There’s an old expression in business: “Fake it till you make it.”
In fact, one of my first brokers used to say it.
I understand the concept. When you’re new at something, sometimes you have to project a little confidence while you’re learning. I’ve probably done it myself more than once over the years.
But there comes a point—especially in real estate—when you have to recognize something much more important:
You don’t know what you don’t know.
And when you’re advising someone about what may be one of the largest financial transactions of their life, pretending to know something you don’t can have very real consequences.
Confidence Is Not the Same as Experience
I’ve been in real estate since 1999, and after all these years, there are still situations where I’ll say:
“I don’t know. Let me find out.”
I don’t consider that a weakness.
I consider it part of being a professional.
Real estate transactions can involve contracts, inspections, financing, appraisals, title issues, insurance, surveys, homeowners associations, repairs, negotiations and circumstances that are completely different from one transaction to another.
No Realtor or real estate agent should be expected to know the answer to every possible question.
What matters is recognizing when you don’t know the answer and knowing where to go to get accurate information.
That might mean talking with your broker, a lender, title company, inspector, insurance professional, attorney or another qualified expert.
There is a big difference between saying, “Let me verify that for you,” and confidently giving someone an answer that may be wrong.
The Problem With “Guns Blazing”
Over the years, I’ve encountered agents who come into a transaction guns blazing.
They’re extremely confident. They have an answer for everything. They immediately tell everyone how the transaction should be handled.
Sometimes that confidence is backed by years of experience.
Sometimes it isn’t.
That’s when things can become unnecessarily difficult.
An agent who doesn’t understand a particular situation but refuses to acknowledge it can create conflict where none needs to exist. Negotiations can become more difficult. Buyers and sellers can receive incomplete or incorrect information. Problems that might have been easily solved can become much larger.
In serious situations, mistakes can contribute to failed transactions or disputes.
That isn’t good for the buyer.
It isn’t good for the seller.
And it certainly isn’t good for the real estate professionals involved.
Being New Isn’t the Problem
I want to make an important distinction here.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a new real estate agent.
Every experienced Realtor was a new agent once—including me.
I’ve worked with newer agents who were terrific. They asked questions. They communicated. They involved their broker when appropriate. They listened. And if they encountered something they hadn’t seen before, they weren’t embarrassed to say so.
Those can be excellent agents.
The problem isn’t a lack of experience.
The problem is not knowing something and allowing your ego to prevent you from asking for help.
Experience should teach you humility as much as anything else.
The longer I’ve been in this business, the more comfortable I’ve become saying, “That’s a good question. Let me make sure I give you the right answer.”
Sometimes the Other Agent Needs a Little Help
When something doesn’t seem right in a transaction, one of the things I try to understand is the experience level of the agent on the other side.
If it appears that someone may not have dealt with a particular situation before, I don’t believe in embarrassing them—especially in front of their client.
Instead, I’ll try to have a private conversation.
It might be as simple as:
“Have you dealt with this particular situation before?”
If the answer is no, I’ll often say:
“That’s okay. I’ve been through this before. If you’re open to it, let me show you what I’ve seen work.”
The important words there are “if you’re open to it.”
I’m not their broker, and I’m not there to tell another agent how to run their business. But we’re both trying to get our respective clients to the finish line while protecting their interests.
When everyone approaches the transaction professionally, something that could have become confrontational can become a teaching moment.
I’ve learned things from other agents over the years, too.
That’s how experience is built.
Consumers Should Verify Experience Too
This brings me to the part I think buyers and sellers sometimes overlook.
Do you actually know the experience level of the real estate agent you’ve hired?
Think about how much research we do before making other important decisions.
We research doctors.
We read reviews before choosing restaurants.
We compare contractors.
We research cars before buying them.
Yet someone can meet a real estate agent at an open house, have a pleasant 15-minute conversation and decide that this is the person who should represent them in a $500,000, $750,000 or million-dollar transaction.
Why?
A professional appearance and confidence are great qualities, but neither one tells you how many transactions someone has handled or whether they’ve dealt with circumstances similar to yours.
Ask Your Realtor Questions
Whether you’re buying or selling a home in Ocoee, Winter Garden, Windermere, Orlando, Clermont, Minneola, Gotha, Dr. Phillips, Celebration, Apopka, Davenport or elsewhere in Central Florida, you have every right to ask an agent about their experience.
Ask them how long they’ve been licensed.
Ask how many buyers or sellers they’ve represented.
Ask whether they’ve handled transactions in your area or price range.
If you’re selling a luxury home, lakefront property, condo, townhome, investment property or unique home, ask whether they’ve handled that type of property before.
If someone describes themselves as a multimillion-dollar producer, it’s perfectly reasonable to ask about the transactions behind that statement.
You aren’t being rude.
You’re interviewing someone for a very important job.
Experience Isn’t Just a Number
There is another side to this.
Years in the business alone don’t automatically make someone a great Realtor.
An agent could have been licensed for 20 years and barely practiced real estate. Another agent might have been licensed for only a few years but completed a substantial number of transactions and developed tremendous knowledge.
That’s why I believe consumers should look at the whole picture:
Experience, actual transaction history, local market knowledge, communication, professionalism, resources and—perhaps most importantly—the willingness to say “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”
That last quality tells me a lot about someone.
More Than 25 Years in Central Florida Real Estate
I’ve been helping buyers and sellers with Central Florida real estate since 1999. Over those years, I’ve worked through strong seller’s markets, buyer’s markets, foreclosures, short sales, multiple-offer situations, difficult inspections, appraisal challenges, financing problems and plenty of situations I had never encountered before.
And I’m still learning.
That’s the point.
Experience doesn’t mean you’ve seen everything.
Experience teaches you what to do when you encounter something you haven’t seen before.
Whether you’re buying or selling in Ocoee, Winter Garden, Windermere, Orlando, Clermont, Minneola, Gotha, Dr. Phillips, Celebration, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Davenport or another Central Florida community, don’t be afraid to interview the person who will be representing you.
Ask questions.
Verify experience.
And pay attention to whether someone is comfortable admitting when they need to get additional information.
Because in real estate—and in life—sometimes the most dangerous thing isn’t what you don’t know.
It’s not realizing that you don’t know it.
About David Dorman
David Dorman, Broker Associate
CENTURY 21 Carioti
2747 Maguire Rd
Ocoee, FL 34761
407-948-8295
david@daviddorman.com
DavidDorman.com
LiveInOrlandoFL.com
Serving buyers and sellers throughout Ocoee, Winter Garden, Windermere, Orlando, Gotha, Clermont, Minneola, Dr. Phillips, Celebration, Apopka, Davenport, Longwood, Altamonte Springs and communities throughout Central Florida.
When you hire David Dorman you GET David Dorman.