I'm proud of my work. The fact that we can mean so much to people. Housing matters. A house should be a home. You'll experience a lot there, or you already have. Your home is your safe base. In this market, finding a nice home is difficult. We're happy to help with that.
Contents
- Punchbag
- Estate agents will disappear within 10 years
- Who does the estate agent work for?
- Network
- Bad apples
- Disciplinary rules
- Advice
- All-knowing
- Believe in estate agents
Punchbag
As estate agents, we're often the punchbag. We're cowboys and people wish all sorts of things on us. We make money off the backs of people who are desperate…. I got a call from someone at the AD about making quick money as an estate agent. I've written a blog about this before.
The NRC ran an article titled 'Most people hate estate agents' by Marcel van Roosmalen. We can't post anything on social media without it filling up with hateful comments. Even under the nicest homes and most interesting blogs. People are frustrated about the housing market. The coronavirus crisis didn't exactly add to anyone's happiness. Put all that together, and I think it explains why people like to vent their negativity under posts. To people whose frustration runs that high, I recommend the yoga nidra sessions at the House of deeprelax. Or a massage with our friends at Luzi Massage on the Oudegracht. You'll come back full of positivity! That gets you further than venting your negativity. I often do it myself when the negativity and curses get too much for me 😉
Estate agents will disappear within 10 years
Our colleague Ellen Mouthaan was put through the wringer. According to professor Boudewijn de Bruin, estate agents will no longer exist in 10 years' time. We're often told that we work unethically, that I work immorally and add no value. That we make money off people's backs, lots of it and fast. He talks about serving two masters. That we have conflicts of interest and that we distort the market.
When I read this article, I don't get the feeling that this man has any knowledge of the subject. When I keep seeing the platform Vereniging Eigen Huis (the Dutch homeowners' association) is given, it actually makes me quite sad. It's a cooperative association. That means it's an association of members working together, which is allowed to make a profit. The name is fairly misleading. Everyone thinks the association exists for people who own their home. In reality, they're given a huge platform to offer their substandard services. They tell you not to hire a buying agent. But that you can, for example, call in a purchase coach from Vereniging Eigen Huis. In practice, that means you get a coach who has no insight into the market, hasn't seen the house and has no access to the data. And you pay for that. For what? I haven't the faintest idea.
Professor De Bruin finds it strange that we can't determine value with AI. When I read that, I knew for certain that this gentleman didn't have a clue. Every house is different; the state of maintenance matters, as do the developments and the possibilities of a house. You can't capture that in a model. We do have truly fantastic tools. Through Brainbay I can download the best data. We can calculate what a home might be worth, how many people are searching for a home like it, and we can even see which asking price would work well. But a house is a home. It would be quite something if we let computers value homes. That would be a fine mess. Now THAT would distort the market.
Who does the estate agent work for?
Professor Boudewijn de Bruin says it isn't clear who the estate agent works for. I think that if this isn't clear, it's all the more important to get advice. We work for the party that instructs us. So we represent the interests of the party that pays us. To clarify: when we sell a house, we work for the sellers. The sellers bring us in to achieve the very best price for their home. We'll then do everything we can to make that happen. The buying agent is there for the buyer. The buying agent tries to purchase the home for their buyer. He or she tries to do so on the best possible terms.
Network
In Utrecht we have very good contact with fellow estate agents. Once a year we have a fun day out together. I regularly go for drinks/dinner/lunch with colleagues. That's how we learn from each other. Drinks events are organised too. We're an NVM estate agent and have to abide by the code of conduct. In the past, before we had Tiara exchange (the system in which we register homes), it was often the case that people who spent a lot of time in the pub with colleagues were better informed about what was on the market. Simply because they had to keep their eyes and ears open for new listings. Now homes land in the inboxes of fellow agents and their searching clients a few minutes after being registered, and appear on Funda the next day. Some people claim that we as estate agents try to create FOMO for buying agents, but that's of course nonsense. There simply is a housing shortage, and if you put an incredibly popular house on the market, the viewings fill up quickly. We don't select potential buyers; buying agents and private individuals alike are then put on the waiting list.
It is true, though, that it's helpful when viewers are advised by a buying agent. They then know how the process will go, have a better feel for the market and have potential risks pointed out to them. If there's no buying agent involved, we try to guide buyers ourselves as well as we can. We help them through the entire process. We give different options for valuers, notaries and financial advisers. And no, they're not our mates. But people we have a lot of confidence in. And you don't have to choose them; the choice always remains with the buyer. We try to help people as well as we can. That way you know roughly what the home will be valued at, what you might have to pay out of your own pocket, what's attractive from a tax point of view when buying a house and, not to forget: have the home structurally surveyed by a good surveyor.
We're following the course by Ryan Serhant, an estate agent you may know from Million Dollar Listing. A programme that many people watch as a guilty pleasure. The Netherlands has a relatively transparent market. Almost all homes appear on Funda, you can request transaction prices from the Kadaster (the Land Registry), and you can buy a valuation report on a home's value through Meltwater or Calcasa. In America it's quite different. There, for example, it's very important that your estate agent has a good network. That's the only way to find out what's on the market and the transaction prices.
Of course we ask colleagues whether they're getting nice homes in, but we can't just do a deal privately off-market. Sellers want to put their home on the market and achieve the highest price.
Bad apples
A good relationship with fellow estate agents is important. Now this professor says you can't properly represent your client's interests if you have a good relationship with another estate agent. That seems a bit odd to me.
There are bad apples, of course. They actually work for their 'mates' instead of for their client. They hand the deals to each other and have a nice network in which they take turns earning. Fine, but sellers find out about that too. Sooner or later it stops of its own accord. Once it becomes known, people will no longer sell through that estate agent.
We think friendliness and good relationships with fellow estate agents are important, but the substance and the figures of a deal have to add up. I think that's how it works in every industry. But that good relationship with a colleague is actually in the client's interest. It makes the process run much more smoothly and the contact more pleasant. You represent the interests of your client, and in the end they're the one paying you.
Disciplinary rules
Anyone can become an estate agent without any knowledge or skill. In 2000 it was decided that estate agent would no longer be a protected profession. As an NVM estate agent, we're subject to disciplinary rules. We have to keep up our training, sit exams and take proficiency assessments. On top of that, we're bound by a code of conduct. We have to be collegial towards our fellow estate agents, but ethics is also an important part of the code of conduct. And as for the cowboys having to disappear and abuses involving rampant cronyism being tackled: yes, please! We want that too.
What is difficult, though, is that because of all the stories in the media, people often feel that wrongdoing is taking place. Because of our regulations, it isn't possible to hand people all the facts directly. That's exactly when you'd be making a misstep. Think, for example, of the written-form requirement. People sometimes feel their bid was used as a springboard. In the end it turns out their bid came nowhere near the 'winning' offer. But suppose I shared the winning offer and disclosed all the other bids. Then the bidder with the low offer could still submit a new offer. As the estate agent, I'm then obliged to pass the new offer on to the seller, and we could still end up doing a deal.
Precisely because of all the regulations, the large sums of money and the emotion involved, it's wise to hire a professional. For one of the biggest purchases or sales of your life, you want good advice, don't you?
Added value The added value of an estate agent in this market? As it happens, this afternoon I was working on a course by Ryan Serhant. In this market, selling isn't that hard, is it? You put the home on Funda and it sells. But there's a difference between selling well and selling extremely well.
Thanks to our network and our data, we're able to achieve the very best price. You need our expertise. We know about the value of a home and its valuation figure. We're up to date on the possible financing options, developments and contracts. I'm an über-nerd. This morning I combed through CBS (Statistics Netherlands) and Brainbay again. That keeps me up to date on the exact market figures. I know what to expect in this market and how we can communicate those expectations properly.
On top of that, we save you time and a trip to the psychologist. Searching for a house and selling a house is an exhausting process. Even when we take all the work off your hands. We have a stylist on staff, we make sure the appointments are scheduled, keep waiting lists and deal with cancellations. In short, we make sure the process runs smoothly. We listen to your wishes, fears and stress. We try to take those away with the best plan and the best strategy. We're creative, and that's how we succeed in every market!
But should we have to defend ourselves? People who have just bought or sold a house know where our added value lies.
Advice
This professor also thinks that estate agents don't advise their clients properly. He says an estate agent ought to advise people not to buy in this market, or to buy a cheap house. Cheap is a relative concept in any case. As a friend of my father's always says: 'What is cheap? One person doesn't think €30,000 is a lot of money, and another thinks €300 is a lot of money. Expensive is a relative concept.'
We've written blogs before about affordability, the housing bubble and the solution to the housing market. We think the shortage will keep growing. Interest rates are relatively low. As a result, affordability is good. I think it's very poor advice to say: just hold off on buying for a while. At our previous house, the neighbour sold his home. He started renting; he wanted to buy a new house once the market had collapsed. His surplus equity in the bank is now worth less every year. House prices are rising faster than average income. That's why I advised him at the time not to sell. So much for bad advice?
We try to give good advice on the type of home, the location and the finances. We think along with you and try to work out what 100 m2 and 4 bedrooms actually mean in practice. Do people want an open-plan kitchen? What does their ideal Saturday look like? What does their private life look like? That's how we try to come up with surprising insights. We have a stylist on our team. Precisely to make things possible that don't seem possible.
Advising is what I enjoy most about our profession. Just last week I advised someone to go to a good mortgage adviser. That way, calculations and agreements could be made about an unequal contribution of capital. I also advised them to hold off on selling for a while and buy first. I gave insights that the gentleman at the bank hadn't given. Suddenly the picture looked completely different, and the plan and the strategy changed completely.
When I was younger, my father made me keep a very close eye on my spending. So also what I spent in the pub, at restaurants and on clothes. He's known me a long time. He knows how much I enjoy the sauna, a late night in the pub, eating out well, and that I can enjoy beautiful clothes. I'd made a nice little Excel file. Back then we didn't have apps like Grip yet. I tracked all my spending. With my first house, the mortgage came out lower than my rent. So it made no difference there. But with the next house, the mortgage was higher. The bank can tell you what you can spend on housing costs, but you know yourself where your priorities lie. I'd rather live smaller than give up on the 'luxuries'. I often advise clients the same. Don't just look at what you 'can' spend, but also at where your priorities lie.
The best time When is the best moment to buy or sell a house? An easy question, but the answer isn't so easy. My answer to this question, which I'm asked regularly, by the way? First of all, it depends on your personal situation. Aren't you ready to sell? Then it isn't the right moment. Aren't you ready to buy? Then don't buy! And to everyone who wants to buy a house, I always give this advice: buy something you can live in for a longer period. Whether you did well financially in the end, you only know at the moment you get out, when you sell the house again. Just like with shares. If you can decide that moment of getting out yourself, you'll never go wrong financially. And don't forget: a house is for living in; it's where you carry on with your life, and it contributes to your happiness. It's not an investment object! So yes, I do give people advice. It's just that I unfortunately don't have a crystal ball, and I don't know whether prices will keep rising for a long time or start to fall. That depends on factors that are, after all, far beyond my control. If you want to sell right now and buy back cheaper, then you want prices to be high. Want to sell and buy back something more expensive? Then you want prices to fall. Something to chew on…
All-knowing
I'm quite curious: has this professor recently bought or sold a house? Is he aware of all the rules? I wonder how he'd find it. Easy as pie, valued by a website, without any explanation. Very simple. I'd be impressed. I like to be advised myself when it comes to big expenses and decisions. So I call the notary, the financial adviser or the building surveyor. That way I know which risks we can take in a well-considered and calculated way.
Might this professor be exactly the 'very hungry caterpillar' type of client, never satisfied? Every day we have to steer a course between the legal rules, the code of conduct and the client's wishes. Funny detail: the client would sometimes love it if you didn't stick to all the rules. Precisely to get the highest sale price or, as a buying agent, the lowest transaction price. We push the boundaries, but always within reason. That's how we do the very best deals. We do this on the basis of our network, knowledge and skill.
Believe in estate agents
As our Million Dollar Listing estate agent says: 'If your goal is to make money you hire the best, not the cheapest or most friendly.' Because of all the crap we get thrown at us, I've often thought: I'm quitting. I'll go and do work that's more appreciated. I have a strong sense of responsibility. I have to win. I keep going and fight to the bitter end. But I also know that every day I can show again that we're an agency that doesn't make easy money off other people's backs. That we're there for other people and close the best deal time after time. I'm glad I'm an NVM estate agent and that every day I get to help people buy or sell a home, that I get to contribute to our clients' happiness. After beautiful bouquets of flowers, bottles of wine, chocolates and plants, I'm reminded once again that not everyone hates estate agents.
Would you like to be helped by an estate agent who will go through fire for you? Then get in touch with us.
