Looks like I’ll be moving there next week – here I am working for 2-2.5! It may depend on the local market – median houseprices and how much work needs to go into it to sell something there, but 5% seems pretty excessive. Good market for a smaller agency to open up and cut commissions, but without the local knowledge I can’t say too much…[Read more]

You’re lucky they even did a drive-by. I’m an agent and get calls from valuers all the time, they ask us whether we can remember whether something is brick or w/b – etc etc. So count yourself lucky that they actually bothered to get into the car. As for your interpretation of market price, and your opinion that it should be higher than what you…[Read more]

I Love those agents, makes it better for the rest of us – ythey’re not getting your business in the future I take it?

Having said that, as the theme has been with the above replies, I wouldn’t waste someones time by offering something like that. They’re on the market to sell – it’s not as though they’re asking for an opening bid at an auction.…[Read more]

Fair enough, as agents we get paid out of the vendor’s eventual price, but a cashed up buyer is better than listings that dont sell. Therefore, let the agent know exactly what youre looking for, tell them how flexible you are with those requirements and then a range youre looking to buy in.

Stick to the one agent within each agency so that they…[Read more]

If you dont tell the agent even a range, then they usually dont bother calling you back. Why would they? You might not even be able to get finance and you could be looking at properties from 400k.

As an agent I find that we usually dont bother dealing with people who wont at least give us a range. We like to negotiate & make deals, and yes, we…[Read more]

As an agent, I agree with Dr X. The market determines the price your property is worth, it’s just how you get your property out there into the marketplace. At our agency, if we have an exclusive authority and someone wants out, obviously we’ll have a meeting to see why they are unhappy with our services, but really, what’s the point in us keeping…[Read more]

ahh, good point, i think you’re right! sorry vexil.
Savman, the reforms mean that ideally if advertised at a range (i.e. 400+) then the + means that the range is really 400-440 (the 10% you’re talking about). This is ideal, and yes, agents obviously abuse it still, because it’s not uncommon to hear complaints come into our office about other…[Read more]

katfrat, I would suggest your original agent has probably gone in with a high valuation just to get the listing and see what comes up (sometimes you find the right buyer and they’ll pay well over ‘market price’ to get a property). If you’ve had to drop it 70k, either the local market in your area has taken a real dive, or the market is telling you…[Read more]

Or you could spend that $250 that vexil is referring to on more marketing, hence you’re more likely to receive more interest and/or maybe more competition for your property. When supply is higher and demand is set, they’ll end up paying more for your property. That extra money in marketing will pay for itself over and over again.
The valuer isnt…[Read more]

Although REA’s have a reputation only one notch above used car salesmen, I just read this post in a different light. They’re supposed to disclose everything about the property and get the best price they can for the vendor, so how did the agent do the wrong thing by reelygood1 if they were a legitimate purchaser? Would it have been better…[Read more]

Sorry, but why is it a sweetner for the agents to have listings that dont sell? This is an agents worst nightmare. And with no advertising, what is the incentive for them? No exposure means no interest for the agent.
Have you had any offers at all? Fair enough, you may have had a dodgy agent to begin with if they had it for 7 weeks and couldnt…[Read more]

Personality. The PM at our office is great – and it shows. 26yrs experience – one of the best PM’s in our area, and all because of her personality. The office staff deal with the majority of the behind the scenes paperwork that can be done by anyone, while she concentrates on the one-to-one situations, whether it be with landlords, tenants or…[Read more]

Originally posted by bwendan:
For all of you guys who have done/will do/doing this course, tell the rest of us what you fink of it;
is it interesting?
are you specialising in anything?
what are you intending to do after uni?
what uni are you going to?
was this your first preference?
what was your TER score?
did u go to a public of private high…[Read more]

Why are you a member of this forum Property Trader? If it’s for self satisfaction, then ok, just do a few posts and leave it at that, but the atmosphere is generally friendly here, with people such as Rob (The Mortgage Adviser) who are willing to share their knowledge, thoughts and opinions to help others, and hopefully they can learn a few things…[Read more]

Not sure what state you’re in, but I’m sure the other equivalents will have the same thing: http://www.reiv.com.au has a postcode profile for decent sized suburbs and can be graphed against 4 other suburbs at a time. It’s basic, but it’s free…

(“,) $$$ HoLdEnCoMmOdOrE $$$ (“,)

I’m not sure if the conflict of interest laws are the same in other states (dont know if its federal or state), but the agent would be dodging those laws since he won’t acquire a share in the property and the title isn’t in his name at any stage. I’m tipping the female agent was in on it too. Think about it, she offers you a $2000 discount in…[Read more]

Patent law pays big $$, so like a few people have said above, you may be best to do what you like best, and pay someone to do all the boring nitty-gritty stuff & running around etc. You may, however, find that a small to medium sized law firm (not necessarily specialising in property, but related to investments etc) may lead to larger deals, and…[Read more]

An asset is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. The vendor could list the place for 950, and if you got it say 30grand cheaper, you would think you’re getting a bargain. But basically it’s been on the market for a while because no-one is willing to pay that much for it. Therefore, it’s obviously not worth the asking price (or…[Read more]

Shop around, ask what extra service etc they have to offer you that their competitors don’t. Ask friends etc too – word of mouth is good

(“,) $$$ HoLdEnCoMmOdOrE $$$ (“,)

The course costs $250 for the agents rep one. I have done it, having thought it would teach me a few things, but no, it’s pretty much useless. I’ve almost finished the agent’s licence course (in Victoria by the way), and that too is terrible. Most of the material hasn’t been updated for about 10 years, and the laws etc that have changed since are…[Read more]