5 dirty agent tricks in the Sydney real estate market
If you want to stay ahead of the curve in the Sydney property market, you need to know how to tell fact from fiction.
Blogger: Robert Skeen, director, Skeen Property Buyers
1. “We have another offer”
Why is it every time you are interested in a home the agent comes up with this line? Naturally it’s always to create a sense of urgency in you. Don’t always bite at this comment.
2. “The rental value should really be … [grossly over quotes the rental value]”
Clearly the tenancy agreement in the contract states what the current rental is, making it a property investment you won’t ever receive a decent yield from …ever!
3. You ask, “What is the price”?
They reply, “This is the first open and we have not have had any feedback from the buyers yet” If this happens, you then need to ask “Well what was the price you wrote in the seller’s agency agreement?”
4. Underquoting
Another outcome of asking “What is the price?” is the agent can quote you a figure that is $150,000 less than what they told the owner. Come auction day you were never in the running to buy the property.
5. Pre-auction offers
You put in a pre-auction bid because you don’t like auctions, which the agent then uses as leverage with all the other buyers that attend the open inspections.
The agent then advises you the owners will not sell to you at your pre-auction offer, however also tells you for some miraculous reason the owners will accept your offer on auction night…. Yeah right!
- <p>...And who do the agents work for? The buyers or the sellers? Perhaps you've never attempted to be a professional real estate rep Robert. It's not as easy as you make out by some of your comments - trying to maximise the result for the seller, whilst being fully aware of their circumstances, and not disclosing any private information to the buying public, and yet keep the buying public interested in making offers to a genuine seller who is requiring you (by statute law) to obtain the best possible result for them! It's a piece of cake isn't it? Neil</p>0
- <p>Buyers agents are a waste of time and money. This advise is not great just tried to put all the agents in one pot. Maybe if we referred to all the buyers agents as scummy as they generally advise their clients to pay above market so they can get a commission would that sit nice...<br>Most agents are good honest people. They are there working for the vendor to get as much as possible. They do not have a crystal ball and know the final sale price before auctions as that is up to the market. Also in hot markets new prices are set almost weekly so you cannot really base your estimates on sales of 2-3 months ago.</p><p>Waste of time tips in my opinion. </p>0
- <p>Buyers agents are a waste of time and money. This advise is not great just tried to put all the agents in one pot. Maybe if we referred to all the buyers agents as scummy as they generally advise their clients to pay above market so they can get a commission would that sit nice...<br>Most agents are good honest people. They are there working for the vendor to get as much as possible. They do not have a crystal ball and know the final sale price before auctions as that is up to the market. Also in hot markets new prices are set almost weekly so you cannot really base your estimates on sales of 2-3 months ago.</p><p>Waste of time tips in my opinion. </p>0
- <p>OH Robert, your my hero!!!!!!!</p>0
- <p>The biggest thing my son is finding is that agents are trying to get him to sign an unconditional contract and using the 5 day cooling off period to get his building and pest done. Over 12 agents have done this to him. This is emotional blackmail. Thank goodness my son is not stupid enough to fall for this. On one particular property there was a 3 foot drain pipe half way through the front lawn stopping him from building out. When my son confronted the agent about this they said "Oh don't worry about that just apply to council" What a scum bag agent!!!!</p>0
- <p>'We have another offer' may be an agents trick, or they may have another offer. If they do, don't tell you and you miss out, I would suggest you will then want to critcise the agent for not letting you know.<br>A professional agency will get a quote from their property managemnt department on the rental value. They won't over quote, because if they get the management they want to be able to lease it.<br>Deliberate underquoting is right out of line, but in the current Sydney market it isn't uncommon for the final selling price to exceed what any realistic comparative sales appraisal would indicate.<br>As to the pre-auction offer, yes the agent will try to leverage a better offer, that's his job, the vendor is paying him to maximise the sale price. Always remember, the decision whether to accept an offer or not, at the end of the day, is the vendors.<br>All these so-called 'tricks' have some validity, and I am well aware that there are unscupulous agents out there, but this looks very much to me like someone with a vested interest (a buyers agent) justifying there position.<br>Abnd yes, I am an agent, but I think it reasonable to put the contrary point of view.</p>0
- <p>Some Excellent points Robert, however in the current market it is more than likely that there is multiple offers on any property. The next question is usually, and how much is that offer. My reply: would you like me to disclose your offer to a another purchaser???<br>Point 2. If you are looking for a rental yield you would be doing a lot more research on the general areas rental prices than the current lease. There are a lot of agents that do not push any boundaries in what they ask for in rental return, the lease may have been signed in a time of over supply. The property may have been vacant for some time and need to be leased due to the owners financial position. You never know what the drivers are behind the scene.<br>I agree that under quoting is a problem in a heated market, an agent can easily be wrong if the property is highly desirable. Most good agents will quote a range that they expect it to sell within. Remebering the agent works for the vendor to obtain the highest possible price on the day and through negotiation.<br>I wonder how many people are still looking for a property that they thought was over priced by $20 or $30K and are still looking. In the Sydney market those that have hesitated in recent times have lost through indecision to a buyer who has done the research.</p>0
- <p>Very handy tips Robert! I like number 3 and didn't know I could ask the question directly.</p>0
- <p>Great advice and information to know. Awesome to <br>know I have an agent with a wealth of knowledge in the industry If I ever need one! :)</p>0
- <p>Thanks Rob, some good advice</p>0
