Hello

When you are in the real estate industry, and you are out at a social gathering inevitably people want to talk to you about their buying and selling experiences over the years. Which is great, as just like a nosey neighbour I love a good real estate storey. Most people remember or at least want to talk about the negative experiences rather than the positive ones. I suppose that is just how people are.

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When it comes to buying you can’t do much about the way an agent deals with you. You love the house, and you want to buy it, irrespective of whether you like the agent or not. Of course, you don’t have a say in the agent selection process when it comes to buying a house. A really bad agent might turn you off altogether, however it’s more likely that you will just go with the flow if you really want the house.

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Selling is a completely different situation. In most situations you get 100% say in who you choose as your real estate agent. Meaning that if things don’t go as planned, you in a way only have yourself to blame. That is unless the rules are set before you sign that authority. By rules I don’t suggest that you overburden the agent with silly checkpoints and accountabilities that are over the top. I mean find out what is their level of service. Many agents will have this in a written format with checks and balances as well as consequences if they don’t perform to their service promise.

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Something else that I believe is very important, is prior to listing your home for sale find out how the agent intends on communicating with you. Will you get a call or text after open houses, will you have a weekly catch-up meeting, will you get weekly activity reports, can you expect general communication done via email or a what’s app. group, how will potential offers be presented, will you get to approve the advertisements, and what is the process if you need to make a complaint? By knowing this going in you have set the guidelines for communication. Almost every negative selling experience storey that I hear about involves substandard communication.

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I’m sure that this is relevant to many industries, and it is especially true in real estate that “the squeaky wheel gets the oil”. Selling a house is expensive so you have the right to have high expectations of your chosen real estate agent. Being mild mannered and agreeable on everything won’t get you to the top of the “must do” list so demand more. I’m not saying to be painful and question everything but don’t be a pushover either. It’s great to get along with your agent on a personal level but it’s more important to respect each other on a professional level. You can be best friends once the agent has gotten you a record price!