GUEST BLOG: Deal or No deal?
Do you share your properties with other agents?

17 March 2017 |

Whether you're risk averse, or not, when it comes to selling a property guest blogger Giles Barrett writes why split-business is a gamble that's worth the risk. 

BUY! BUY! SELL! SELL! Knowing when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em is a good skill in life, as well as in business. We've all seen that hugely irritating daytime show, 'Deal or No Deal' where the smug contestant talks Noel through his/her 'lucky strategy'. The banker offers up a tempting 'deal' before a team of buffoonish friends feebly agree they 'feel good about it in their waters' and the offer is boldly rejected to a weak ripple of applause. Fast forward to the last box being opened. Fifty grand? A hundred grand? Fifty-flippin'-P more like! Gone, in the blink of a cross-eye.

Those of you in the London property market will be very familiar with LonRes, you're probably a member. For those who aren't, LonRes is the leading agent-to-agent site whereby, amongst other good things, agents can offer their properties to others in return for a fee for successful intro', typically a third if introducing a tenant and/or two thirds if providing the property.

My view has always been that LonRes is excellent news for the viewing public. It gives them unrivalled access to suitable properties with all parties motivated to close the deal. It's also great news for clients, putting their property on the radar of all top agents at no extra cost or risk of over exposure on the portals. But is it good news for agents and for business? Why share? The business will probably come to us anyway. Won't it..?

Management view office performance on a monthly basis in arrears. More importantly, our clients judge us on the here and now. I maintain that if I can close a deal in March at 33-66% of the fee I'd rather bag it. Let's face it, on a good day I MIGHT get 100% of that fee further down the line (a week, a month, two months?) but, on a bad day, it will be let under my nose. Zero. Zilch. Nada! I never was much of a gambling man though.

Are you the guy who said he'd sell his shares when they went up from £1.50 to £2 only to find them wallowing at £1 a share and dropping fast? Are you the girl who said 'twist' at the Black Jack table in Vegas and got the winning ace? Perhaps you held off selling in 2006 before the market tanked or cashed in? You get the point, split business is a gamble.

What is your view, Deal or No Deal? Let Giles know here.