The Battle Cards Are Set – Who Will Win? David vs. Goliath. That, sometimes, is what comes to mind when people hear that a “real estate agent” has approached a Private Seller (For Sale By Owner or FSBO). The perception that it’s a battle against wills. From the start, it’s known that the agent is…
New approach results in both a record sale price AND $12,500 saving on commission. Meet the clients: It was with sadness that Sandy and Jan were letting go of their apartment. It had been perfect for their lifestyle since purchasing off the plans 15 years earlier. The location, the ease of living. And of course, that…
Before going to market, if you want to know how much your home is worth, you can ask a few real estate agents for a Free Market Appraisal, engage an Independent Registered Valuer, or get a Free Online Estimate. Or all three. The problem is: you’ll get wildly different answers from each of them. In…
It was a gorgeous evening. The phone was off, my favourite CD playing and the bbq was primed. I’d been looking forward to some quiet time. It helps me sort the wood from the trees. On the way home I’d even called into the butcher and treated myself to a piece of his best fillet steak.…
Banned By Fairfax: Reasonable ‘Censorship’? Or ‘Bully Tactics’ – suppressing the truth for their own gain? You decide. Sure, we fully expected some real estate agents to try and shut us up. After all, in order to help consumers, we’ve exposed truths they’d rather you didn’t understand. We’ve even been accused of being a ‘whistleblower’.…
Benjamin Franklin was undoubtedly a man of great virtue. So seeing his sage advice twisted into a manipulative & misleading sales technique – must surely have him squirming. According to wikipedia: in 1772 Franklin laid out the earliest known description of the Pro & Con list, a common decision-making technique… “… my way is, to divide half…
“Not only did we get $53,000 more than we were happy to accept, Restate also saved us close to $7,000 in fees” – Robert & Beryl Stevenson How does something like this happen, you ask? I will get to that in a moment, along with some important takeaways, but let me first take you back, so…
You’d think that like many other industries, as technology gets better and the industry becomes more efficient, the end user would see the benefits and better value service. Not so with the real estate industry. Just 10 years ago (2006) the average house price in New Zealand was around $370,000. Based on a traditional commission…
This is understandably a question many sellers ponder when selecting an agent. Your thinking seems to be that some agents have more buyers than others. Unfortunaltely this misconception is a trap. Firstly understand this undeniable truth: The ‘sales job’ in the traditional real estate industry is not persuading buyers to buy. It’s convincing you to…
Have you noticed that most ‘Salespeople’ these days, especially real estate salespeople, are calling themselves ‘Consultants’? The specific term used is “Sales Consultant”. Tell me, what exactly is a “Sales Consultant”? I mean, come on, it’s an oxymoron if ever I’ve seen one. They are either a ‘salesperson’ or a ‘consultant’. They are either…
It’s a good thing right? You do want them to be ‘hungry’ for the sale, don’t you? Well at least that’s the thinking served up by the traditional real estate industry. That it’s somehow better for you if the agent is ‘hungry’ for their commission. They’ll supposedly work harder, chase more, find more buyers and be more…
“A sign of wisdom and maturity is when you come to terms with the realisation that your decisions cause your rewards and consequences. You are responsible for your life, and your ultimate success depends on the choices you make.” – Denis Waitley Accepting personal responsibility for our actions and decisions is one of life’s scariest yet…