Gordon Davies Real Estate - General Advice

General Advice

EXCLUSIVE AGENTS:
This doesn’t mean you exclude any buyers dealing through other agents. It means you deal exclusively with the agent of your choice whom you appoint. All other agents introduce their buyers through your agent on a 'conjunctional basis' (where the commission is shared). They are acting as a sub agent and have to act on your behalf because you are paying the commission.

CONJUNCTIONAL DEALS:
Where an agent other than your agent has a possible buyer for your home. They ring your agent who grants them a 'conjunctional' which means they will share the commission if that buyer then purchases your home. The other agent does this because if they don’t ask it is highly likely the buyer will ring your exclusive agent off the next advertisement or website and then they will not be able to share the commission.

CHOOSING AN AGENCY:
1) Just because you have bought a property through an agent doesn't mean you have to sell through them when the time comes.
2) Don’t fall victim to greed and necessarily give the house to the agent who promises you the highest 'valuation' either. Many sales people 'buy a listing' by promising very high valuations (prices) then spend the time trying to convince you the market has changed and you should sell for less.
3) It is probably best to give it to the agency with whom you personally feel comfortable and who gives you the most supporting evidence for the valuation (price) quoted.

NON EXCLUSIVE AGENTS:
Some sellers think they are best served by giving a non-exclusive agency to several agents. The pitfalls in this are:-
1) If potential buyers see 3 adverts in the same paper for the same property, they often think the owners are desperate.
2) After an initial flurry of advertising, most agents will stop advertising as they don’t want to waste their time and money when it is possible another agent will make the sale and they then receive nothing.

A BUYER'S AGENT:
This is where a buyer signs up with an agent to find them a house. When a suitable house is found that agent doesn’t share in any of the commission paid by the seller but is paid separately by the buyer. The agent's responsibility in this case is to represent the buyer and purchase the home as cheaply as possible for the buyer.

AGENTS IN CONJUNCTION:
This is where the seller appoints 2 agents as joint exclusive agents. The pitfall here is one agent may leave the other to do all the work. This problem can be overcome by paying the agent who sells the property 80% of the commission. The seller should also ensure any other conjuncting agents are paid their normal commission.