Growing up, we’re always taught honesty is the best policy; however, does that mean everyone is always honest?
Arguably, the words real estate ‘agent’ and ‘honesty’ are not used in the same sentence. However, this stigma is changing – as agents adopt a transparent approach to selling property.
Historically, home buyers had to rely solely on the agents’ ability to provide all the information they needed before they committed to purchase a home. This dynamic led to some agents taking advantage of the situation, by purposely omitting details about a property to appear more attractive; hoping it would lead to a quicker sale. This leaves the home purchaser with issues they were unaware of at the time of signing the contract.
With the introduction of the internet, smart phones and innovative technologies, the ability for homebuyers to research accurate property information even before they contact an agent or view a home has now become common place. Agents have adapted to the changing technological trends by doing the due diligence for their clients upfront.
Alex from Develo sat down with Reuben Packer-Hill from McGrath Estate agents to chat about transparency in the real estate industry.
Reuben explained:
“The world that we are coming into now and the way that we have seen the real estate industry transform over the last ten years, is that there is so much more information available for buyers now – so why not be the service provider as real estate agents. Provide that information up front and be as transparent as possible, so again there is less friction through that buying process.”
Reuben also commented:
“We have a (Develo) report prepared when we first go in for a listing presentation or appraisal, so that we as agents have a full professional understanding of what limitations a property might have”
‘We provide the report to every customer we meet at open homes and at private buyer viewings”
“From a negotiation point of view, it’s nice to be able to get any possible negatives out of the way up front, before spending days or weeks negotiating a price, holding your breath for a week or two for the due diligence period to expire, and then finding out there may be issues with the property”
“This allows us (McGrath) to stand out from the crowd in terms of being as transparent with our consumers and customers as possible”
So – is ‘honesty’ really the best policy when it comes to selling property? By being transparent with his clients, Reuben has proven it helps the selling process – making it easier to build trust with buyers and sellers.
The full discussion can be viewed below.