The role of agencies, sellers, agents and real estate personnel is essential to maintain the growth and confidence of a sector that is clearly growing and that hopefully will continue for a long time. And it is that as we said before, trust is essential in the purchase and sale of real estate.
In other words, as a general rule, the purchase of an apartment is an operation that we are going to do once in our lives, so we risk a lot in operation. And it is that to achieve a transaction of this type, and it is necessary to have a series of measures to avoid real estate scams, fraud and loss of money.
Many real estate scams are avoided by hiring a real estate agent, but not just any. For this, it must meet the following characteristics:
- Knowledge of administrative functions.
- Know how to carry out commercial tasks.
- Be attentive and look for new clients.
- Be empathetic and a good negotiator.
- Training, professionalism and knowledge of the market.
- You have experience, extensive legal and legal knowledge.
- And finally, the most important feature that it is reliable and offers confidence.
The reason for trust is fundamental for several reasons. First of all, a trusted agent is able to deal with more people since he earns people more easily than another less trustworthy agent, at least apparently. The second reason is that a good real estate professional has more experience, hence a broader portfolio of contacts.
A good real estate agent will avoid making the following mistakes:
- You will not post your rate in any type of ad. As much as some agencies sing out loud what they charge for their services, announcing the price of your services is a real estate bad practice that should not be done. The reason is that clauses and expenses can be included in the amount of the fees that are not added to the price or that vary depending on the objectives.
- Advertise flats without authorization. This is a more common practice than normal. In order for an agency to advertise a property, you must contact the owner or owners to get their permission. This must be included in a document known as a “sales order” where all the details and conditions of advertising are specified. Of course, the document must include the starting price, the agency commission, the transfer conditions and taxes and finally all the necessary documentation to advertise the house or apartment. It should even be specified on which platform (internet, in person, real estate platforms) it will be advertised.
- Include services for the elderly. An agent cannot and should not inflate the price of a home if he does not want to lose clients. Therefore, the correct thing is to establish a series of very clear conditions in the contract so that there are no problems of any kind. In other words, the fine print must be understandable and legible.
- Add things that are not met. For example, if the agency includes a strategic plan to obtain clients in the purchase and sale contract, it must comply with it. And it is that the more channels a property has, the more probabilities of sale it will have. The rights and duties of a real estate agent are the fulfillments of all the things that have been signed, including the marketing plan.
- Invent offers and flats. This bad practice is bread for today and hunger for tomorrow. What is the use of inventing offers or apartments that do not exist? Brazenly lying to get calls and customers is something that should be avoided at all costs. It is preferable to have a few floors but reliable than not many and some of them fictitious. Of course, it is the best way to lose customers.