Guys,

An interesting day after meeting with 4 agents. All agents dropped their commissions by roughly the same amount, 1/4% which I have to say I expected at a minimum. No extras for marketing. Jon, you make a good point, but there are obviously economies of scale all round for an agent to sell multiple properties in the one complex. N

I must say, I was surprised with some of the USP's that the agents tried to use:

1. We will guarantee that we will do our best to get you the best possible price.
2. We have a 90 day contract, but if you are not happy with our service, you can rip up the contract.
3. We are open for 4 hours on Sunday
4. We advertise on 5 websites (of which most people have only heard of 2)
5. Our commission is fair because we really work hard for it.
6. No sale, no fee.

All basically offered the same sales pitch, none prepared to back themselves on a set price, no one wanting to commit to a marketing strategy despite having had 5 days to put something together before the meetings. The next step is for all agents to submit their rates and marketing strategy to me by the end of the week for review by the other members of our JV.

Maybe I have unrealistic expectations, or maybe the agents I have picked are not representative of best possible sales providers in the market. I would like to think that what I have experienced today is not reflective of how all agents operate. Perhaps I just need to look a little harder to find the right one.

Micky.

Thanks Paul, i like your style!