A Letter of Warning for All Wembley Sellers
If your home is on the market, chances are an uninvited letter/postcard/comp slip will drop through your letterbox sooner or later. It often is made to look urgent and personal, from an agency you haven't instructed, telling you to act quickly.
It usually carries words to the effect of: "I believe I have a buyer for your home. Please give me a call."
These "we’ve a ready buyer" notes are delivered to homes already listed with another estate agent.
For the record, there's nothing wrong with prospecting homeowners listed elsewhere; done well, it can be welcome. But if one of these lands on your mat, here are four things to know.
1. The word "believe" is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Belief is not a buyer. People believe in lots of things, the Easter Bunny, the Loch Ness Monster and Father Christmas being three of our faves. If an agent genuinely has a specific, qualified buyer for your home, they can tell you the buyer's name, budget, chain position, and when they viewed the area. Ask them. If you only get a softer version of "I believe," you have your answer.
2. A real buyer-match doesn't arrive on a card through your door.
If an agent genuinely has a buyer for a home already listed elsewhere, the professional thing is to phone the agent holding the instruction, two agents talking, one deal done properly, in the seller's interests.
The reason these cards go to the homeowner rather than the existing agent isn't to introduce a buyer. It's an attempt to win an instruction
3. The small print sets you up to pay two fees on one sale.
Read the bottom of these cards carefully. The wording is usually: "If our buyer completes on the purchase of your home, we require our normal fee from you, the seller, on completion."
Read that alongside your existing sole agency contract. You're already paying one agent. Engage a second during your contract term or its tail period, and you may be liable for two fees on the same sale. These types of letters/cards won't warn you about this. It isn't in their interest to.
4. You are already paying for representation. Use it.
If a card lands, don't phone the number on it. Phone the agent you've instructed, send them a photo, and ask three things: what does my contract say about engaging another agent? If there's a genuine buyer behind this, can you take it from here? Have your other clients received the same card?
Estate Agency Done Ethically
A lot of people don't trust estate agents. We're trying to fix that.
That's why we're proud members of the Ethical Agent Network (EAN).
We're the only local agency to have passed the EAN bar, and we're reassessed every six months to ensure our standards stay high.
So, if you've had one of these cards through your door, or you want a straight answer to any question, talk to us.
#AgentsYouCanTrust
