Top 10 Ways Buyer Agents Ruin Your Purchase
One Thing! They are On Accident Agents 20 years in a Row - No Process No Awareness
🚫 Top 10 Ways Buyer Agents Ruin Your Purchase
Because sometimes the biggest obstacle to your dream home isn’t the market—it’s your own representation.
Fun and Exciting or Drudgery:
Buying a home is supposed to be exciting. But if your agent doesn’t know what they’re doing—or worse, is more focused on themselves than on you—they can cost you the house, the money, and the opportunity you may never see again.
1. Anchoring You to Fantasy Numbers
You know the line: “We’ll offer 20% under, because that’s how we negotiate!” No, that’s how you miss houses. Great homes, especially along 30A, are priced close to reality. Anchoring to lowball fantasy numbers is how amateurs turn opportunity into regret.
2. Confusing List-to-Sell Ratios with Reality
They say: “Homes here sell at 94% of list!” and convince you there’s automatic wiggle room. Wrong. The best agents price homes to sell—not to leave negotiation candy on the table. If you assume a discount is baked in, you’ll be outbid by someone who actually understands how pricing works. At the Jabbour Luxury Group we stand pretty strong by comparison on Original List Price to Sales price. The evidence suggests we are the number 1 team when it comes to that metric on our listings when we also represent the buyer and we are #2 when we consider all of our listings.
3. Making It About Them, Not You
This one’s subtle but deadly. Some agents need to “win” negotiations so they can brag. Their ego replaces your objective. Instead of securing the home you want, they posture—and the deal dies. You can tell when you are negotiating with an agent rather than sharing your seller’s thoughts with the buyer needs. It is so obvious when a buyer agent is blustering….it usually shows up in not being really aware of what is going on. Like for example calling the selling agent and saying there is a Huge Insurance premium being quoted to the buyer when we already know its 68% of the rate that the agent thinks. We do our work.
4. Letting Inspection Become a Weapon 🔨
The inspection report is not a ransom letter. Smart agents use it to clarify real issues—roof, structure, HVAC. Bad ones pile on every cosmetic nitpick, insult the seller, and blow up goodwill. Result? Seller walks, and you’re back to square one. The biggest violation is repeatedly accessing the home after inspection periods have closed without permission. And asking for more things that are purely cosmetic.
5. Not Reading the Contract 📑
Sounds basic, but it’s epidemic. CRSP-17, FAR/BAR—those timelines and defaults matter. Miss a deposit date, botch a repair clause, and you’re the one legally exposed. If your agent hasn’t mastered the contract, you’re flying blind. Most agents here do not realize that the timelines are clear…..and when you know them you have an advantage…when you don’t you are surprised.
6. Overtalking in the Room
Showings are for buyers to imagine living there. Not for your agent to audition for HGTV. Every time they chatter, you lose the emotional silence where you could’ve pictured your life in that house. Luxury buyers, especially, walk out when the vibe feels wrong. We see it all the time when we show homes to our buyers and a seller agent has to “accompany” all showings. That is your first sign. They do not know the vibe and almost always say something counter to the client ideas. DO NOT accompany showings with buyer agents unless the other agent knows you bring a special awareness…and buyer agents…let the buyer go see the home……
7. Failing to Prepare You for the Market
Your first offer is often your last shot. If your agent hasn’t conditioned you to move fast and with strength—proof of funds ready, expectations aligned—you’ll hesitate. And hesitation kills deals. Talking in broad averages misses the point….point taken!
8. Over-Promising, Under-Delivering
“Don’t worry, I’ll find you an off-market deal.” Translation: they’ll troll Zillow, pretend it’s exclusive, and hope you don’t notice. Real off-market access is about relationships and trust—something amateurs rarely bring. Why do they need an off market deal? This is also a sign that the showing agent is not really attached to both the client or the market. I have found in my time there are usually always enough homes that represent the vast majority of all homes….available in the public market. More often than not it is a would be buyer trying to misdirect a pushy agent to Go Find an Off Market home. Deal with the market you have.
9. Penny-Wise, Pound-Foolish 💸
They burn hours trying to save you $10k on the offer, while letting you overpay $200k for the wrong location, the wrong lot, or resale-proof flaws. Short-term savings, long-term pain. The value of a home is also its resale rapidity. If it took 436 days for you to offer…that might mean you are in the wrong budget band, community band or otherwise looking at homes that are not that great!
10. Missing the Human Element 🤝
The numbers matter. The contract matters. But the deal closes on trust. A combative, careless, or arrogant approach poisons goodwill with sellers. Even when you’re the highest bidder, you can still lose if the seller doesn’t want to deal with you—or your agent. No contract ever has all elements in it. Something always comes up that is not covered in words and without trust no transaction ever closes.
Being right is an art and not a bully position:
✅ The right agent clears the path, frames the numbers, protects you legally, and gets you the deal.
❌ The wrong agent? They cost you the home, the money, and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
How We Do It Differently at Jabbour Luxury Group
At the Jabbour Luxury Group, our buyers succeed because we do three things consistently:
We prepare you for the market before you write. No guessing games, no fantasy numbers—you walk in ready, aligned, and strong. Our data methods are clear, and while a bit wonky, we track the result and it is so overwhelmingly accurate that we have to make sure out clients know the data.
We understand the contract as strategy. CRSP-17 isn’t paperwork—it’s a playbook. We use it to protect you and to create leverage. Contracts and Strategy of offer methods is very important.
We balance numbers with relationships. Deals don’t close on math alone. They close because sellers trust you—and trust us.
That’s why our buyers consistently outperform in multiple-offer situations, and why when we double-side a deal, our sellers capture 98.5% of original list price versus the 90–91% others limp in with. We price right. That’s where it starts.
Closing Thought
Your agent isn’t just “opening doors.” They’re either building—or destroying—the bridge between you and the home you want. Don’t let someone else’s ego, ignorance, or laziness blow up your future. Interview agents. Do they know what they are doing? They might…and if they do does it align to what you want to do? There are different styles and different professionals. If you are fishing in the smaller professional pond that is a good start. But the pros do differ in approach and strategy. If they did not then you need no professionals! Interview, align, and succeed.
At the Jabbour Luxury Group, we don’t play games with your purchase. We prepare, we protect, and we deliver.