As in all professions, some are doing a great job and others don’t. The profession of real estate agent generally gets a bad press. Easy money, staff not always qualified, the grievances are numerous.
Here are some tips to help you make the right choice.
First and foremost, no one wants to be associated with someone who doesn't respect the law. The profession has changed a lot since the 90s, and yet...
How to detect this ?
A real estate agent is not allowed to work without a mandate. It must be registered with the administration. How to register a document that doesn't exist? You've met someone who's going to publish without getting you to sign a mandate, it's a bad start!
Still on the legal side, we are subject, just like notaries and banks, to anti-money laundering legislation. This requires us to identify you and understand the source of the funds that were used to purchase the property you wish to sell or that will be used to purchase your future property. Thus, we will take a copy of your identity document and you may be asked to provide other documents such as payslips, tax returns, etc. This step must take place before any mandate, offer or sales agreement is signed.
The valuation is a key step in a successful sale. It is the result of a model developed by the agent to objectify a number of factors such as the location, the condition of the property, etc. This calculation always requires precise knowledge of the surfaces. Thus, almost systematically a serious agent will measure your property (the inside of the rooms). Without knowing the dimensions, the valuation becomes a guess ! A number at the end of 10 pages of photos and text is not enough. Ask to see the calculations and if there are none, choose someone else.
A real estate agent is very rarely a professional photographer. He pulls out his smartphone, take a few quick shots and off he goes! More seriously, your property must be presented in the best light, choose someone who knows how to surround himself with professionals for each field around real estate. This can be a photographer, an insurer, a building expert, a renovation company, ...
It's not all about having an impressive catalog of items for sale, it can even be a bad sign. Do you want your property to join a stock of properties that have been unsold for months? Considering the time required for quality work, a maximum of 10 properties for sale per agent seems reasonable.
Agents suffered last year, some of them, to reduce cost, decided to publish exclusively on a single listing portal. Today, our figures show that more than half of customers go through a portal other than the leader. Your property needs to be seen as much as possible, choose an agent who works with multiple sources.
Collaboration is a question to ask. When customers were queuing to buy a property, the difficulty was to get properties in our portfolio, no need to wait for customers from another agency. Today, the market has changed. Ask your agent if he collaborates with other colleagues, this multiplies the chances of selling your property / finding your dream home.
Finally, in this profession, you will find people from all fields, young and old, graduates and non-graduates. This job requires technical, legal and commercial skills, but also good listening skills and a lot of diplomacy.
After a 17-year career as an engineer and quite important positions held in the industry, I can tell you without a doubt that this job is very challenging. Find out about your agent's profile, it's crucial.
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