I recently had the opportunity to look closely at the Agent Select platform and decided to share my opinion.
After transacting on numerous investment properties over the last 10 years, I’ve had my fair share of dealings with real estate agents. Some good while some not so.
This Agent Select review is where I’ll share my opinions and if they’re any good for Australians, compared to going directly to real estate agents.
Lets begin.
Agent Select Review
Before we begin, let’s look at why platforms like Agent Select have come into the marketplace in Australia. You’re probably wondering “Well, I could just pick an agent myself off the street sign I saw…”
Well, here’s why you’d want to use a platform like this.
Selling your home is always an emotional time and you want to get the best possible price.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen a common trend in the industry. It’s enough to make anyone feel a little sick on the inside.
Agents will promise high prices in order to get your listing. Fact: They need listings otherwise they’re out of work.
In other words, they promise the world: “We’ll get you a better price than anyone else!” and that sort of language to get you to list with ’em.
Then what happens is that they start doing inspections and then suddenly the “market changes” overnight. Suddenly you’re pressured to sign a lower than expected offer.
Truth be told, nothing really changed. They just originally ballooned the original listing price to where no one would reasonably buy it.
Now the true selling begins. They are selling you on accepting the lower price because they need the commission.
That’s what agents do. They work on behalf of buyers actually, not sellers. They want you accepting the lower price. The higher price means there is a higher likelihood of the contract falling over due to lack of finance.
Often people do accept these lower prices. Ever heard of someone not getting the price they were hoping to? They were probably a victim of high agent “valuations” which are still commonplace.
If you want to learn more about this practice, a great book I read was Don’t Sign Anything by Neil Jenman. Very eye-opening actually.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however. I don’t want to scare you here. There are good agents out there who abide by a code of ethics as opposed to knocking you down on price.
Finding them though can be like a needle in a haystack.
Agent Select solves this problem
This is why platforms like this can only be good for the marketplace. A lot of real estate agents are scared to list themselves on review portals for fear of retribution.
In other words, disgruntled homeowners telling the world of how disappointed they were to get a lower than expected sales price. It happens all the time.
That’s where Agent Select solves the problem. You aren’t going to be on such a platform if you promise the world and deliver so little, as has been the case for years in Australia.
Now you’re being exposed with your profile having feedback from past clients. You as the homeowner can see genuine feedback from past homeowners who have sold their houses with a particular agent.
Agent Select allows you to compare agents for quality, fees and reputation. This way you get a proper insight into their experience so you’ll be more confident when it’s time to accept an offer.
If you see anyone 4.5 stars and above having done 10+ sales, then I’d probably list with them.
That’s why you’d want to avoid calling up an agent from the newspaper. How would you know if they are any good? These platforms have indeed solved a very big problem.
A solid property platform
Looking on the inside, I found it quite easy to use the Agent Select platform.
I did have to provide them with my mobile number which I was initially hesitant about. Within 2 hours I was called by 0403 905 418 which is Agent Select Australia. I ignored these phone calls as I wasn’t that motivated just yet.
Upon doing the search, they found dozens of sold listings in my local area.
I like that I can evaluate the fees of each agent so I know I’m getting a fair deal. At the same time, I wouldn’t look at fees alone as my decision metric.
I can clearly see some genuine benefits from using this service.
Firstly – it’s free for homeowners. You won’t have to pay them anything actually.
You’ll be able to compare up to 3 real estate agents at the same time in your local area.
Not only that but they’ll give you a free property report. This means you can gauge what properties are actually selling for in your local area, as opposed to inflated sales estimates.
You can also use their platform to find a property manager. This excites me the most since the majority of my dealings with property managers has been dull. I mean – I’ve had great service as a tenant, but as a landlord, they have been B-grade at best.
Their privacy policy really stands out to me. They won’t share your information with other agents which is great. After all, you don’t want them all hassling you.
The biggest downside that I see is the data can be a little skewed. This is because they don’t have all the agencies on board like Century 21 and some independents.
So there might actually be better agents out there, but until they’re on this platform, it’s hard to know for sure. That said – at least those on the platform itself actually do have a reputation.
Moving on from here
People are often selling their houses in order to make a change. Often they are excited about new ventures and beginnings.
Owning a property is one of the best feelings in the world. I am blessed that I was able to do this (through hard work) from an early age.
A better feeling for me was owning my own online business. One that gives me freedom and security after a few years of work.
In 2020, we have unprecedented opportunities all around us. Opportunities where the average everyday person can learn how to build an online income from home.
Agent Select, for example, is a great example of this. The type of business with lower startup costs and overheads. Something that you can have a lot of fun with.
Most importantly – their business is one that solves problems. As I described earlier, real estate agents have built themselves a bad reputation through excessive valuations and price discounting. Agent Select solves this problem.
So if you’re looking to start an online business, build one that solves problems for those in the marketplace. That’s the type of business that will stick around for the long haul.
In summary
It’s early days still for Agent Select but I can see real potential in their offering. Clearly they are out to create a level playing field for Australians.
As homeowners, we’re naturally sceptical of agents. Their reputation has diminished over the years based on the big commissions (up to $15,000) they get on each sale. This is why you probably don’t want to go directly and fairly compare them online.
With platforms like this, the consumer now has a voice and the agents need to play ethically. I’m excited to see where this leads.
