Australia’s Real Estate

Every year there are thousands of houses that are sold and bought by people from all walks of life. A majority of these sales are handled by real estate agents. Given below are some handy hints that will guide you to getting the best from your agent.

First of all a real estate agent is actually a salesperson. Don’t let the nomenclature confuse you. Their job is to sell and sell they will. Even if you are desperately in need of a house don’t ever let them know this or they might coerce you into buying something that you don’t really need. Your hurry is not for them to know about and for them you have the time to make a careful consideration about what you need and how you plan to buy it.

An estate agents job is threefold viz, advertising, valuing and negotiating for a sale. This basically means that they decide the value of the house on sale based on the current situation in the local property market and on the fittings and fixtures in the house. Then they let out the information via advertising so that prospective buyers are aware of what is up for sale. If a party shows an interest in the house then the agent acts like a go-between between buyer and seller so that a mutually acceptable price is decided on.

Now if you are looking for estate agents then first get some recommended names from friends. Take a look at the area you are considering and see if there are any boards around that you may consider. The local press will give you an idea of how busy they are and what is on offer. Ensure that the estate agent you find is a member of organizations like the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the National Association of Estate Agents or even the Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA).

These are schemes where you know that you have the option to redress if you run into trouble with your agent. Estate agents work under codes of conduct that are regulated by the professional agency they are attached to and estate agents are self regulated. While their job is to work for the seller they do have some obligation towards the buyers also.

They have to ensure that the buyer is not misled about the property they are considering and the details provided must be accurate. The buyers must get fair treatment and if the buyer has refused their services then offers must not be withheld because of this.

When an offer is made a written copy must be passed to the seller unless of course there are other instructions specified by the seller, such as non-consideration if the price is below a certain range.