24 | PEOPLE LETTERS
INBOX
editor@opp.org.uk. Please provide your name and details, which can be withheld. OPP reserves the right to edit letters when necessary. Views expressed are not those of the publisher.
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TOPIC OF THE MONTH:
Re:ARE AGENTS KILLING THE ESTATE AGENT BUSINESS?
Dear editor,
It is clear that most agents have always been in it for the quick buck. We see it from a builder’s point of view, as agents that promise heaven and earth in sales never come up with the goods and realise it is tough to sell a property. Another point is the huge commission demands from many agents, totally
disproportionate to the eff ort they actually put into the search of clients. We have competitors with projects less than 200m from our own very similar in design and identical in size that off er nearly 4 times the commission we do, they have a huge agent database, we do not. The results? We have just under 20% to sell they have over 90% and have announced they are halting construction until there is a better market situation. Isn’t it logical then that the money developers give to agents sometimes to
fund their own dubious marketing strategies can be better spent on their own marketing actions? If an agent only goes to exhibitions and has a website, then he/she just doesn’t cut the mustard.
Armando Macia, Marjal International
Dear editor,
I do not know who you are Armando Macia but although you make one
or two valid points, please do not brand most agents as only being in the business for the quick buck and rubbishing their value. As an established agent for 28 years we have seen plenty of poor agents
come and go. Equally we are aware of many longstanding and good agents. We ourselves have only ever worked for the commission on off er as long as it is enough for viability, and we have never demanded high rates. Our business is built on service which starts when we fi rst meet the client and only fi nishes when they do not need us anymore, only if that day ever comes! We look after our clients, I am sure in common with many other agents, and the independent advice and service we are able to give before, during and for many years after the sale is far superior to that available from any single developer or builder, whose main interest is naturally selling his own product, by off ering whatever commission is deemed appropriate. We believe the very high commissions sometimes on off er are not in the
best interest of clients, and we tend not to accept developments off ering such high commissions, but whatever the commission, we fully earn it! We are paid once and then spend many subsequent years giving most of it back to the client with our unrivalled back up service! Comments like yours do a disservice to good agents everywhere, all of whom
are suff ering these days, due to the recession, customers buying direct, believing they are saving money, which generally they are not, and of course the dreaded private sale, cutting out the agent but usually also cutting out their own protection! Such clients often ring us up after they have purchased stating they have made a dreadful mistake, and can we help get them out of trouble? Yes there have been rogue agents over the years, as there have been rogue
developers but a good agent will cushion all these problems and give a lot more advice and help. In our 28 years we have never had a client make a bad buy, except on one occasion many years ago, when the client in question decided not to take our advice. Unfortunately, he suff ered through his own fault, and admitted as much afterwards. Buying through a good agent is still the very best way to purchase property
abroad. If only more potential customers, who believe they get all the information they need from the Internet and then go direct, realised this, there would be far less buyers getting into trouble and making wrong decisions. It really is false economy to try and save the agent’s commission when purchasing overseas property.
John Stimpson, JJ Properties
www.opp.org.uk | APRIL 2010
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