Do You Know These Villains?
I would love to go on about the million different strategies’ to sell a house but I’m not.
I’m unable to speak for other areas but certainly in mine, agents over estimate the value of properties competing with each other fearing they’ll miss out on an instruction if they don’t give the highest price!
Why Do Agents Do This?
In my opinion it’s because they have no moral fibre NOR do they have the balls to stand by what they know is right and more worried about getting the instruction than thinking of the vendor that has invited them into their home.
For example my colleague David 3 months into this industry (as the time of this being written) has started to log every single property in our area of operation. This means he will know exactly what other agents marketed properties at and eventually what they sold for! I would be very worried if I were the other agents.
To add weight to my argument a Landlord’s of ours father had recommended his daughter (a landlord with us for 7 years) after meeting with me, utilise the services of a flash suit wearing fast car driving agent, not us to sell her flat. Nothing to do with the £685,000 recommended value I gave the flat at all. Well, so you would think. After avoiding our phone calls it became apparent why when we saw the flat on the market for £725,000. When iI first saw the flat I was honest and said the most I could get them at that very moment was £675,000. The gutting thing was, not that we lost the instruction, it was the weak estate agent was more worried about what I would value the flat for which ultimately cost the owners massively. For that blatant overestimation the flat eventually sold for £650,000. Worse still, the agent would have earned a commission of between £9000 to £12,500 for basically not being honest.
Click on link below to find out more. www.mypropertyeye.com
It Could Be Easy!
Not everyone likes my approach. Why? Some people want their ego’s massaged which is great if being a masseur comes as second nature, but I am not that person. I’m not…… Great to have a nice house or a stunning house or a property that is being held up by spells……… The way I see it, some people don’t even have a house or family to go home to. I’m only interested in the journey of the person I am speaking to and certainly not interested with what the other agent is going to value it at. It is what it is and for this reason I am only ever going to be straight talking.
This job could be so easy if agents were to be thinking purely of the person in front of them and concentrating on their own message as opposed to their back pockets! But how easy? I’ll admit, pretty hard actually which takes supreme nuts to have an instruction losing conversation when you have only just met a potential vendor! That said, I am more than happy to have this conversation at every single valuation I am lucky enough to be invited in on.
Prove these instruction-losing statements and be successful!! I openly say the below to vendors
1) “Properties are NOT in isolation; they are IN competition with each other so how are you going to get the buyers from other properties to yours?” John McGrath
2) “There are three things to point out about all property. Price, Presentation, Location. We can not control the location but we can control the price and presentation.” John McGrath
Of course, if we could control the location we would, good or bad but we cant, so be honest.
Use super human Instruction loser levels of honesty!
I’m not talking about comparable’s of ‘what we have currently on the market BS’! I wish other agents in my area had the nuts to show what properties of the same type have actually sold for!
You can guarantee other agents will have a Filofax full of BS!
If you are a homeowner reading this and new to the industry, ask agents to prove their valuation. I always suggest to owners that if they feel they are having the wool over their eyes, give the BS agent a onetime viewing to get their property sold, no contract. If the agent steps up to the plate without a second thought, give him the opportunity! If they hesitate, their lying. Simple as that : )
Offers
Think about it, if a property is on the market for the selling price, the real money, the price which the market instantly sees value, no buyer will offer under the asking price!
Everyone likely to see the property will be mini agents especially if they have viewed a handful of properties knowing exactly what the competition (other property of the same type) is on the market for and what they are actually selling for. Why do agents stitch homeowners?
Follow me on Twitter @papahbravo. My twitter handle is all positive. I just wanted to lay the lay my lawn for future posts.
Good luck all.
John
You May Also Enjoy
Breaking Property News 5/06/25
Construction continues to enjoy a season in the sun
Busiest May for sales agreed since 2021
New anti-money laundering rules now in effect: what landlords need to know
Breaking Property News 4/06/25
