Tuesday, 25 October 2011 12:49
Desperate housewives, lonely single women, and bored retirees.hese aren't just characters on a TV drama series but also some of the people whom property agent Adrian Lee meet regularly.
The 34-year-old associate director of Huttons Real Estate has collected many "war stories" after getting into the business just three years ago. He confesses to being at the beck and call of one desperate housewife in his first few months on the job.
"I was new and I didn't know where to draw the line," says Mr Lee, who lives in a four-room HDB flat in Woodlands.
"She'd call me when her water pipes burst at home and I'd rush down to service her pipes. She also called me when her air-conditioning system broke down and I had to help her find someone to service it."
He says: "I did all that, thinking that she'd let me sell her apartment."
But it all was for naught. One afternoon, the housewife called and told him that she had already sold her apartment through another agent.
"Property agents face all kinds of situations, many of which are negative encounters. It's a learning process and those who succeed are those who persevere and maintain a positive mindset," notes Mr Lee, who declines to reveal his salary.Agents should be presentable and the men should always be in neatly pressed shirts, pants and leather shoes, he says.
And it definitely boosts your image if you drive a nice car, but it is still your professionalism and ethics that get you the business, says Mr Lee, who zips around town in a black Nissan X-Trail.
Most clients prefer pleasant-looking agents with whom they can have a conversation.
Some of Mr Lee's clients have become friends, with whom he goes out for drinks. He even goes on holidays with them.
These clients also introduce their family members to Mr Lee, which leads to more business.
Turning a business relationship to a personal one is a healthy development, says Mr Lee, but being too friendly can also lead to misunderstandings at times.
Once, he was at the receiving end of an indecent proposal from a male client. The client said he would make Mr Lee his exclusive agent if Mr Lee agreed to accompany him on a fully paid holiday in Phuket to "relax together".
Mr Lee, who is straight and a bachelor, rejected the offer.There are also single women who have responded to his ads and called him late at night to pour out their sorrows.
"I have also had customers telling me that they want to go for viewing just to kill time, while waiting to fetch their children or grandchildren from school," says Mr Lee.
"As an agent, I can't refuse to take them to the viewing. Every customer is a potential buyer."
When The New Paper on Sunday caught up with Mr Lee last week, the interview was interrupted by numerous calls from his clients. One of them called from Shanghai to get an update on her recent purchase.
The client, a Chinese national in her 40s who runs a garment business, had responded to Mr Lee's newspaper ad a few months earlier and had bought the apartment without even viewing it.
All Mr Lee did was fax the floorplan to her and helped her in the price negotiation.
He says he has more clients from China and Indonesia these days. A handful of them seek his advice for their properties outside Singapore.
Once in a while they offer to take Mr Lee on fully paid trips to China, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia, to help them assess their foreign property purchases.
Mr Lee's clients fly him by Singapore Airlines and hire chauffeurs to take him around.
Mr Lee says: "I don't get paid for giving advice, but I take these trips as a holiday, where I get to learn more about foreign properties at the same time."Secrets of the trade
1 Always do your homework.
You need to know more than your clients. It is a competitive industry to be in.
Today, more people are investing in overseas properties. Often, clients will ask for an opinion on their foreign purchases.
Good advice will help gain their trust.
2 Sellers may not get the price that they want.
It is important that the agent informs sellers of all the prices that buyers have offered, even if those prices are far below the sellers' asking price.
Regular updates to sellers would give them peace of mind. It would also help to condition them to let go of their properties at a realistic price.
3 Property agents are not financial advisers or professional valuators.
They should not overvalue a property just to get a better response to the listing.
They also should not provide advice on areas where they have no expertise.
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