For most estate agents selling international property the internet is the most important medium for advertising. Now, whilst web site positioning is obviously important to get the agents web site seen, how does he stand out from the rest? Good quality pictures, easy to use website, attractive properties, competitive pricing and good customer service would be the stock answers but as always there are some smart alek’s who want to cut corners. So here are a few tricks of the internet marketing trade!
1. To make your property look cheaper than the competition, advertise Net rather than Inclusive of commission. This means what you actually have to pay for the house can be very different from the advertised price. Some agents bury the commission in the small print, others add it to their property listings but either way the price that draws you to their ad is not the price you will pay.
2. We advertise at the price the owner tells us to ask, inclusive of commission. Sometimes the owner will give us an idea of his bottom line so I will say things like “try an offer”. BUT to look cheaper than the rest I could advertise below his asking price knowing he will go lower. Not very nice for the seller you might say, but as a buyer, “what do I care”? Well, the asking price conditions you as to what offers might be accepted. When you see a price you assume that the seller will drop from it. So you see a house for 100,000 Euros and offer 90,000. 10% off. But if the seller really wants 120,000 and 100,000 was actually his bottom line your 90,000 offer represents a 25% discount from the asking price. You are therefore being misled on the price and what you can expect to buy.
3. A totally fictitious price. The agent recognizes the advantages of being the cheapest on the net so he asks what he thinks the seller will take. If you make an offer it is a case of take it or leave it for the seller. If the seller refuses to accept the agent's price then he tells you “sorry, it is under offer” or “withdrawn” and then proceeds to show you something else.
4. The unlisted property. The agent or portal site simply lifts property details from other agent’s web sites or other portals. Then if they get an enquiry they go to the agent and say “I have a client for you but I want 50% of the commission”. So what, you ask? Well, listing houses is a hugely time consuming business. It costs genuine agents money to list a house and it also costs us money to show it and to help clients through the purchase. The agent that simply skims other people’s property doesn’t have any of these costs but still wants 50% of the sale proceeds. And if I tell him to clear of he tells you, the client, that the house isn’t available. He certainly doesn’t tell you he isn’t instructed to sell the property and that you should go to someone who is! In other words this type of operator is a leach; he doesn’t have any properties, he doesn’t have to sell what he lists and all he’s being paid for is his position on Google. OK, so how does this affect you? Simply because the more people that join you for dinner party the bigger the bill. Commissions have to be set to cover the cost of paying these people – some agents ask 8%! Furthermore, in these hard times, most agents, myself included, will always help make a deal by reducing commission. We are contributing to you getting a better price. We can’t do that if the leaches and hangers on have to be paid as well because there won’t be enough to go round. Now I know that in theory the seller pays the agent but as he pays from the money you pay him, ultimately you are the one to pay for the extra diners.
So why do agents get up to these tricks? Basically it’s simple. The agent wants you to view with them. You naturally view with the cheapest so the “loss leaders” persuade you to look at houses with them. If at the last minute some of the houses you want to see are gone, are you going to storm of in a huff and lose one of your few viewing days or are you going to look at alternatives suggested by the agent? He is after all the cheapest so why go anywhere else? It’s as basic as that.
Where does that leave you? Well, by all means check if the agent quotes inclusive or exclusive prices and ask why their price is higher/lower than the competition. Then pick the agents to view with by the way they reply. In other words, look beyond the obvious and decide who you want to do business with based on the quality of their service. And ask questions! No one should be insulted or upset when someone says they are charging more or less than the competition and a proper answer is the least you deserve.
Don’t let any of this put you of viewing a home in Spain or anywhere else. It just goes to show how eager everyone is to get your business and that means there has never been a better time to buy.
