In the light of the recent talks between the Canadian Real Estate Association and the Competitions Bureau, I find many Realtors quite anxious and confused about how this is going to affect their profession. In my 17 year career as a Realtor I have seen many changes in our industry. We as Realtors have to adapt to these changes or be left behind.
The one thing that remains constant in our profession, and is in my opinion the main reason why our industry has been around for so long, is third-party negotiations. Having someone negotiate on your behalf can save you thousands of dollars in a Real Estate negotiation. I know this from personal experience. I once sold a revenue property that my father and I owned. The other realtor who brought the offer was negotiating with me on a personal level and it was extremely difficult to manage. I finally structured the negotiations as if I was a third-party and would have to convince my father to go along with it. I always told the other Realtor that I would take his proposal to my father and see what he would say. That way it gave me time to think and plan a course of action with my father.
I had another experience where I had a client who negotiated contracts for a living for a large company. He was paid very well and his company flew him all over North America to negotiate on their behalf. When it came time to negotiate the offer on a house they wanted to buy, he asked if he could negotiate the offer himself. I told him that although he was comfortable in negotiations, most people are not. That is why they hire Realtors. Well, as it turns out, right in the middle of negotiating the purchase of their house, the sellers found out the Buyers were waiting in the car and invited them in. When I went to the car I said “Okay, here’s your chance to negotiate this deal yourself, the sellers invited you in.”
Well, after about an hour and a half with the sellers we came out of the negotiations with my buyer caving in to all of the sellers demands. All it took was a teary eyed seller telling my buyers how they built the house and raised the family there and now they have to sell.
My point is, that the buyer would not have been exposed to all of that if he relied on third-party negotiations and stayed in the car. It is much easier to be a tougher negotiator from a third-party stand point than face to face. If you don’t believe me try it sometime! That is the one reason why you will continue to see Realtors doing what they are doing and negotiating on behalf of their clients for a long, long time to come.