Although it may seem ludicrous to us now, a mere ten years ago, couples looking for a property to buy would spend their weekend driving around to look for ‘for sale’ signs in the areas of their preference. Without knowing if the properties fit their requirements, they would call each telephone number and arrange to show up for a viewing. This is unheard of now… unless the buyer hasn’t enlisted an agent.
Founder and director of Ben Estates – a real estate agency which has grown from a team of three people to 150 in 13 years, now with 13 offices around Malta and Gozo – Bernard Mangion believes that it’s imperative to enlist an estate agent; equally for the seller as it is for the buyer.
Bernard’s first and foremost reason is inarguable. “You should leave certain things to professional people,” he says. “When a client uses a professional licensed estate agent, they are getting an a-z service, which primarily means that they are going to understand the client’s needs and be time efficient about it. An agent is going to cut out the time a client would waste when going to view properties that they’re not really after. An agent can understand immediately what the client wants and then show them specifically what they want to see.”
“Using an estate agent is no longer a want, but a need. Time is precious. Couples want to spend their free time relaxing and enjoying life, not going around trying to find properties for sale.”
Another great reason to recruit a negotiator is that since they are seen as a neutral party during negotiations, they can gather the information that the two parties might be too inhibited to seek. The agent should have no issue acting as the liaison for both sides to gather information that might otherwise be difficult to obtain.
Beyond this, an agent can suss out whether a buyer is serious or not. Bernard says, “We know the history of the clients and we would know if they have recently sold a property and need to buy. We also vet and perform due diligence on our clients, which saves a lot of heartache for both parties.”
A good agent will know the local market well. They will be abreast of market prices, values, and generally what’s happening on the market. This information is extremely helpful when buying or selling, as opposed to shooting in the dark.
Successful agents have access to the technology it takes to have a client’s property seen or to find options for purchase, but it takes a human being to understand and work to achieve the client’s specific goals. “Without an agent, a buyer is limited to what they’re exposed to themselves. We have a daily updated database and can show clients 90% of the properties that are available on the market,” Bernard says.
Many resort to selling privately because they think that an estate agent is going to cost them an arm and a leg with 5 per cent, but Bernard argues otherwise. “In reality, our bargaining power when negotiating allows us toget a better deal, so that 5 per cent becomes a non-issue.”
Another great initiative to hire an agent: they do the dirty work. An established agent will navigate clients through the entire sale and beyond. This is including and not exclusive to chasing architectural and bank documents, land registry plans, and notary documents, amongst a multitude of others.
Once a buyer or seller has decided to engage an agent, how do they choose the right real estate agent?
“The values in which a company bases itself is a good start,” Bernard says. “In a cut-throat business, if an estate agent chooses trust and integrity to establish their organisation on, you’re in good hands. When you live your life based on these two values, you instill it in the people who are part of the team. Invariably, they then portray it to the clients. This is the secret to an estate agent’s success and why one will continue to thrive and grow successfully over the other.”
A client should keep in mind that chemistry is key. First and foremost, a client should feel completely comfortable talking and communicating with the real estate agent. If it feels awkward or if there is undue pressure placed on the client by a real estate agent, this is not the right fit.
“Our team members genuinely care,” Bernard says. “I have always believed that we should focus on the management of our team members rather than the client. Of course, the client is always right, but if we support, invest in, and coach our team members on a daily basis, it will keep them happy. In turn, if your team members are treated well and happy, they will stay with you and give their 100 per cent. I’m very proud to say that in the last five years we hardly had anyone leave Ben Estates. That’s saying something in this industry. I truly believe that if you keep your staff happy, they will do their best out there and in turn, clients will be happy because their estate agents are giving it their all. The business then takes care of itself.”
A client should make sure that an agent can offer adequate support. The agent should be supported by a team which can offer a high level of customer service to every customer. Most agents work with several clients at a time and the logistics of buying/selling a home are complicated, so it's easy to miss something or fall short without a support staff. Bernard says, “Ben Estates’ services include the whole nine yards when a client is selling or buying. We take care of all the dirty work; collection of documents, appointments with architects, notaries, banks. We offer property management as well – from maintenance and letting the property out, to collection of monies.”
Great real estate agents don’t show up out of nowhere. It takes a long time to build a track record that attracts quality inventory. A quality agent should be showing clients about 90% of the properties available on the market. Bernard says, “At first my idea wasn’t to be the estate agency it is today. I had the idea of a small office with myself and two or three sales people, but eventually I realised that you either have to go big or it won’t work out. Unless you have a database which is updated daily and have listings coming in every day then you are stuck out of stock, and when you’ve got a client who wants to buy a property, your competition will win if you don’t have enough properties to show. I immediately realised that there’s only one way to go and it’s to grow big.”
A client should check if the agent is able to mitigate risk. An agent should be honest about the risks of buying or selling. Clients want someone who is realistic and can proactively alleviate possible financial risk. When interviewing agents, a client should pay attention to those using real data in their answers when it comes to investment analysis, neighbourhood-level market performance, and the long-term impact of a client’s decision to buy or sell.
In the end, as with everything, it's advisable for a client to go with their gut feeling. A human’s brain uses logic and emotion when deciding, and that specific feeling a person gets when doing so is their intuition. So above all, go with that gut.
