Country Property

They have mostly been in operation in the respective town or village for many years, are well known and involved in the community and they have local knowledge of the area.  They do not have to pay the bulk of their commission to a Franchisor, so generally, their commission earned at the end of the process are their own and more than likely, they are inclined to be far more competitive in terms of the commissions they charge.

So compared to the agent working for a large franchise group, the smaller independent agents are generally far less aggressive in their approach to ‘applying pressure’ on a seller for a Sole Mandate and  making a sale ‘at all costs’, as the larger franchises appear to do. Most likely, you will also find the local Independent a warm relaxed individual when it comes to dealing with clients.  They would unlikely to be one of those ‘pushy’ types either. 

The local Independent has historical knowledge of the area too. That agent would be the first to know what land claims there are in the area, if any, where the next Power Line is proposed to go, where are the safer and better parts of town, where there will be low cost housing in the future etc. They will know the zonings of properties and what may or may not be built on a property and they will probably know the history of any property in the town or village, what its negative’s and positive’s are.  They will also probably know all about the rural properties in their area, what can be grown where, what sort of rainfall to expect, what water there is, or what chance there may be of water being found. They would know who to put you onto to have your car repaired, who can paint or repair your home for you, who makes burglar guards and probably, they would even know the name of the Postman?

They are generally not inclined to inflate prices, raise expectations, promise the earth and then not deliver in terms of the expectations created.  They generally have good networks with their colleagues in nearby towns and villages and beyond and through associations with others of their profession. They can make the deals happen and they can generally be expected to give both the buyer and the seller the satisfaction of knowing that it was an honest deal.

So why not use their services in preference? They would go that extra mile for you!

John Veschini : 23 November, 2007