Property Point

One of my most intimidating travel experiences was when I was suddenly swarmed by a gang of young street thieves as I was about to catch a train with my wife in an underground station in central Mexico City.

We were catching the train to the suburbs to have a look at the museum-style house the artist Frida Khalo had shared with her equally famous husband Diego Rivera, a trip that also gave us the opportunity to visit the house around the corner where Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky was stabbed to death with an ice pick while seated at his desk.

Anyway, we were pretty much the only people on the platform as we waited for the train to arrive … that is until we felt the gush of wind and the sound of the train approaching through the tunnel.

Suddenly about 20 young people appeared next to us and, as the carriage doors opened and we entered the train, they surrounded us.

As we stepped into the carriage and the door closed, it became clear they were a gang and, judging by the hands that were palming all over my body, they wanted to rob us.

My wife didn’t have anything important on her as all our money and passports etc were in the “bum bag” that I had strapped around my waist. I don’t know if my grip can accurately be described as “vice-like” but the grip I had on that bum bag that day is as close as I am ever going to get.

I knew we only had to last until the next stop so I held on tight for a few minutes until we got there and, when we did and the doors opened, there was a sudden and complete exodus by the gang. They had a go at robbing me but, once they realised it wasn’t going to be easy, they gave up and moved on to the next target.

Some real estate buyers can be like that. Don’t get me wrong, not all of them. Most buyers are great and, although everyone would love to pick up a bargain, most are happy to pay a fair price for a property they see value in.

But there are a few who think they are going to steal a house from a stupid agent and a desperate seller.

One of the most important things that I can do as an agent is to create competition. The write-up, flyer drops,  social media strategy, phone calls to potential buyers, work with other Gardian agents who will also have buyers … in short, the marketing and strategic approach to selling your property creates the buyer interest you need.

If there is strong buyer interest in a property, those buyers who want to sneak in and pick up a bargain will realise they have picked the wrong house, the wrong agent.

Like the train station thieves of Mexico City, those buyers move on and look for their next target. It won’t be one of my properties.

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