Thursday, December 18, 2008

Buying a property - get a property report

I went to StreetSine (http://www.streetsine.com/) to search for a new property in the city area (district 1, 2, and 3) for a friend. I found a few suitable condominiums with reasonable prices. I was able to see the price trend and identify a few properties listed for sale. I transferred the details into MyOrganiser (provided by StreetSine).

I send messages to the agent handling these properties. Two agents called me. They were only interested to ask for my offer price. They were not able to provide details about the properties.

StreetSine told me that they will be providing a comprehensive report about a specific property for a modest fee (maybe $35). It contains a lot of detailed information about recent transactions, price trends, nearby comparable properties, amenities, etc. This is worth investing, so that I can make the right decision.

I wish to encourage property agents to make use of this comprehensive property report. When you respond to a potential buyer, ask for the e-mail address and mail the report to the buyer. This will put you ahead of all the other property agents and show that you are able to handle the potential buyer in a professional manner. You will get more business by acting in the right professional way.

http://www.streetsine.com/
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The BEST report is at best 3 months outdated.

The time between, the moment a real estate is sold till the time it reach any proper database for report to be generated is the reason why there are still a need for real estate consultant to serve both the buyers & sellers.

Unlike insurance & shares trading. Computerisation can never replace the domain knowledge of season real estate consultants. Which is why you pay them so much.

Just be sure you are asking the right person.

If you or your friend is buying a property, why are you asking details from the seller's agent? He/she serve the interest of the seller and not you or your friend the buyer.

Just like you get your own lawyer for a commercial contract, pay for a good real estate consultant to represent you and provide you the details.

Technically speaking, there is a conflict of interest when the seller agent provide you any details that will lower your final offer.

However, our real estate industry are full of poorly trained agents (just like the RMs in banks) who really do not know their duties and boundaries...they are under equipped but try to over serve.

In my opinion, the same agent should never serve both the buyer & the seller. Just like you don't hire a single lawyer to represent both parties in court.

December 19, 2008 2:33 AM

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