Any opening for this service?

msbrobe

Ok..so a lot of the threads here don't have much good to say about Estate Agents and even though I am one - I am not here to defend the chancers.

My idea for a new (or maybe not so new) service is that I will do the legwork and cut through the bu****it for the inexperienced buyer. I would meet with them, get a good idea of requirements - location, size, budget etc. and come up with a shortlist of properties which I think will suit - a bit like Kirsty & Phil except without the lights, cameras and action. Obviously there would be an upfront fee for the work with a further payment if a deal is done.

I have worked in property for 20+ years, like to think I have a good reputation for being straight and upfront and have an extensive network of contacts etc. There are great deals to be had out there, obviously the EA's job is to get the best price for the vendor but in this case, I would be working on the buyer's behalf and the reverse would apply.

Anyone think there is an opening for this?

super_furry

Problem is, how do you trust them? How do you ensure there is now conflict of interests? How do you prevent them getting too cosy with estate agents?

Tigger

i'm in mayo
i want a two story house detached on a good road with a garage or space to build a garage and on bout .6-1 acre

if you find me one i'm happy with i'd gladly pay you buy the idea that i'd pay in advance is laughable

doopa

Telegraph story from a couple of years ago:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/buyingsellingandmoving/7324573/Property-buying-agents-Would-you-spend-15K-just-to-find-a-home.html

This works in some countries for sure. However, it really depends on the market. I'd be surprised if there weren't already people doing this in ireland. However, with direct selling/buying becoming bigger elsewhere and perhaps soon to take off in Ireland I don't know if I'd bother. Things like having a registry of all building transactions make having that specialist knowledge less valuable since anyone with a computer can have a peak at the longer term average value of a house in a given area.

Sarah Beeny's effort in this direction.
http://www.tepilo.com/

msbrobe

Tigger wrote: »

i'm in mayo
i want a two story house detached on a good road with a garage or space to build a garage and on bout .6-1 acre

if you find me one i'm happy with i'd gladly pay you buy the idea that i'd pay in advance is laughable

Mayo is a big county!
Whereabouts do you want to live?
What do you consider a good road?
Most important - whats your budget?

msbrobe

doopa wrote: »

Telegraph story from a couple of years ago:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/buyingsellingandmoving/7324573/Property-buying-agents-Would-you-spend-15K-just-to-find-a-home.html

This works in some countries for sure. However, it really depends on the market. I'd be surprised if there weren't already people doing this in ireland. However, with direct selling/buying becoming bigger elsewhere and perhaps soon to take off in Ireland I don't know if I'd bother. Things like having a registry of all building transactions make having that specialist knowledge less valuable since anyone with a computer can have a peak at the longer term average value of a house in a given area.

Sarah Beeny's effort in this direction.
http://www.tepilo.com/

Thanks Doopa
I certainly wouldn't be talking anything like the fees quoted here.

Property price register is on the way here but I don't know how comprehensive the information will be.
I would be talking about looking to try and source property from all angles, sellers direct, EA's, bank portfolio etc. would be looking to try and secure deals in the buyers favour - I would be more especially talking about people who may be intimidated by the whole buying process and may not have the confidence to deal with agents who may be pushy....
I didn't mention that I am also involved in another charitable organisation and through this I have access to a big network of contacts throughout the country who can provide me with the local knowledge in an area

It might be a complete non-runner but as a rural EA with lots of time on my hands at the moment my head runs away with the ideas at times of how to improve my own business.....

djimi

I can see the merits behind such a service, but for people to fully trust that you are acting in their best interests you could not be running this service alongside a traditional estate agent business. Percieved conflict of interest from buyers would be your biggest hurdle.

nibtrix

One reason that I wouldn't use a service like this would be that I would have no idea if you were really recommending the places that suited my needs/budget or if you were pushing properties being sold by yourself (as an ea) or by other ea's that you were friends with (and might be getting kickbacks from).

I'm not suggesting YOU are going to do this but the system would be very open to abuse.

msbrobe

djimi wrote: »

I can see the merits behind such a service, but for people to fully trust that you are acting in their best interests you could not be running this service alongside a traditional estate agent business. Percieved conflict of interest from buyers would be your biggest hurdle.

If I thought this service would keep the bills paid for me I would happily run it as a stand-alone service even if that meant ceasing existing business.

silja

So basically, you'd be a buyer's estate agent? Yes, I can see a market for that, they have that in the USA where we currently live as pretty much standard. It is useful if you move to an area you do not know, or don;t have time to look at many properties or, like us, need to buy a house and have most of the closing (survey, paperwork etc) done while you are not in the country.

I agree with the other poster that mentioned being reluctant to pay a fee upfront- I could understand a small "deposit", but unless you came with stellar references, I'd be hesitant to pay when I don't even know if you can find me a property I like. If you are really confident in your abilities, you could tie your fee to how quickly you can get a deal closed/ how much off asking price you can get the buyer the house for.

realgirl

I don't think you would find many people to pay up front, a fee once the deal is sale agreed is probably more realistic. I think a good potential market for you would be overseas buyers who would find doing the legwork themselves very difficult, good luck

Tigger

msbrobe wrote: »

Mayo is a big county!
Whereabouts do you want to live?
What do you consider a good road?
Most important - whats your budget?

most important is location

athtrasna

It's not a new service. In the boomtime one of the papers (I think either the Indo or the Herald) had a person offering such a service with a weekly column. I know we considered contacting her but the fees were more than we could justify. Good thing too, we might actually have moved!

pawnacide

I agree that a buyers agent is a good idea but it's not new to Ireland. A google search will throw up a few. Keep in mind you have no legal standing to recover fees unless you can convince your clients to sign a contract at the start. Otherwise you'll need to trust the clients to pay because I seriously doubt you'll get any money up front.

What you need to consider is WHAT can you offer that they can't do themselves and 20 years in the business won't be enough. The buyers agents websites I've seen to date harp on about access to properties that aren't yet on the market but they have insider knowledge about .. there might be a few but with your 20 yrs in the business do you think this is sufficient to charge a fee. I find the houses for sale quietly are generally the houses nobody wanted and would be hard pressed to think of one that offered outstanding value. But if you have exceptional contacts (Banks/Nama/Developers etc) this would be a plus.

It would absolutely have to be a standalone business otherwise it's just an exercise in buyer info gathering and would be exactly what you've been doing for the last 20 years. Buyers agents in the States are completely and legally removed from the listing process and are therefore trusted to be on the buyers side. You can also expect a certain amount of resistance from estate agents .. not all but some.

Having said all that if you feel you genuinely could give clients access to houses they can't find themselves in five minutes by looking on Daft/Myhome then it would have merit.

Further you could sell it on the idea that you, with your experience, will get a better price and could charge accordingly .. say 200 + 25% of whatever less than agreed budget etc etc. But again there will be trust issues.

I do think you could test certain facets of the business without actually closing your current business by talking to other agents in the town and see if they're willing to work with you, talk to bank managers, Nama, receivers etc and see if you can get access to unlisted properties, get a solicitor and surveyor on board with a good price for clients etc etc.

Whatever you decide .. Best O luck with it.

Edit: Have a look at this contract from an Irish Firm .. I'm guessing there's quite a bit of thumb twiddling in the office which is what I presume you're trying to get away from.

http://www.buyersagent.ie/Site_Content/Files/PDF/Contract.pdf