I crumble on talking to RE agents. Tips?

Discussion in 'The Buying & Selling Process' started by xactly, 12th Aug, 2017.

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  1. Anthony416

    Anthony416 Well-Known Member

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    Lots of good advice in these previous posts. As with anything, the more you practice the better you become :)
     
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  2. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

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    Agree, practise makes better and better. Never perfect.

    I used to get my then girlfriend, now wife, to video record me in 'practise sessions' in role play for different agent scenarios, questions etc then watch back to refine how I did, improve etc. Might sound ridiculous to most people but then I'm not trying to achieve what most people would be happy with.
     
  3. Anthony416

    Anthony416 Well-Known Member

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    Yes, something worth doing is worth doing well. My philosophy of continuous improvement is heavily influenced by my 11 years in Tokyo as a project manager in a Japanese company where Kaizen (continuous improvement) is deeply embedded in most companies and can be applied to self improvement as well.
     
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  4. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

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    Yeah that must be hardcore, the Japanese are well known for that. Why did you come back after 11 years in Japan?
     
  5. Anthony416

    Anthony416 Well-Known Member

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    Mostly I returned so the kids could go to school here (the schools there are hardcore also :eek:
     
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  6. Paul@PAS

    Paul@PAS Tax, Accounting + SMSF + All things Property Tax Business Plus Member

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    Agents see heaps of people who refuse to disclose a thing. They dont take them too seriously. Others blurt their family history and wont shut up. Braggers and blurters...

    Its OK to say you are trying to find some value in this tough market when they ask how much - They may show you a pocket that meets your budget. Most agents have had people tell them they cant afford more than $X to later find a offer $200K higher. Agents dont take no as they see so many people who arent honest.

    They will want to know if you are a $1m buyer or a $3m buyer. And if you are ready or just looking
     
  7. Poppy

    Poppy Well-Known Member

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    Agents have never taken me seriously; firstly as a young woman (how could she afford this on her own?), and now all sweaty in my gym gear (bored unfunded desperate housewife!)

    I always ask them: why are they selling, how long they lived there, any issues you're aware of? They will very quickly toss you a floorplan and run the other way.

    I also engage them in a convo about who's buying in this pocket and why (downsizers? eastern suburbs? chinese? divorcees?). They feel I'm wasting their precious time and try to get away from me :) But also happy to share precious market info and changing demographics.

    If you ever sell you realise how much agents are OBLIGED BY LAW TO TELL YOU of problems IF YOU ASK THEM DIRECTLY. I recently sold a Sydney terrace with a leaking roof, termite ridden rotting floor and massive tree out the back that made the back courtyard WAIST DEEP in massive branches. It also annually dropped a branch big enough to pierce the roof or kill someone. Needless to say for the sales campaign I simply tiled over the mess (preventing any buyers doing a proper inspection).

    My agent was trained by me on what to say to potential buyers asking about crime, about parking, about drainage (tree roots had destroyed all the plumbing), about neighbours (every single one was a lunatic in their own right, broke into my house, cut off my water supply)

    In the end a chinese investor swooped in and bought it for a street record as it was close to the station....anyway what I'm saying is agents are constantly mining you for leads / info / intelligence - just show them you have nothing to offer. But if you are serious about buying, get in first and be agressive. And know your legal rights.
     
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  8. purplecat

    purplecat Well-Known Member

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    @Leo2413
    Thanks for the tips, I've used no.6 on Saturday & sort of got an estimated :)
    Need to re-read them again before I talk to any RE :D
     
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  9. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

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    The #1 thing agents want to know is that you are a genuine buyer who is not only ready but financially capable to purchase. If within the first 60 seconds of talking to them you know what to say and how to say it, you will be taken seriously by most good agents.
     
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  10. purplecat

    purplecat Well-Known Member

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    I'm in VIC so they are the one who's not ready yet - still waiting for the s32.

    Once I got that & have it reviewed, I'm ready to make the offer, not too many times that their estimated matches mine :D wish me luck ;)
     
  11. jim1964

    jim1964 1941

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    Kaizen was everyday culture at Mitsubishi here in Adelaide,lived and breathed it in the workplace,to this day i am now hardwired.
     
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  12. Gockie

    Gockie Life is good ☺️ Premium Member

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    I think you can have the small improvements... like going from 100 defects to 3 defects a month and thats an achievement. But I think productivity gets the huge boost when you can introduce new ways of doing things, like when the assembly line came in. The next thing to come will be a greater use of automation, which can do everything much faster with far fewer people and with higher quality.

    Kaizen yourself, think about the future....
     
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  13. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

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    @purplecat Good luck! ;)

    Don't forget to negotiate terms too. Sometimes you may be willing to pay more if they agree to some of your terms which works out better for you anyway :) In many cases terms can be equally or more important than price.
     
  14. purplecat

    purplecat Well-Known Member

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    Thanks @Leo2413 :)

    Quite the opposite, actually. It's a deceased estate & next of kin is interestate. I'm going to offer less (on the lower end of the indicative selling price) but with more attractive terms - 30 days settlement with zero chance of fail to settle because of finance (own finance); vendor can leave all furnitures & appliances, only need to clear other items.

    What do you @Leo2413 & everyone think? I want to avoid auction, is it a good strategy?
     
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  15. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

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    It will also come down to how much demand there is for the property. Do you need to do a BnP or are you waiving that?
     
  16. purplecat

    purplecat Well-Known Member

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    Forgot to mention :p yeah will only be subject to that

    Last Sat wasn't that many people, only 3 parties including myself, and no lack of similar properties in that area :D
     
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  17. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

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    If there is no lack for similar properties (and assuming your DD is done for the area etc and you think its a good deal) then go for gold and start low. I have in the past put in offers for 4 properties very similar in an area, all quite low offers. 1 bite. :)

    Good luck!! can't wait to see how this goes.
     
  18. purplecat

    purplecat Well-Known Member

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    Yeah I know that area, years ago, I've lived there for a couple of years :)
    Thanks so much for all the info & tips! Now I feel more confident! Hopefully I'll have good news soon ;)
     
  19. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

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    ti.jpg
     
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  20. The Y-man

    The Y-man Moderator Staff Member

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    The good thing in Victoria is that you just have to say the magic words: "Can you send me the section 32" and Bingo! - you are automatically qualified in the agent's mind you are a serious contender, no matter your gender, your age, what you look like, how you are dressed, or what you are driving.

    The Y-man