CHOOSING WISELY

CHOOSING WISELY

by Yeggie Naidoo

As a result of the nature of the articles written by me for this column in this newspaper, I get many calls from somewhat “disgruntled” buyers and sellers of property, who have experienced “shoddy” service from estate agents they have dealt with. Sellers have complained of agents “pressurising” them into accepting offers just so that the agents can close a deal, or buyers not getting exactly what they were promised in the Offer to Purchase. The amazing thing is that all the callers that have experienced these “problems” are aware of the contents of the articles written, but chose not to deal with me or the office I represent, i. e. Acutts Phoenix/Umhlanga Elite. It is only after they have experienced the “problem” that they chose to approach me to give them “solutions” to overcome the “problem” they are faced with, whatever that “problem” may be.

I had an elderly couple come to me the other day who claimed to have collected all my articles from day one, but chose to sell their house neither through me nor an agent associated with this office. What is more, that agent was given a three month Sole Mandate to market the property. After experiencing “problems” with that agent, vowing never to deal with him again, and after removing all that agent’s boards from their property, they came to me for advice. What was rather peculiar, seeing that they came to me for advice, was that they were not prepared to reveal the identity of the agent, or the company he represented. If that was a case of ethics, it is understandable. They even asked me to give them an estimated value of their property based on their description, and also offered me the opportunity of marketing the same property, but they were not prepared to give me the address. Why all the secrecy? You go figure it out.

My point in all of this is, if these callers that have experienced “problems” in their dealings, were aware of the precautions highlighted in these articles, as they claimed, then why did they make the choices they made? Makes you think, doesn’t it? Which brings me to a very important point. When you decide to sell your property, and you decide to use the services of an estate agent, be very careful of the choice you make of that estate agent. All estate agents perform more or less the same functions, but the expertise in which those functions are performed, should be of the utmost importance when making that choice. The seller and the agent must forge a relationship in sharing a common vision and objective, i. e. to get the best price for the property in the shortest time possible. Making a wrong choice may greatly jeopardise the chances of selling in the shortest time possible, and at the best price.  The agent, apart from merely marketing your property, must advise you correctly and adequately, on the pricing of your property according to market related factors, and pricing according to location and other factors. Taking a mandate from you and then doing hardly anything with it is not going achieve the objective of getting the best price for your property in the shortest time possible.

Unfortunately, most sellers today disregard the advice of true property professionals in that they are prone to commit the marketing of their properties to the estate agent that offers to sell their property at a ridiculously high price. It is not unusual to see these same properties remaining on the market as “unsold” for long periods. Somehow, there are also sellers who are of the misconception, that they will get the prices they ask for their properties, no matter what. It is all a matter of choice. By making the right choice at the very beginning, you are likely to avoid the problem situations that may arise as discussed earlier in this article. As humans, not all of us are perfect, but there is no excuse for disregarding or discarding good advice when you see it. As the saying goes, “You cannot cry over spilled milk”.

That’s it for this week. If there are issues you would like covered in this column, I would like to hear from you.  In the meantime, should you have any queries or questions relating to real estate matters, preferably not sorting out problems experienced with other estate agents, do not hesitate to give me a call at Acutts (Phoenix/Umhlanga Elite).

Yeggie Naidoo (C.E.A. – NQF4) is a property consultant at Acutts (Phoenix & Umhlanga Elite), situated at Shop 9, Starwood Mall, 3 Andromeda Street, Starwood, Phoenix. He writes in his personal capacity. You may write to him on his e-mail yeggienaidoo@acutts.co.za or you may call him on 079 7044 014, or check out his properties by visiting www.acuttsphoenix.co.za. Refer to the Acutts (Phoenix) advert for more contact details.