BE AWARE OF AGENT-FINDING COMPANIES

by Neil Jenman

Reading time: 4 mins apx

This is an article about how you can save thousands of dollars by avoiding companies that do nothing for you.

No, it’s not a joke.

Just another aspect of today’s real estate world where freeloaders are as common as flies in the outback.

Let me explain.

Most home-sellers realise an important truth: To get the best result, find the best agent.

Unfortunately, most sellers don’t know how to find agents who can get the best result. And there’s not much point asking agents if they are the best to sell your home for the best result, because they will all say yes.

Even if they are not the best agent, they won’t admit it.

Even agents who make the most sales can be the worst for sellers. Many of the big agents are BIG-BAD-agents who are great at looking after themselves, not sellers. “Top selling agent” does not mean the agent gets top prices. Often, it’s the opposite; top agents get lower prices. It’s turnover that matters most to them.

So, what can sellers do if they can’t recognise the best agents to sell their homes?

One thing they should not do is rely on ‘agent-finder’ companies.

Over the past few years, this challenge for sellers – on how to find the best agent to sell their home – has given rise to several companies who promise to find sellers the best agent.

But these agent-finder companies do not find the best agent to sell your home.

In fact, when sellers ask: “What do these agent-finder companies do?”, the truthful answer is nothing. At least nothing sellers can’t do for themselves.

Indeed, it’s often worse than nothing because agent-finder companies charge agents a fee – usually 20 per cent of the commission – for passing sellers’ details to the agents.

The agent-finder companies tell sellers their service is free. But many agents add the cost of the agent-finder companies to the commission. So, sellers unwittingly pay 20 per cent more to sell their homes.

But so what?

If a company finds the best agent and you get a better price, surely that’s worth it?

But that rarely happens. There is no evidence to show that using an agent-finder company gets home-sellers a better result.

Indeed, there is more evidence – anecdotally – to show the opposite. These agent-finder companies often find the worst agents. Many desperate agents pay huge money for seller leads created by agent-finding sites.

And that, in essence, is all this is: A lead-generation service.

The best agents find their own leads. They refuse to have anything to do with companies that falsely claim to find the best agents. Indeed, most agents hate these agent-finding companies that are raking in millions of dollars for essentially doing nothing.

Just take a quick look at what agent-finder companies do NOT do:

They do not check the quality of agents.

They do not ask questions of agents regarding the service agents offer to sellers.

They do not check to see if agents achieve the best prices for their sellers.

They do not check to make sure agents are not using harsh selling agreements.

They do not care if the agents charge thousands of dollars in advance for advertising.

They do not care if caveats are lodged on sellers’ homes.

They do not monitor the sales campaign.

They do not help (or train) agents to negotiate the best price.

They do not care about home-sellers at all.

When sellers register with these agent-finder companies, their details are passed to almost every agent (except perhaps the best agent). Suddenly, the worst agents hound sellers.

Here, is a two-stage summary of how agent-finder (or referral) companies work:

First: They promote themselves widely on-line. You cannot search for an agent on-line without the first result being some mob promising to find you the best agent.

Second: Your details are given to any agent who agrees to pay the agent-finder company. That’s it.

AVOID THESE COMPANIES – SAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS

If you are a home-seller, you can be thousands of dollars better off by avoiding agent-finder companies: When you contact agents, tell them that you are not using an agent-finder company. So, instead of paying 20 per cent of their commission to someone who has done nothing to deserve it, they can pay you, the owner of the home. Yes, they can give you a 20 per cent discount on their commission.

On an average sale, this will be a commission saving of five thousand dollars.

So yes, you can save thousands of dollars by avoiding companies that do nothing for you.

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FOOTNOTE: If you really are interested in finding the best agent to sell your home, please contact Jenman Support. Ask us to explain the EIGHT rigorous conditions we insist agents offer you as protection. Plus, we make sure there is no extra charge to you, the sellers. Just call 1800 1800 18 or email [email protected]. Thank you.

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