Me too. There are so many properties to sift through, why would you waste time even considering one with no price listed. Another thing that really bugged me when we were looking for our PPOR was ads that didn't state what suburb the house was in. As we were looking for ourselves and had decided where we wanted to live (proximity to the kids' school etc), it was annoying going through ads and coming across a house that looked suitable only to find it was on the other side of town!
Ray White is a complete waste of time
- Thread starter boomtown
- Start date
Me too. There are so many properties to sift through, why would you waste time even considering one with no price listed. Another thing that really bugged me when we were looking for our PPOR was ads that didn't state what suburb the house was in. As we were looking for ourselves and had decided where we wanted to live (proximity to the kids' school etc), it was annoying going through ads and coming across a house that looked suitable only to find it was on the other side of town!
Who is really benefitting from these 'no prices listed' sales? truly the vendors? I'm not so sure. If it takes 4 months more to sell because the wrong ppl have been enquiring well surely time is money? Let alone the stress as you hussle the kids (and dog) out each Saturday after spending an hour scrubbing the sink, so there can be another "open for inspection"?
No this is a pooey practice that should not be encouraged. We need the prices. How crazy to say that we should know what the prices are? That's what we look to blimming real estate agents for. That's what they deal with.
A bit similar (but on a much larger scale) to those restuarants which you pay what you feel is the right price. Apparently most ppl end up paying more than it's worth.
Well I don't and won't go to those restuarants and WILL NOT even glance at a property with no price. Automatic thought - Must so expensive even they are embarrassed.
No this is a pooey practice that should not be encouraged. We need the prices. How crazy to say that we should know what the prices are? That's what we look to blimming real estate agents for. That's what they deal with.
A bit similar (but on a much larger scale) to those restuarants which you pay what you feel is the right price. Apparently most ppl end up paying more than it's worth.
Well I don't and won't go to those restuarants and WILL NOT even glance at a property with no price. Automatic thought - Must so expensive even they are embarrassed.
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As a buyer ,if there is no price listed for a sale I will devote my energies on the information I have and where a price is listed.
Only after that would I consider looking at non priced properties, if I had not found what i was looking for.
Of course if I wa sunemployed and had a heap of time I may invest my energies in all properties
Only after that would I consider looking at non priced properties, if I had not found what i was looking for.
Of course if I wa sunemployed and had a heap of time I may invest my energies in all properties
Most would ask for the prices, Sparky.
It's only agents who want to continue carrying on with this inane drivel - database building is all it's about.
It is amazing that emails for requested info are rarely answered. I mean; the enquirer might be a buyer with several hundreds of thousands to spend.
One thing about real estate agents' listings that gets me is; if they know that a percentage of their prospective clients are going to be investors, who want to know all the numbers and figures, then why don't the agents bother to collect all the info before-hand so they are armed, ready and looking half professional?
The amount of times I ask the agent what the property would rent for (one of my first questions - show me the cashflow!!), and they have no idea. Not even a vague one. They say; "I'll talk to our rental department and find out for you". They seem to only assume the buyer is an O/O who want to know the frivolous stuff such as the brand of the tap ware.
For god's sake; get all this stuff; the rates, the age of the building, size of the house, block size, tenant market for that type of property etc collected before they advertise the damn thing.
I had the pleasure of dealing with that rare species once - an agent who is also an investor - and it was lovely. He very quickly worked out what I required (from an investor's viewpoint) and found me a few properties that fit the criteria.
hI uc - Is there a way to find out the address when it's not stated?
P.S. If I don't know the price or address of the property I move onto another one. Especially sux trying to buy interstate.
For comparison, here's an "almost-randomly-selected" listing from the USA, with a typical amount of information provided:
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5305-Lake-Beech-Dr_Douglasville_GA_30135_1105469824
(And no, this is not the area I'm planning to invest in.
)
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5305-Lake-Beech-Dr_Douglasville_GA_30135_1105469824
(And no, this is not the area I'm planning to invest in.
)You all have the auction process wrong. Except in a rising market, or where the property is totally unique, it is all about advertising the Real Estate Agents name and business at the vendors expense. How do you think Ray White got so big?
It is evidently illegal to give the vendors reserve for an auction in Qld, but I cant believe it is illegal to give a range price. Thats what they do in Melb. As for properties without prices, it is totally frustrating to ring about something that looks fairly equal to anything else in the suburb and find its $200k higher than a similar property. Maybe it has an extra bedroom or more land or the vendor is totally unrealistic, who knows?
Another one I wont deal with is any Jenman agent, their whole time wasting thing of not meeting on site, have to meet in an office and sit there and go through a form 'listing your requirements so they can help you' and then getting to the property and finding its so totally not what you want, never again
It is evidently illegal to give the vendors reserve for an auction in Qld, but I cant believe it is illegal to give a range price. Thats what they do in Melb. As for properties without prices, it is totally frustrating to ring about something that looks fairly equal to anything else in the suburb and find its $200k higher than a similar property. Maybe it has an extra bedroom or more land or the vendor is totally unrealistic, who knows?
Another one I wont deal with is any Jenman agent, their whole time wasting thing of not meeting on site, have to meet in an office and sit there and go through a form 'listing your requirements so they can help you' and then getting to the property and finding its so totally not what you want, never again
Yesterday I was trauling RE.com for properties that fit a certain criteria and came across one that was listed by three different agents. When I first saw it, the ad only listed the suburb and minimal detail other than to state that it was a multi income property with features too many to mention and only one photo. I shortlisted it and moved on.
The next REA listed it similarly with the added info that DA was in place for a build on rear of block. Same price. Four fotos of externals and garage in back yard. I deleted first short listing and kept this one for attention later.
Then the jackpot......This small agency also had the listing and he showed it all.......Address, price $15K less, photos of internals, externals, floor plans of existing building and also DA plans.
Guess who I'll be dealing with...........
Geez, its not rocket science, I live a bloody long way from this place, I can not just do a drive by and form an oppinion. I need as much info as quickly and easily as is possible to even become interested.
Thank heavens I am a buy and holder and therefore will not be subject to the new age thinking. I can live with SNAGS, but SNAREA (Sneaky New Age Real Estate Agents)....... no thanks.
Cheers
Chrisv.
The next REA listed it similarly with the added info that DA was in place for a build on rear of block. Same price. Four fotos of externals and garage in back yard. I deleted first short listing and kept this one for attention later.
Then the jackpot......This small agency also had the listing and he showed it all.......Address, price $15K less, photos of internals, externals, floor plans of existing building and also DA plans.
Guess who I'll be dealing with...........
Geez, its not rocket science, I live a bloody long way from this place, I can not just do a drive by and form an oppinion. I need as much info as quickly and easily as is possible to even become interested.
Thank heavens I am a buy and holder and therefore will not be subject to the new age thinking. I can live with SNAGS, but SNAREA (Sneaky New Age Real Estate Agents)
....... no thanks.Cheers
Chrisv.
I do not think with or without a price in advertising is a problem. If they are interested, they will make an inquires. Probably, it does annoy a lot of people to make a MOBILE call and then subject to the usual crap conversations - might cost you $2 a call. If you make 10 calls, it is more than $20.
It is probably more of a problem for people on this forum who are investors as they shouldn't have to pay $20 just to find out the prices of 10 properties, maybe less so for someone looking for a PPOR but still a nuisance.
For comparison, here's an "almost-randomly-selected" listing from the USA, with a typical amount of information provided:
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5305-Lake-Beech-Dr_Douglasville_GA_30135_1105469824
(And no, this is not the area I'm planning to invest in.
wow - thats an awesome amount of info. Only thing missing is land size and colour schemes used in each room.
im also going to pipe up and say that i ignore listings that are missing the price. If the REA cant be bothered to divulge the most important information a buyer is looking for, i cant be bothered to give them any time as a buyer.
I've got to be honest, if no price was listed, and I was interested in the property, all my instincts are the lowball the offer. I'd imagine most people are the same, so I can't see how they'd achieve higher prices than if they simply listed the price.
The only way I can see the no-price theory working in practice is in scenarios where the property is unique(high end) in a booming market. Someone with deep pockets who would pay whatever it takes to secure the property.
I think the comments so far show this theory to be utter madness...
The only way I can see the no-price theory working in practice is in scenarios where the property is unique(high end) in a booming market. Someone with deep pockets who would pay whatever it takes to secure the property.
I think the comments so far show this theory to be utter madness...
Ahh...but those r/e's are a cleverer breed than us, aren't they?
"If we don't put the prices on the ads, the buyers will have to call us. Then we've got 'em. If we can't sell them this one, we've got them on our contacts database!"
They just too-clevered themselves into oblivion, methinks.
Ahh...but those r/e's are a cleverer breed than us, aren't they?
"If we don't put the prices on the ads, the buyers will have to call us. Then we've got 'em. If we can't sell them this one, we've got them on our contacts database!"
They just too-clevered themselves into oblivion, methinks.
Outsmarted might be more betterer english!
Sorry; I thought I was being Lawrence (GR) for a minute there.
Hang on; there's too much punctuation to be him; I'm delusional.
"If we don't put the prices on the ads, the buyers will have to call us. Then we've got 'em. If we can't sell them this one, we've got them on our contacts database!"
That may well be so, but using this method simply to add to a buyers database is only as efficient as the agents that actually put it into practice. Otherwise, it falls over. Sure, they can retain your details and inform you of other properties that might suit, but it's hardly a great sales method to not price something simply to expand one's database or capture buyers.
In my experience, most agents are actually very poor at working for buyers
but hey they are paid by the vendors after all. Who do you think has to put the most effort into buying real estate? Buyers, of course, and rightly so. What else would you expect?
Sure, they should provide you with enough information (and I find it sadly lacking as well with many agencies) but don't expect them to run around on your behalf looking for that elusive bargain or desperate seller and get right back to you on a regular basis- it just ain't going to happen.
If you don't want to enquire on EOI, POA, Express Sale, By Negotiation or Auction listings because you can't be bothered, then consider hiring an independent BA because they certainly do! Yes it takes extra time and money (my mobile bills are not small for a reason) but when you have a system in place to saturate the marketplace for a particular type of property, then EVERY property that appears to fit the bill needs to be enquired upon.
As far as properties without any price tags go, try contacting the listing agent and asking what estimate they put on the sales agreement, as this will provide you with a pretty clear idea of what they're after. Most agents won't tell you but it's always worth a try for the few that will reveal it.
RW are notorious for taking most listings to auction and being coy with price ranges but I also find if you cut to the chase and ask "Any point in inspecting it with a price range of $x?" most agents pretty much don't want to waste their own time so will be upfront. If you get them to at least reveal a price that the sellers WON'T sell for, you might be surprised at their response. After all, they do want to sell, despite some of the silly practices that their franchise/agency promote. Not all agents are equal, that's for sure.
I'd also like to thank Urban Cowboy for all his contributions on this forum. I think he's been unjustly given a hard time in this thread yet he's always been willing to provide info and data, when asked. Let's not tar all REA's with the same brush. As in every industry, there's good bad and ugly (though I must admit that McGrath agents I've seen lately definitely don't fit into the ugly category!!!
)You are right. I briefly did some selling and played the trick of not including prices - guess what I got a lot of calls and emails. But, when I included prices there, I was pretty alone - no phone calls and no emails, not much you can bushxxx.
In my experience, most agents are actually very poor at working for buyers
Who do you think has to put the most effort into buying real estate? Buyers, of course, and rightly so. What else would you expect?
Sure, they should provide you with enough information (and I find it sadly lacking as well with many agencies) but don't expect them to run around on your behalf looking for that elusive bargain or desperate seller and get right back to you on a regular basis- it just ain't going to happen.
Have to disagree here.
Selling houses for real estate agents is ....sales.
No sale, no money - for either the Vendor or the real estate agent. Sure, they work for the Vendor, but the purchaser is the one parting with the money for the Vendor to pay the r/e.
I have been in sales for my entire adult life, and there is one thing that is very important if a salesman is to be successful - give the customer what they want.
So, if the r/e wants us (the buyers) to part with our hard-earned, they need to give us every reason to do so.
Putting obstacles in the way of a customer drives them away - towards someone who takes the obstacles out of the way.
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Mmmm yet another Ray White ad. There is a price this time but no property address. Just a nice exterior shot and a very low price of $309K for a 3 bedder townhouse with excellent rental return. Other agents have listed 2 bedroom townhouses with the same exterior pictures for $340K. I decided not to waste my time to call him... or maybe I will regret it. I'm not sure.
My gut feeling is "stuff you!" if there is no price.
Thinking about it logically, I have to admit that pricing was pretty useless in my previous purchases
- I needed to pay above the advertised price in bull markets and offered significantly under in down markets.
However, without prices I would want ALOT of info about a property to make it worthwhile physically examining it. REAs will need to be alot more descriptive in their adds. I'm amazed some wont even list the address!
Thinking about it logically, I have to admit that pricing was pretty useless in my previous purchases
- I needed to pay above the advertised price in bull markets and offered significantly under in down markets.
However, without prices I would want ALOT of info about a property to make it worthwhile physically examining it. REAs will need to be alot more descriptive in their adds. I'm amazed some wont even list the address!
