3 things you should know about your agent before you sign with them

#1 Which agents will be working on the campaign and who will be attending the Open For Inspections

If you are interviewing and appointing an agent to sell your home you would expect that they would be the one you will be dealing with for the entire process. Well, unfortunately, this is not always the case. Ask the question and get the commitment that the agent you are signing with is the one who will be attending the inspections and communicating with you.

#2. Who will be negotiating with the buyers

For all the buyers that will come through your home there will only be a small amount that will have genuine interest and be qualified to purchase at that time. An example of this - If you have 50 groups through and your home is prepared, presented and priced correctly, you will normally have 2 -3 buyers who are qualified and want to sign on the dotted line. You need to have the discussion during the interview as to who will be doing the negotiating with all buyers and what their strategy is around this.

#3. What is the procedure for taking offers from buyers

Know your agent’s procedures for presenting offers and dealing with buyers. It will help if you understand how the agency pays commission to their agents. Some will pay a percentage of commission to the agent that introduces the buyer to a property. This can work well however it can also have an affect on the way offers are presented and can (at times) promote a competitive, yet secretive approach. After all it is the Vendor that is paying the agent’s commission however the agent in this scenario is acting for the buyer to be successful so they can receive a percentage of the commission.. You can see how easily this could cause a conflict of interest.

Agents that work together with the Vendor’s best interests are often easier to read when it comes to where their loyalty lies.

These questions are designed to help protect clients from signing with an agent and never seeing them again. It’s also important to understand how buyer negotiations work. Every agent has a different approach on how they take offers and present them.

I recommend having a Licences sellers advocate working for you to ensure all these details are taken care of and you are protected.

If you’d like to know more