The Real Estate Agent

Realtors body does not condone 'scare tactics'

The last time we attempted to sell our apartment, we encountered one such agent from ERA.

She is a petite, soft-spoken, and God-thanking woman with a sweet face and always wearing her over-sized ERA jacket. It is tempting to just place your trust in her.

However, upon interaction, one realises that she is not as 'professional' as she claims to be, as she cites partial market information and hurries to close the deal (i.e. within a few weeks). To the agent, it is merely marginal to fight for a $50,000 price increase for the seller as the resulting increase in commission for the agent is only $1,000, or a few hundred dollars for the agent after the agency deducts its share.

The last straw came one evening when she tried to 'persuade' me to close the deal using a bizarre tactic. That evening, she brought a couple to view the apartment. I was alone in the apartment as 'Good Fren' was out of town. Once the viewing was over, she saw them out of the estate. When she came back, she brought along someone I was not expecting, i.e. her husband (who is also an agent). They both sat in the living room. She placed an offer from a buyer on the coffee table and started to persuade me.

I read the offer and told her that I was not satisfied with the terms. Then, her husband began to speak, asking me to sign the offer first, to 'lock in the deal', then negotiate for changes later. I looked at him, and wondered if I should ask him what business he had with me and how many sellers have fallen prey to this act of theirs. But I reckoned that it was 2 vs 1, and I might end up injured or dead with my cats stepping all over my lifeless body. So, I told them I was not satisfied with the offer and that was all for the night.

Such behaviour that makes me wonder about why sellers are paying agents 1% to 2% of the selling price to begin with. What are these agents providing the seller (especially mass market) with that is truly worth a 4 or 5-figure price tag?