There’s a new trend I’m seeing in real estate, and considering how much I personally use technology, I find it pretty interesting.
Buyers are using ChatGPT to help them buy a home.
And before anybody thinks I’m about to tell you not to use ChatGPT, I’m not.
I use ChatGPT myself. I think it can be an incredibly useful tool. I use it for research, writing, brainstorming, asking questions, and getting another perspective on things.
But when it comes to buying a home, there’s something very important to remember:
One size does not fit all.
And ChatGPT is a tool. It is not your real estate agent.
A Real-Life Example From This Weekend
I actually ran into this situation over the weekend with a buyer who was looking at one of our listings.
This was a seven-bedroom home. It was designed as a seven-bedroom home. It was built as a seven-bedroom home. As far as we could determine, there was absolutely no evidence that this property had ever been anything other than a seven-bedroom home.
But somewhere during the buyer’s research with ChatGPT, they apparently became concerned that this might have originally been a six-bedroom home that was later converted into a seven-bedroom home.
That led to questions about permits.
Now, asking whether an addition or modification to a home was properly permitted can be a perfectly legitimate question.
The problem was that there hadn’t been an addition or modification.
The seventh bedroom wasn’t added later.
It was part of the original construction.
So the buyer was essentially looking for a separate permit for something that had never been separately permitted because there was nothing separate to permit.
Think about it this way: when a house is originally constructed, you don’t necessarily have an individual building permit for every bedroom, another individual permit for the kitchen, another one for the living room, and another one for each bathroom.
They’re components of the home covered by the original construction and permitting process.
In this particular situation, ChatGPT had apparently given the buyer a reasonable question to ask if a seventh bedroom had been added later.
But that “if” was pretty important.
Instead, a hypothetical concern started being treated almost as though it were evidence that something had actually happened.
And that’s where technology can sometimes get you into trouble.
ChatGPT Can Give You the Question. It Doesn’t Always Know Whether the Question Fits.
This is the distinction I think people need to understand.
If you ask ChatGPT, “What should I be concerned about when buying a house where a bedroom may have been added?” it can probably give you a pretty good checklist.
Check permits. Check whether the room meets applicable requirements. Verify the property records. Ask whether the work was completed professionally. Talk with your real estate agent, inspector, lender, title company, attorney, or the appropriate local authority when necessary.
Those can all be reasonable suggestions.
But what happens when the bedroom wasn’t added?
Now you’re trying to apply an answer to a situation that doesn’t exist.
And that’s where I come back to my tagline for this:
One size does not fit all.
Real estate is incredibly property-specific.
Two houses sitting next door to each other can have completely different histories, improvements, permits, insurance issues, financing considerations, renovations, easements, HOA circumstances, and a dozen other differences.
A generalized answer can be helpful.
But it isn’t necessarily your answer.
ChatGPT Is a Tool—Just Like a Pair of Scissors
Here’s probably the simplest analogy I can give you.
A pair of professional scissors is a tool used to cut hair.
I can go out and buy a fantastic pair of scissors.
That does not mean you should let me cut your hair.
The scissors aren’t the problem.
I’m the problem because I don’t know how to cut hair.
The expertise isn’t in owning the tool. It’s knowing how to use the tool, understanding the information in front of you, recognizing what applies to a particular situation, and knowing what doesn’t.
ChatGPT is no different.
It can give you information.
It can help you formulate questions.
It can point out something you may want to investigate.
It can even help explain terminology that you don’t understand.
But it doesn’t walk through the house with you.
It doesn’t know everything that happened during the transaction.
It hasn’t necessarily reviewed the actual documents.
It isn’t talking with the listing agent, inspector, lender, title company, appraiser, insurance agent, HOA, builder, or local permitting authority.
And most importantly, it doesn’t replace experience and context.
Sometimes the Information Creates More Doubt Than Clarity
That’s what happened in this particular situation.
Instead of helping the buyer better understand the property, the information created a concern about something for which there was no evidence in the first place.
Then that concern started affecting the transaction.
It created doubt for the buyer. It created frustration on the other side of the transaction. And frankly, it caused the seller to have some doubts about working with this particular buyer.
Even the buyer’s real estate agent expressed some frustration because every explanation could potentially be taken back to ChatGPT and essentially second-guessed.
Now, should a real estate agent ever be second-guessed?
Absolutely.
I’m not suggesting that having a real estate license makes someone infallible.
Ask questions. Challenge something if it doesn’t make sense. Get a second opinion when appropriate. Verify important information.
I’ve been selling real estate for more than two decades, and I don’t expect a client to blindly accept everything I say simply because I’m the Realtor.
But there is a difference between verifying information and continually searching until you find something new to worry about.
That’s an important distinction.
Buying Without Representation Can Put You at a Disadvantage
There’s another trend tied into this that concerns me.
Some buyers are trying to navigate real estate transactions without their own professional representation because they assume they’re going to save the commission.
That assumption doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to save money.
And in the meantime, they may be putting themselves at a disadvantage.
Buying a house isn’t simply finding a property online and deciding what you’re willing to pay for it.
There’s the contract. Negotiations. Inspections. Financing. Appraisal. Insurance. Title. HOA documents when applicable. Deadlines. Deposits. Repair issues. Property history. Disclosures. Closing costs. And the thousand little things that can come up between writing an offer and getting the keys.
AI can help you understand some of those things.
But AI isn’t sitting across the negotiating table representing your interests.
A good real estate professional is.
So Should You Use ChatGPT When Buying a Home?
Sure.
I’d actually encourage buyers to use whatever tools help them become better informed.
Ask ChatGPT:
“What questions should I ask my home inspector?”
“What does this terminology mean?”
“What should I generally consider when buying a home with a pool?”
“What questions should I ask about an HOA?”
“What should I discuss with my insurance agent before buying this house?”
Those kinds of questions can help you have better conversations with the professionals involved in your transaction.
Where you can get into trouble is when a hypothetical answer becomes a conclusion.
“This is something you may want to check” is very different from “this is a problem with this house.”
That’s where common sense, context, documentation, and professional experience have to enter the conversation.
And you also have to be willing to listen to the voice of reason.
Sometimes ChatGPT is going to give you a concern that simply doesn’t fit the property you’re buying. Trying to force that concern into your situation doesn’t make you better informed. Sometimes it just creates unnecessary anxiety and can even make an otherwise straightforward transaction more difficult.
Use Technology. Don’t Let Technology Use You.
I’m certainly not anti-AI.
Quite the opposite.
I think we’re going to see artificial intelligence become an increasingly useful part of real estate. I use it myself, and I expect I’ll use it even more in the future.
But I also know its limitations.
Use ChatGPT to help you ask better questions, not necessarily to give you every final answer.
Then take those questions to the people who actually know the property and the transaction.
Your real estate agent. Your inspector. Your lender. Your title company. Your insurance professional. Your attorney when appropriate. The local building department when permitting really is an issue.
Technology should supplement professional experience—not replace it.
Because buying a home isn’t a hypothetical exercise.
It’s your money. It’s your contract. It’s your house.
And when you’re making one of the largest financial decisions of your life, having all the tools available to you is great.
Just make sure you also have someone who knows how to use them.
After all, one size does not fit all.
Thinking About Buying a Home in Central Florida?
If you’re considering buying a home in Orlando, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Windermere, Clermont, Apopka, or elsewhere in Central Florida, I’d be happy to help you navigate the process.
Bring your questions. Bring the information you’ve found online. Bring the questions ChatGPT gave you.
I’m perfectly happy to talk through them with you.
Because technology can give you information. My job is to help you figure out what that information actually means for the home you’re considering buying.
David Dorman, Broker Associate
CENTURY 21 Carioti
2747 Maguire Rd., Ocoee, FL 34761
Phone: 407-948-8295
Email: [email protected]
Website: DavidDorman.com
Central Florida Real Estate: LiveInOrlandoFL.com
More Articles: David Dorman Real Estate Blog
When you hire David Dorman, you GET David Dorman.