Any real estate agents out there? Does this seem odd to you?

[Different kind of Rabbit]

I'm glad Vic agrees with me. Pretty piss poor effort on the agents behalf.

Just as an update, the property is sold now and the eventual selling price was $15k under what my absolute ceiling is.

Pretty disappointing really.

Anyway... Life goes on.

 

[Lambretta]

I completely understand what constitutes gazumping. I'm also fully aware of the sale process involving contracts and deposits. For Vic M to say that he thinks it should be a fair process and people given a second chance to make an offer is encouraging gazumping. Not only that, why does he think this is a 'fair' process?

How is that fair to the first interested party that have had their offer accepted and quite possibly commenced legals etc? It's not. Unfortunately, time is of the essence and those that move the quickest win and the vendor gets their sale. Sounds like the agent has done his job. As long as all legal requirements have been met as per due process, there is no issue here. Sorry for DKOR but that's how the property market rolls.

It is perfectly fair for an agent to speak to all interested parties before pushing the vendors towards a particular offer

Just because one offer is made, it doesn't mean all subsequent offers are "gazumping"

The agent should give all interested parties the chance to make offers. To not do so is lazy imo.

If I were the vendor, I would want to know that the agent had tried his upmost to get me the best offer available at the time. This clearly didn't happen in this case.

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

It is perfectly fair for an agent to speak to all interested parties before pushing the vendors towards a particular offer

Just because one offer is made, it doesn't mean all subsequent offers are "gazumping"

The agent should give all interested parties the chance to make offers. To not do so is lazy imo.

If I were the vendor, I would want to know that the agent had tried his upmost to get me the best offer available at the time. This clearly didn't happen in this case.

The agent had 40 odd people go through that property. I was only one of those. I called back within 24 hours to leave a message that I was interested and would possibly like to make an offer.

Didn't even get a look in.

To not at least take a couple of days and speak to all the people who had shown some interest is criminal imo. Sheer laziness is the only way that I can describe it. Anyway, I have a place to sell as well, once I buy so I now know at least one agent that won't be getting my business.

 

[no name]

I was recently looking to buy our first home.
The agent was a guy a knew from school, didn't know him well but we were on first name basis.
He promised 'I'll look after you, I'm not like other agents'
Anyway we made an offer, just under the asking price, and there was another couple looking at it at the same time. We were familiar with the area and knew the vendors were keen to sell as they were planning on going away
He said I'll get back to you.
A couple of hours later he rings back and says 'the other couple have made an offer, the vendors are ready to accept either offer, yours is higher but I'm going to get both parties to put one final offer by midday tomorrow.'
We thought this sounds dodgy as f**k so we offered $1 over the asking price.
The others obviously offered more and got it.
I suppose he was trying to get the most for the property but f**king two parties like that to get over the asking price was pretty low.
I won't be recommending him to anyone.

 

[Vic Mackey]

The agent had 40 odd people go through that property. I was only one of those. I called back within 24 hours to leave a message that I was interested and would possibly like to make an offer.

Didn't even get a look in.

To not at least take a couple of days and speak to all the people who had shown some interest is criminal imo. Sheer laziness is the only way that I can describe it. Anyway, I have a place to sell as well, once I buy so I now know at least one agent that won't be getting my business.

That's the best revenge you can get on them

 

[muzby]

Having a young couple say that extra $30k you got for their house allows the wife to stay home for a year with their first child, having a retired couple say that extra $50k they got from downsizing has allowed them to give their children a deposit for their first home. That's what's it's about mate.

i can assure you that the agent is not getting the best price to look after the new mum or the retired couple..

they lift the price to get the best possible commission they can..

and let's not forget, the sooner they make a sale, the sooner they get that commission (and the more profitable the agency becomes.. quicker sale = less open houses, less marketing material etc etc)

 

[Vic Mackey]

I'm talking about the owner, showing that it's not about being greedy.

The difference in commission from getting the owner an extra $30k is f*ck all. To what the actual agent gets in their pocket it would be less than $100. What will earn an agent more is having a neighbour say 'did you see what they got for number 38? What a huge price!' Or having an owner tell all their friends and family about how hard the agent worked to get that extra bit of money. Also agents haven't paid for marketing for about 5 years.

 

[Vic Mackey]

Btw I'm not defending all agents. I know there's a huge amount of sharks out there. Unfortunately the Sydney market has allowed for situations like DKOR to be far too common. The agent can be lazy, still make an owner happy and earn a good living. Selling property isn't a skill ATM, any 17 year old with a drivers liscence could sell a property in these conditions.

When the market turns (and we are already slowly seeing signs of it) a lot of them will get found out. I'd say in 2 years approx 40% of current sales people won't be in the industry.

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

It's not even about hard work. It's plain common sense.

If you have 40 odd people walk through a house and several people show interest, why would you not even take 48 hours to canvas those interested people? Say that 25% of people that viewed the open house showed some interest, that's 10 phone calls. Probably 20 to 25 minutes on the phone.

It's nothing to do with a quick sale either. 48 hours IS a quick sale.

Imo it's just plain laziness. Pure and simple.

 

[papabear]

I was recently looking to buy our first home.
The agent was a guy a knew from school, didn't know him well but we were on first name basis.
He promised 'I'll look after you, I'm not like other agents'
Anyway we made an offer, just under the asking price, and there was another couple looking at it at the same time. We were familiar with the area and knew the vendors were keen to sell as they were planning on going away
He said I'll get back to you.
A couple of hours later he rings back and says 'the other couple have made an offer, the vendors are ready to accept either offer, yours is higher but I'm going to get both parties to put one final offer by midday tomorrow.'
We thought this sounds dodgy as f**k so we offered $1 over the asking price.
The others obviously offered more and got it.
I suppose he was trying to get the most for the property but f**king two parties like that to get over the asking price was pretty low.
I won't be recommending him to anyone.

Really? It sounds like you are blaming the agent, when the agent gave both parties the exact same opportunity but you weren't willing to pay as much as the other buyer.

If you didn't like the way he was going about it you could have withdrawn your offer, but you wanted the property and in the end you didnt want to pay as much as the other guy, but you wanted to blame the agent even though it was YOU who didnt want to pay as much as the other guy.

 

[papabear]

It's not even about hard work. It's plain common sense.

If you have 40 odd people walk through a house and several people show interest, why would you not even take 48 hours to canvas those interested people? Say that 25% of people that viewed the open house showed some interest, that's 10 phone calls. Probably 20 to 25 minutes on the phone.

It's nothing to do with a quick sale either. 48 hours IS a quick sale.

Imo it's just plain laziness. Pure and simple.

I would agree with you, but the agent did call you back and you fobbed him off (whether reasonably or not).

Read some of the other posts, about people not accepting an early offer, holding off, the offeror gets the shits and walks away. How is the vendor to know that this won't happen in your situation.

Its damned if you do damned it you dont.

IMO you missed out on that property because you didn't pull the trigger. Could the agent have hounded you harder and potentially got a higher price.... maybe? he could have also done a worse job.

But IMO from your perspective only you are to blame.

Honestly so many people twiddle around with property and wonder why they havent made a deal.

 

[papabear]

Btw I'm not defending all agents. I know there's a huge amount of sharks out there. Unfortunately the Sydney market has allowed for situations like DKOR to be far too common. The agent can be lazy, still make an owner happy and earn a good living. Selling property isn't a skill ATM, any 17 year old with a drivers liscence could sell a property in these conditions.

When the market turns (and we are already slowly seeing signs of it) a lot of them will get found out. I'd say in 2 years approx 40% of current sales people won't be in the industry.

As the market turns, people might even start accepting offers quicker, without f**king buyers around as much as well.

 

[muzby]

I'm talking about the owner, showing that it's not about being greedy.

The difference in commission from getting the owner an extra $30k is f*ck all. To what the actual agent gets in their pocket it would be less than $100. What will earn an agent more is having a neighbour say 'did you see what they got for number 38? What a huge price!' Or having an owner tell all their friends and family about how hard the agent worked to get that extra bit of money. Also agents haven't paid for marketing for about 5 years.

actually under the most common fee (2%) being charged it's another $600.. which is nothing to be sneezed at when you work purely on commission...

and yes, unfortunately, vendors get greedy too...

 

[Vic Mackey]

I'm saying what the actual agent gets in their pocket. GST $60. Than most are on a 50/50 split with the office. We're now down to $270. Than take into account paying for your phone, flyers, PA (if you have one) etc and than after tax you'd be lucky to get $100.

 

[muzby]

I'm saying what the actual agent gets in their pocket. GST $60. Than most are on a 50/50 split with the office. We're now down to $270. Than take into account paying for your phone, flyers, PA (if you have one) etc and than after tax you'd be lucky to get $100.

you do realise that the $600 isn't their only commission, right?

and if they had an office, the PA costs would generally be absorbed by the total office..

 

[Vic Mackey]

you do realise that the $600 isn't their only commission, right?

and if they had an office, the PA costs would generally be absorbed by the total office..

I can promise you I know more about the workings of a real estate office than yourself.

I'm pointing out that an extra $30k for the vendors doesn't equal massive amounts of dollars in the agents pockets.

A PA is paid for by the office?!? This isn't some corporate world, you run a business within a business. The agent absorbs everything.

 

[Vic Mackey]

Jesus Christ I just realised I'm talking about real estate, with people I've never met, on a rugby league forum...I really need to look at what I'm doing with my life....

 

[muzby]

I can promise you I know more about the workings of a real estate office than yourself.

i'd already worked that out..

i'd figured by your positioning of real estate agents as some kind of robin hood figures that you must either be an agent currently or have been a real estate agent in the past..

don't worry, we won't hold that against you

 

[Vic Mackey]

I certainly don't think that, to me about half the industry is terrible. It's getting better, a lot more regulated these days. However in an industry that has people making some of the biggest and most emotional decisions of their lives you are always going to have issues on either side.

Anyways getting back to it...lol@souffs

 

[no name]

Really? It sounds like you are blaming the agent, when the agent gave both parties the exact same opportunity but you weren't willing to pay as much as the other buyer.

If you didn't like the way he was going about it you could have withdrawn your offer, but you wanted the property and in the end you didnt want to pay as much as the other guy, but you wanted to blame the agent even though it was YOU who didnt want to pay as much as the other guy.

Prob didn't make it clear but he withheld telling the vendor our first offer until the others put theirs in.

Anyway it all worked out, a better place came up a couple of weeks later.