Real Estate 101

REAL ESTATE 101 is a section created to provide answers to queries that may arise on occasion. If you have a query relating to buying or selling property, please email me at: [email protected] and I shall endeavour to answer your question.

Please note you should always seek legal advice if you are uncertain of anything during your personal buying or selling process OR contact the NSW Office of Fair Trading for guidance. 

Question: Why isn’t my real estate agent attending the opens?

The short answer is…most likely because they’re busy attending another client's open. 

Most high-profile real estate agents will take on as many listings as possible – the more listings, the more opportunity to earn commission - and often have too many properties to manage on their own. When this happens, they will ask their Assistant or Office Junior to attend the opens and do the call backs following the inspections. 

Vendors are not usually aware that this is what will happen, and some possibly don’t care. However, if you have chosen an agent believing they will be the person turning up for inspections, and showing your property, and then find out that is not case, it can be disappointing. 

If you would prefer the agent you have listed your property with does the inspections and call backs make sure you clarify this with them before signing the agency agreement. Have it written into the agency agreement if you feel strongly about it to ensure that the agent you have chosen is actually the person selling your property. If the agent can’t agree to this, you should possibly look at choosing an agent who can. 

Question: Why won’t the agent tell me what the other offers are on a property I am interested in?

This can be very frustrating and may appear as the agent playing games but in reality, most agents are just trying to get the best price for their client. 

Private Treaty sales are basically silent auctions whereby the seller holds most of the power. When the agent withholds information on offers that have already been received, and possibly rejected by the vendor, it encourages interested parties to put in offers at where they see the value of the property, or where they are willing to go to, in terms of price. If the agent were to give the exact amount of the highest offer, the next buyer may offer $1,000.00 above that number (for example) and then a bidding war can occur. 

If you are really interested in a property which has already received offers that have either been accepted, or rejected, offer either the price you believe the property to be worth, or the amount you are willing to pay. The price guide on the property should inform this decision, and the agent should be able to provide a roundabout figure of where the current offers sit, but to ensure you don’t overpay, only put offers forward that you are comfortable with and/or can commit to.