When we decide to contact a real estate agent, we expect that he will help us sell our property, but at the same time we want to leave the option of selling it ourselves. The so-called The “open contract” doesn’t cost us anything, we still sell to ourselves, and someone else helps us at the same time. We think that the more of them, the better – it is always statistically more likely to find a customer. Well, that’s not true!
Very often, in conversations with friends and family, when the idea of selling an apartment with the help of an agent comes up, we receive advice: “Just don’t sign an exclusive contract, because later you will sell it yourself and they will want money from you.”
However, no one asks what does “sell it yourself” mean?
If you decide to take your car to a mechanic, do you repair it together?
If your child has tonsillectomy, do you operate together with the doctor?
If you hire a lawyer for a court case, do you read the code yourself and pursue a doctorate in law?
No, every time you give up the responsibility and pay for the service. So why do you want to sell your apartment together with an agent?
Open contract – it doesn’t work
- When you have signed 5 contracts with different real estate agencies, you think that you have done your best, because apart from you, they are all working hard and the transaction will be concluded in a moment. However, you don’t know about some very important details that make it exactly the opposite.
- None of them provides the exact location of your apartment, because it will make it easier for a potential buyer to find you directly.
- There are no detailed photos showing the area.
- The promotion is carried out at the lowest possible cost, because why invest if someone else can sell it
- Not all agencies make the offer of your apartment available to other agencies. In practice, it works in such a way that even if a really interested client were found, they may not be able to see your apartment, because then “your” agent would have to share the remuneration with another agency.
- Once you find a “direct” client who also pays the agent a commission, forget about taking your side during negotiations. Then the only thing that matters is closing the sale quickly, no matter at what price, and you will be convinced to lower your requirements.
- And finally, if the same buyer looked at your apartment twice, with different agencies, because, for example, one offer was slightly cheaper, when the contract is finalized, both agencies may demand their remuneration for associating the parties.
Exclusivity – it really works!
