www.imobiliare.ro<\/a>. One of the most popular questions there (but also in tens of other emails I receive) is a very simple one: “What am I supposed to expect from my Real Estate broker?”<\/p>\nThis is a question that usually hides another one: “What am I supposed to expect from my Real Estate broker, in order for him to justify his right to receive a commission?” This is a very long discussion, but today let’s start with the part of your rights as a consumer *.<\/p>\n
This way we will also try to identify the broker’s obligations, in order for the client NOT to claim: “what did he do to deserve my payment?”<\/p>\n
Below you will find 10 + 1 details of behavior that you should expect from your Real Estate broker during his communication with you. So he should be able to:<\/p>\n
1. Reply to your call, or call you back<\/strong><\/p>\nIf you search for a property and you call 20 numbers, in 30% of cases you will not receive a reply. Unfortunately you won’t be called back either. Why? Because according to some people “if he really wants the property, he should insist”. Ignore the arrogant ones.<\/p>\n
2. Talk politely with you over the phone<\/strong><\/p>\nOnce your call is replied, you deserve to be treated properly. You’re not supposed to care about the agent’s personal problems. You are the client and he is supposed to show a minimum of respect. If he can’t do this through your first discussion with him, don’t lose your time, he will never do it in the future as well.<\/p>\n
3. Verify that the offer is true<\/strong><\/p>\nThere are many people who simply lie about an offer, in order to try and “fish” a client. Then they will attempt to sell him something else. This is why the agent is supposed to know if the offer is valid. It is also ok if he asks you to wait and calls you back once he checks.<\/p>\n
4. Answer your questions<\/strong><\/p>\nHe is not supposed to provide you with all the information you need over the phone. He is a professional and he deserves to be paid for this. But he has to provide you with a minimum of basic details, proving that he knows the property.<\/p>\n
5. Confirm that he visited the property before<\/strong><\/p>\nSeveral “taxi drivers” who pretend to be Real Estate agents are too bored to verify a property before they present it to you. This is why you should always ask if the agent on the phone has visited the property in question.<\/p>\n
6. Explain 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages (he considers that) the property has<\/strong><\/p>\nIf he really visited the property, he should be able to explain 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages that he considers that it has. Of course this will not happen over the phone, but during a meeting at his office. But still you should ask and wait for his response. It might surprise you…<\/p>\n
7. Understand what advantage and disadvantage means<\/strong><\/p>\nYou are not the expert, he is supposed to be the one. If he does not know or does not want to tell you advantages and disadvantages, he is hiding something or did not visit the property. Or simply he does not know \/ care to study it before he presents it to you.<\/p>\n
8. Know the real surface, constructed and useful sq.m. and number of rooms<\/strong><\/p>\nAs you usually ask me regarding brokers that sell apartments, let me tell you that your Real Estate broker should definitely know the real surface of the property, plus the built and useful one. If the owner did not provide him with documents, at least he can be sure for the number of rooms and how spacious, or not, they are.<\/p>\n
9. Discuss with you as long as it is necessary<\/strong><\/p>\nYou called because you are interested in finding out details about a property he has. He is supposed to discuss with you as long as it is necessary. This does not mean… 1 hour, but it can be a few minutes for sure. It is also ok if he calls you back later, once his schedule is less stressed. If he does not have 30 seconds for you, don’t give him more seconds of your life either.<\/p>\n
10. Describe to you which is his company and its activities<\/strong><\/p>\nMany clients don’t care to find out many details. They are just interested in a property and they consider it useless to know more about the broker and his company. These are the same people who go to the media and cry because they lost their money and “the State did not protect them from a bad company”. Save your tears by asking the broker on the phone to tell you a few words about him, plus to describe to you which his company and its activities. If he fails to do this, it is a sign for you, right?** <\/p>\n
10 + 1. Propose a meeting at his office<\/strong><\/p>\nYeah, yeah, you “don’t care about his office, you just want a property”. But someone’s office shows a lot about him. It also may prove if this person is honest with you or not. If he does not propose to meet at his office, or (at least!) at a coffee shop, in order to discuss a few minutes before you visit the property, then don’t expect to be properly served. Rare exceptions simply confirm the rule.<\/p>\n
On Friday, 4th<\/sup> of November 2011:<\/strong><\/p>\n“What am I supposed to expect from my Real Estate broker?”<\/strong><\/p>\nPart 2: During the first meeting<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
* Your rights as consumer end the moment you want to receive services without paying for them. So if you will be mistreated, don’t complain. If you mistreat the agent, don’t complain if he strikes back.<\/p>\n
** Of course if you belong to the category of people who want brokers to work with them, without their company knowing it, no one will cry if the broker steals from you in the end. A company assumes responsibilities; a “taran” (villager) who steals from you simply turns his phone off and disappears.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Part 1. First approach through a phone call Next Wednesday we will have a new session of questions and answers, as we have been doing on the last Wednesday of every month, together with www.imobiliare.ro. One of the most popular questions there (but also in tens of other emails I receive) is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":59454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[216,17,236],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10076"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}