Property Talk

Should agents fire their clients?

Some of the finest people I know are real estate agents. These are people with integrity, outstanding customer service and a commitment to excellence in all that they do.

What they are not, however, are punching bags. They earn every cent paid to them on success. There seems to be a breed of client that thinks it is their right to abuse the estate agents they work with and through. Is the client always right Not, they are completely wrong a lot of the time.

Agents are often attacked as they are seen as the easy target by either a disgruntled buyer or seller who is too weak to stand up to the seller or buyer and then directs their anger and frustration at the realtor who has been desperate to try and facilitate the transaction and tip-toe around the transacting parties.

Should agents fire their clients Yes, I think they should more often. Working relationships are based on trust, loyalty and honesty. Inspired by a recent article published in the US in Inman by John Giffen, here are some considered reasons to terminate a relationship with a client.

1. Abuse - mentally or physically. There is no excuse for bad behaviour. This can take the form of throwing tantrums like a spoilt child, threatening, attempting to blackmail the agent with the threat of bad publicity or a complaint against them with an industry regulator. A buyer may try to extort payment for certain aspects of a home from the agent when he knows he will have no luck with the seller.

2. Lying - clients have been known to be untruthful to estate agents about themselves, their homes, their intentions and their ability to transact in an attempt to somehow exercise control and position themselves to manipulate a situation.

3. Making unreasonable demands. Anything outside of the normal course of business is at risk of being unreasonable. Estate agents work hard, long hours, over weekends and are almost always on call.

4. Financing issues. A client that cannot demonstrate to the agent they are working with, how they are to pay for a property and exactly where their source of funds is, should be treated with great caution. If funds are being imported from an offshore account or are not readily available on a large property transaction, the red flags should go up.

5. Being in a state of indecision. Clients that simply cannot commit or live in a state of continuous indecision can drain the time and energy of an estate agent. Set them free from your diary and focus on those clients that can make decisions.

6. Ignoring advise and laying blame. As a professional estate agent, you should know your worth and the value adds you bring to the process. When a client consistently ignores your counsel on material issues such as pricing, presentation, viewing arrangements and then starts allocating blame if things do not work out as anticipated it is time to move on.

7. Asking for something illegal or unethical. Clients who suggest a flaunting of the rules of the game should be corrected immediately and warned of the extreme consequences that result from trying to transact in a way that may be illegal or unethical. As a professional estate agent, you are an accountable party and have no choice but to terminate a relationship that may hint at breaking the law.