Is the Estate Agent your friend?

Many investors see the Estate Agent as the adversary – or at best a necessary evil.  After all, their client is the vendor, that’s where their commission comes from.  But the smart investor knows better.

Unless you’re good at building rapport with estate agents, you won’t have many deals to consider, but there are ways to get estate agents to take you seriously.  They need to realise that the more sales their vendors make, the more commission they’ll earn.  If you are a multiple purchaser, they’ll start looking at you in a different light – if you know how to use the magic words that make them pay attention.

Look the part

Create a powerful, empowering first impression.  You know that old saying:

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Your appearance and mannerisms must portray confidence.  Confident people have a way of holding themselves that oozes positivity.  You can be sure that this will be picked up quickly by the agent or the vendor.

In part it’s visual – as you can see a difference between someone with a positive stance and someone who is slumped or apologetic, but it’s also kinaesthetic (that means people just feel it).  It’s almost an unconscious awareness.

Say the right words

The other key differentiator is the way you structure your language.  Language can differentiate you from the mass of other investors massively.

“I don’t need to sell a property to buy this one.”

The reality is that many, possibly the majority, of buyers are dependent purchasers, particularly in the main residence section of the market.  They’re locked into that chain.  The estate agent knows that, no matter how perfect the house is, a long chain probably means that the purchase isn’t going to happen any time soon.

“I don’t need a mortgage.”

Many investors are totally reliant on being able to get a mortgage to complete the purchase.  This means that they have what I refer to as the Mortgage Buyer Mind-set; they view everything through the prism of getting a mortgage to compete the purchase of a property.  Agents know that mortgages take time, if they have a motivated seller this phrase could have them falling at your feet.

“If we can agree EVERYTHING I can exchange and complete within 28 days or less.”

Anyone who is relying on getting a mortgage is looking at an exchange and completion period of more like three times that.  Imagine how the estate agent sees commission in their bank in one month, instead of three.

The word ‘everything’ is in upper case because it is a critical word. Its gives you carte blanche to add whatever factors will make the deal sweeter for you, including negotiating a lower price.

In fact, if you apply emotion to the equation you can get even better results.  Instead of saying “I can exchange and complete in 28 days or less,” (logical and factual statement), you say “The money can be in your bank account by the end of this month” (emotional statement) you can apply even more leverage.

Knowing the right words depends on you knowing your estate agent well – and what matters to them.  Are they trying to increase their completions or improve cash flow?

Of course, if you don’t have a huge wad of cash sitting in your bank, you may think you’re dependent on BTL mortgages, but with bridging finance you can fulfil all those statements above AND make a bigger profit.

Time to start getting estate agents to call you when a good deal comes in, instead of you having to ask.

Find out more about this strategy and others like it at one of the Property Finance Masterclasses.

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