Real estate agents reveal little-known open home red flags

PHOTO: Open Home. FILE

Looking for a property can be stressful but can also be so much fun. When my husband and I were renting we used to go to open houses if we were bored on a Saturday.

However, we always had one rule: to clean our place before we left. Otherwise it would feel depressing coming home after seeing other people’s homes looking so beautiful and unattainable.

The thing is, when you go to an open house, the property is always looking the best it possibly can, with everything decorated perfectly as if it came straight out of Vogue Living.

Real estate agents are fantastic at presenting not just the home, but the lifestyle potential buyers are dreaming of.

But, if you’re actually in the market to buy your own home, you need to learn to look past these things to see the property as it is.

So, Yahoo Finance asked the experts about all the tricks of the trade as well as practical tips to help you find the perfect property.

Decorating can be deceptive

A very important thing to remember is that real estate agents are meant to make the property look its best, Scott Aggett, from Hello Haus – expert property negotiator, told Yahoo Finance.

“On the whole, it’s less about agents trying to be deceptive in terms of hiding damage to the property, but more about them trying to create a lifestyle that’s possibly unattainable for the future owner,” he said.

“It can be things like using furniture that fits the space perfectly, and minimal amounts of things in the home – to make it look larger.”

And sometimes, the greatest trick of all could be the simplest, Agget said, with a fresh coat of paint going a long way.

“One of the big ones that happens all the time is the property will be freshly painted. A fresh coat of paint can hide a multitude of problems,” Aggett said.

“I think paint is probably the cheapest solution for an owner or an agent to present the property in a different light than it may currently be in.”

Expert property negotiator Scott Aggett. — **Scott Aggett helps buyers throughout the entire home buying process. (Source: Provided)**

Time of day is important

Another thing to look out for is the time of day an inspection is held. It may be no coincidence that an open inspection was set at 11:00am midweek, Aggett said.

“Agents will go to great lengths to control not only the presentation, but also the time of day a property is shown,” he said.

“Agents will pick the time of the day to avoid times of heavy traffic like school runs, peak hour, Saturday sport, whatever it might be.

“They will show the property at the right time for traffic flow, natural light and noise control.”

Aggett suggests that if you’re interested in a property, make sure you organise another inspection at a time of your choosing.

If that’s not possible, drive around the area at peak times to get an idea of the traffic you could be facing on a day-to-day basis.