Hi there;
we recently sold our house through an agent.
Full asking price and in 3 weeks! Woo.However, I feel like I did most of the work on the day the buyer came through!
The agency was going to cancel the open home that day but forgot. So they had no agents to come to the open home.
The agent turned up early and offered to put an Open home Cancelled sign on the day. I said to leave it, I’ll ring if people come.
Anyway – about 5 people come through (one at a time) and I show them around, and ring the agent.
The buyers love the place, go back to the agent and put an offer in (5K less). To his credit, he negotiates back to full price. They buy it anyway.
Nice. I am pretty happy, but bummed I have to pay the agent 7.5K for this service as it was a bit of amix up all round.
Ah well. We sold it, that’s the main thing.
Now the agent wants a testimonial letter.
I think about ringing him and saying “how much is this letter worth to you?” I could write a nice letter, to his credit he was
a) on time
b) honestbut I think they were a bit of a let down on open home day.
If I went back with an offer to write a brilliant letter for a (slight) reduction in commission, would this be offensive?
I think about 1000 should cover things nicely.
Is this a really crap thing to do?
hi alwayscurious,
you mentioned that:
to his credit he was
a) on time
b) honestand
To his credit, he negotiates back to full pricePrior to that OFI did the agents do any background work in getting the buyers there ie. letterbox drops, calling their priority buyers, mail outs and phone cavassing the area?
If he did and you were pleased with the work perhaps you could write a letter to that extent and nothing more. You’ll find that agents ‘edit’ the majority of their testimonies anyway to reflect just the parts they like.
If you ask the agents for 1K of their commission back in return for an overly favourable letter, isn’t that cash for comment???
The other thing I’m fairly pedantic about is REA commission, i work on a debit credit system (as do many agents in qld) whereby each time we make a sale we have to ‘pay back’ our (minimum) wage to our employer. Considering the cut of commission that agents in our franchise get (30 to 40%) many agents i work with barely break even.
That’s not meant to make you feel guilty or indebted to the agent, simply aware that commission is how we make our living.
anwyay that’s enough preaching from me,
e x
True Emcdonald.
I should be generous in my praise and slow to anger!
They were 1000 times better than the previous RE – who was
A) Late
not quite as honest
C) fluffed around on many potential buyers.oh and btw i meant to say,
congratualtions for achieving the sale price you were after on your home, fingers crossed for a smooth settlement!
cheers
e xthanks for the swift kick up the butt!
My attitude needs adjusting from time to time. I find that’s where it ends up – in my butt. A quick kick and it’s back in my heart where it belongs
In reality the guy did a fantastic job and I hope he succeeds.
Cheers
alwayscuriousQuote:
However, I feel like I did most of the work on the day the buyer came through!The agency was going to cancel the open home that day but forgot. So they had no agents to come to the open home.
The agent turned up early and offered to put an Open home Cancelled sign on the day. I said to leave it, I’ll ring if people come.
Quote:It would be wrong to recommend this behaviour to any unsuspecting vendor. The REA was employed to apply his best efforts to sell the property. If that was his best, he needs training. How old is he ? First he organises an open day, then wants to cancel it, then forgets to cancel it, then runs out of staff. Truly !
And why did you get the sale ? LUCK, and your own sales effort, not good management by the REA. You had a motivated buyer who wanted to make an offer because they wanted to buy it, and you sent them to the REA. They made a lame attempt to negotiate by offering $5K less, blind freddie could tell they were going to buy it anyway. It’s a shoo-in deal, the receptionist could’ve handled it while he was out cancelling the other open houses he forgot about.Honest – it’s a basic – keeps him out of court & jail.
On time – another basic – a courtesy – expect nothing less.He doesn’t deserve a letter IMHO. He got his commission and it’s more than he deserved.
cheers
thecrest
thecrest | Tony Neale - Statewide Motel Brokers
http://www.statewidemotelbrokers.com.au
Email Me | Phone Meselling motels in NSW
What does it hurt me to be generous? Not much. A 55c stamp.
A letter. A bit of pride.Ah what the heck – it sold! woo!
I sent the letter today.
Plus, I had another look at the agreement and I get 20K freq flyer points for listing and selling
(no points to guess which agency I used!)
So woo! My reward is there. I had forgotten, but after I wrote the letter, I was reminded.
Just goes to show you huh – stay grateful – helps you enjoy the now.
not quite as honest
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