So of course I took on the listing. The profile and price looked okay. Maybe the last broker had dropped the ball, or hadn’t spent any time in the town and didn’t know the locals like I did. This should be a simple sale, I thought!
Until I started my calls to potential buyers…
“That bloke?” said the first. “He’s got more moves than a can of worms! He’s built that business by speaking all kinds of sh#t about all the local agents, conning landlords left, right and centre.”
I’d known this buyer for more than 30 years, trusted him, and knew he was a good operator. But maybe he’d got it wrong. Had a couple of unlucky run-ins with my seller client. Until I made the next call.
“Wouldn’t touch anything that dodgy guy’s behind! He’s the least trustworthy agent I’ve ever met”. Okay, so maybe this wasn’t the hot listing I’d hoped…
In every marketplace there’ll be an agent you might not warm to. Maybe you lost a listing or management to them and it still ticks you off. You thought they over appraised and bought the listing. You know they’re probably an okay operator, but you don’t love them.
But every now and again there’s an agent that every local competitor avoids like the plague. An agent who’s known for their blatant BS, calling your clients the day after your passed-in auction, telling your landlords they’re under-rented, promising your staff all sorts of rainbows and pots of gold to lure them away. Your area’s ‘wriggly worm’. The local agent who’s earned their dodgy reputation with a consistently dodgy approach to their work and their competitors.
Yep, my client was that guy. And with zero trust from any potential buyer there were limited options to secure a sale. There’s lots covered by contracts and deeds and restraints and warranties in a rent roll or agency contract. But there’s no simple settlement date with a physical exchange of the asset like we have in property sales.
Rent rolls, client databases and agency staff are not ‘fixed’ assets. They’re dynamic and open to persuasion and influence. And of course the contracts provide buyers a ton of protections. But enforcing those means calling in the lawyers.
Trust is so critical because all of those commitments run best when the person making them is known for their integrity. When there’s no second guessing when they say they’re moving town or retiring or selling up to become a mung-bean farmer. Buyers trust the reason they’re given for the sale, the intentions of the sellers and the legal undertakings they’ve made.
Here’s what I’ve learned in many years working with real estate agents, firstly with the REIQ, and more recently as a business broker: The vast majority of agents – probably 99% – are trustworthy. The don’t last in our profession if they mistreat clients and customers – and that approach leads to how they treat competitors.
The vast majority do the right thing. Honour their commitments. And they’ll be fine when it comes time for them to sell their businesses.
So what happened to my dodgy client?! We had a solution one buyer could live with: include the trading name in the sale to ensure he couldn’t set up again and entice clients back after the sale. Unfortunately he wouldn’t agree to those terms.
So I fell on my sword, quit the listing and wished him all the best. I’m not scared of hard work but no one had any faith in that guy to do what he said he’d do. And I’ve got my own reputation to protect.
If you would like to chat confidentially about your rent roll or agency, please call me on 0423 332 022.