Property Point

It always makes me laugh when I see two dogs walking on a footpath, unaccompanied by a human, alongside a suburban street.

They move along on a good trot, with a sense of purpose, as though they know exactly what they’re doing and where they’re going.

I saw a couple of dogs the other day walking briskly along the footpath alongside Paradise St in South Mackay.

One dog was slightly ahead of the other one, leading the way, and that’s usually the case in these dual-dog escapades.

The one in front is the leader and shows the way with a confident stride, looking straight ahead undistracted by cars, humans, those other dogs pathetically barking from behind their fenced suburban prisons and ignoring anything that could divert them from their mission. Whatever that is.

The dog that is following the leader does so with blind allegiance, confident that the boss knows exactly what he or she is doing and where they’re going.

The mission is, of course, a sham and a futile exercise that will achieve nothing and possibly end up in disaster.

The whole image reminds me of what can be a very unfortunate real estate experience … that is if you’re the seller and the agent doesn’t really know what they’re doing.

I’ve got to stress there are plenty of good agents out there but there are some who are not and if you manage to land one of them, well, it’s you and the agent making your way along Paradise St with the agent up ahead pretending he or she knows what they’re doing.

That’s you following along, initially believing the agent is all over it but after a while realising there’s no real direction, no serious engagement with buyers and that the whole exercise seems to be going nowhere.

It seemed so promising at the start. The agent was cheaper that the others. Commission was lower, marketing was a bargain compared to the expense of a premiere listing on realestate.com.au that some agents were suggesting along with a social media strategy and professional photos.

Now when you look at that crappy advertising write-up you see it doesn’t in any way convey the desirable attributes of your property and make any connection with potential buyers,  you note the lack of offers, the  poor attendance at open homes, the fact other agents at the agency aren’t bringing buyers to the table.

You see the opportunity is gone. You realise there is only one chance to make a first impression. You know you’re not going to get the best price the market will pay. You now understand that all agents are not the same.

I imagine there are cheap mechanics, cheap painters, cheap plumbers, cheap accountants and probably cheap surgeons. I don’t use any of them because they’re cheap for a reason. And it’s not a good reason.

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