We're engaged in the delightful business of interviewing agents for selling our house. The really funny thing is that some agents are so focussed on the commission that they're going to receive, that they fail to realise that they're at a job interview.
My view is that this is our most valuable asset. If selling a house just involved sticking an ad in the paper then anyone could do it. We want someone with experience in selling property to do it on our behalf ergo we're interviewing them. We want the best. Not the cheapest, not the most impressive, just the best.
Yesterday is a good example of how it shouldn't be done. I had an agent come from an extremely reputable company, not just here in Oz but overseas as well. Her first question was "What do you think the house is worth". That one question told me everything I needed to know about how she would conduct the inspection. Had I given her a sum, she would have given me a figure in that general area, just to get the job. She wandered through the house and whipped out a camera to take photographs (without asking permision I might add). She must have picked up on my body language 'cos she didn't actually take any pictures. After a cursory glance around the house she just stood in the family room and gave me her price range, a business card, some quite negative feedback about the loo, and left.
No plan for marketing the house, no information about advertising, no indication of the commission charged, no opportunity to ask any questions, no possible timeframe, no indication of how fast properties are moving in this area, nothing.
It was most disappointing as I had lots of questions to ask.
The fellow who came today was the exact opposite. He asked me to show him the house, giving me the opportunity to tell him about features that he couldn't immediately see, but that would add value to the home such as the new carpet, the airconditioner, cupboard space in the kitchen, the built ins and so on. After a thorough inspection of the house he sat down and laid out a possible price range, explained the negotiation process, a marketing proposal, gave a precis of the market, a possible time frame for sale and the very last thing he mentioned was the commission he would get. All of this without me having to ask a single question. I was very impressed with this agent which actually makes life very difficult. Last time, S. sold our home and we were very happy with the way in which this was accomplished. None of the other agents that I interviewed even came close. This time C. is as much a contender as S. and we're going to have to make a big decision about whom to choose.
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