Especially if you live in a condominium or a townhouse, you have surely happened to receive an unexpected visit from some real estate agent: knot in the tie, pin well in sight, a toothy smile and a Marine-style haircut, as soon as you answer, without introducing yourself he asks:
"Do you know if any of your neighbors are selling houses?"
Of course, since it's only 9:30 a.m. on a Monday morning and you have a Christian upbringing, you reply that you don't know your neighborhood and greet cordially...
In this article I explain why this happened and still happens today.
The reason is very simple: a strategic, critical, and very important aspect of a real estate agency's work is the need to acquire properties for sale. The quickest, most direct, and most economical way to do this is to give a brief training to young new graduates and unleash them in the neighborhood, tasked with ringing and contacting all the landlords in the area looking for news of possible sales or vacant properties. This activity is called door-to-door canvassing or, as they call it in the States, "door-knocking," and it has been in vogue for as long as there has been brokerage--in short, forever!
IS HE THE RIGHT PERSON?
The reflection I want you to make in these lines is this:
Let's say you have a real need to sell your home. Your apartment, costing a lifetime of savings, sacrifices and debt, the place where your family dwells. Your most important asset, which you must make the most of and protect at all costs.
Is it right to entrust this value to the first little boy who walks by and rings your doorbell?
Often homeowners, after being pestered at the doorbell, enter a tunnel of incessant phone calls, planned and studied at the table with the sole purpose of getting an assignment by exhaustion and thus accomplishing the agency's goal.
ALTERNATIVES
In the modern age, where online we can choose and get everything, why rely on chance when you have to identify the right contact person to manage assets of hundreds of thousands?
That sounds definitely reckless to me, what do you think?
Why not use the web to gather information on who can provide the best service, in line with modern times, with the appropriate technologies and ways for the times we live in, to best enhance your home?
Today, the Internet, social media, and the media, allow us to thoroughly explore any kind of business. Through reviews, videos, advertising posts and blogs, we can understand how a real estate agency handles a property for sale:
- Enhance adequately your property with professional photos?
- Is the explanatory text of the announcement comprehensive?
- Do you publish the correct information?
- Do you use social media properly to reach potential customers?
Door-to-door is only one way to source market information, and it is certainly not the only way to go. Today, the real estate agent can invest in web communication and his own strategic online presence to reflect his image and professionalism and to allow you to learn about him, his method, and his results.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR.
The new real estate agent must have a web presence to showcase his operations and tell you what he does and how he does it. But he also has to know how to give you something extra, because his content is designed for the end user, it has to inform and answer the questions that the customer is asking.
- On Instagram he tells about his daily life in stories
- On Facebook, it must have a company page where it collects all market news
- On YouTube must create engaging and interesting video content
- On the website, he needs to collect his entire real estate portfolio
- Some also have a Blog, where they tell about their world and their work (if you are reading these lines, you are right inside one of them, for example).
In short, the means are plenty... Use them!
FOLLOW HIM-HE WILL WIN YOUR TRUST!
Today, the choice of any purchase is preceded by a phase of prior exploration and information retrieval. We look at reviews, hear opinions, consult forums just to buy a €300 TV or washing machine.
Why not do the same when you "buy" a real estate agent? The commission you pay, is the cost of the service you want to use. Since we are talking about a few thousand euros, shouldn't you be well informed first?
Checking a real estate agent's business and operations before giving a mandate should be a natural process but, in Italy, we still too often trust the impression, the cousin's suggestion or word of mouth.
If you have to sell, don't rely on chance.... Inform yourself!
It is your right but, more importantly, your duty to your home and all that it represents to you.
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Are you considering selling a property? Contact me if you need an appraisal or consultation!
