Property Point

In terms of professions the public loves to hate, car salesmen, journalists and real estate agents are usually named at the top of the list.

I’ve notched up two out of three on that list but, having never been a car salesman, I miss the trifecta. Feelin’ pretty superior right now.

It’s not hard to see why this general public view has been formed.

Historically, there has been an opportunity for dodginess in the sales area, with the widely used hard-sell approach by all sorts of sales people ranging from vacuum cleaner salesmen, encyclopedia salesmen, real estate agents, car salesmen etc.

But consumer law has changed and most of the bad practices have been stamped out.

However, you can’t stamp out all bad behaviour. There are people in all walks of life who are dishonest, manipulative and selfish and you are certainly going to find them in real estate.

I couldn’t count the number of times someone has said they don’t trust a particular agent and would never use them to buy or sell a property.

Sometimes, when you hear the story, the person’s opinion is absolutely justified and it is hard to believe the particular agent can look at themselves in the mirror on a daily basis.

On other occasions, it is the circumstances that have been difficult and although the agent might not have handled it perfectly, he or she did not do anything wrong.

The situation with multiple offers on a property is a good example.

The real estate agent is legally and ethically required to give all relevant information to a seller.

When a buyer makes an offer the agent must pass that on to the seller. Let’s say that later that day, while the seller is considering the offer, another buyer makes an offer. The agent must pass that offer on to the seller. We are then in a multiple offer situation and there are some legal steps the agent must take.

He or she needs to tell both buyers that there are multiple offers and suggest that they make their best and final offers. The agent is not allowed to reveal one buyer’s offer to the other.

Sometimes, Buyer 1 is annoyed because they had “made a good offer earlier in the day and now you’re talking about another offer that’s suddenly come along”.

The truth is the agent works for the seller. Yes, as an agent I want to help buyers and do everything I can to help them in their property goals.

But the listing agent must act ethically and within the law to get the best possible price for the seller. If another offer comes in while the seller is considering your offer then that is the way it is and the agent has no choice but to make sure the seller has that information.

I always say to buyers in this position: “Imagine if you were the seller and I didn’t tell you about an offer that came in while you were considering an initial offer.”

Like any other industry, there are dodgy people and good people in real estate. Most of the agents I know are decent folk who like to help people. There are a few who are not. Their names are …

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