You to Use Their Mortgage Person, Inspector, Etc.

When it comes time for you to apply for your mortgage, get a home inspection, or any other home buying related service, your agent may seem to be pushing you to use someone they recommend. Some buyers wonder if it’s because they’re getting kickbacks, or if they’re in cahoots in some other way.

The truth is, most agents will give a list of people they recommend for you to choose from, but will rarely push you to use anyone specific. Their list of recommended service providers is simply to help you choose someone they trust because they have a history of doing a good job (and at a fair price) for their clients.

7) Pushing You to Not Make a Big Deal About Certain Home Inspection Items

A home inspection report often has an endless list of “problems” the inspector found, and a lot of buyers treat it like an all-inclusive list of things to ask the seller to repair or replace. There are certainly things that you should ask a seller to repair, and ultimately you can decide to ask for whatever you want based upon the home inspection report. But what (and how much) you ask for will also affect how the seller reacts to your requests. You have to take into consideration the overall market conditions, how much you paid for the house, and if there are any other potential buyers ready to scoop the house up if your deal falls apart.

So if your agent seems to be pushing you to not ask for certain things to be repaired, it’s based upon their experience and insight into what a seller will be (and should be) agreeable to fixing, based upon the entire situation.