Try before you sell

If you were going to buy a car, you wouldn’t dream of handing over the money before you took it for a drive…so why wouldn’t you test a real estate agent before you hired them?

It is often estimated that the difference between a good agent and a bad agent can be the difference of 5-10% on your sale price, if you look at the average cost of property in Sydney then that’s a huge difference to what may or may not get.

How do you ‘test drive’ an agent? How do you really know who your hiring? Sure, when the agent came in to meet you they were charming, said hi to the kids, patted the dog and made you feel wonderful about your home but is this really the same person that is going to be talking to the potential buyers when you are not there?

How do you find out? Easy…before you choose an agent just pretend you are a buyer. It stands to reason that a good selling agent will be good to buyers, they will follow up and point out positives for the properties they are selling. Believe it or not, a lot of agents don’t even call the buyers that come through your open house…fact.

Before even inviting an agent to discuss your home or investment property call a few agents and ask them about a property they are selling – its crucial that you don’t tell them that you are a potential seller! Ask questions like ‘why are the owners selling?’ How much is it? And perhaps the best one of all ‘what do you think they would take?.’ Just by asking these simple questions you will really get a feel for what kind of agent they are. Many agents will say things like they have bought another house, they have to sell, it’s a divorce, the price is a probably a bit high etc etc…..at this stage alarm bells should start ringing.

After you have narrowed down to 2 or 3 agents that pass the above test, go and visit an open house, assess how the property is presented, how the agent is presented and then simply wait…did they call you back?

Warning this type of mystery shopping may shock you, so be prepared.

David Murphy owns an independent real estate agency in Sydney’s lower north shore – feel free to call ON 02 9968 2088 or email with questions david@davidmurphy.com.au