Mon 04 Apr 2022
I recently got a firm of painters and decorators in, to paint the hall, stairs, landing and one of the bedrooms in my house. I love a bit of DIY and I did start decorating myself, but then I lost interest and decided to get the professionals in, because they know what they are doing! They did a great job, in half the time and I was happy to pay them when they had finished, even though it cost me a bit more money.
Obviously, I only paid them when they had finished the job. That makes sense doesn’t it? Pay them when they’ve done the job you employed them to do. It’s the same as getting your car serviced – you pay the mechanic AFTER he has serviced your car. Or the gardener – you pay him AFTER he has cut the grass. And the cleaner – you pay her AFTER she has cleaned the house. That’s common sense isn’t it?
Would I have considered paying the decorator in full, in advance? No way.
How about if it was cheap? Maybe less than half the price? If the decorator had said to me, “David, if you pay me in advance, I will only charge you £1,000, instead of the £2,500 which it would normally be.” Now that sounds like a good deal. I think I would have agreed to that. Wouldn’t you? Pay in advance, and save money. That’s a great idea isn’t it. Or is it?
What if the decorator started the work, but didn’t finish it? What if, before I paid him £1,000 in advance, he said to me “Pay me £1,000 now, I will try and get over to decorate your house, but I may not finish it.”
I wouldn’t agree to that. I wouldn’t pay someone to do a job, unless they finish it.
It’s the same with estate agents. I wouldn’t pay an agent, until he had sold my house.
The ever increasing number of on-line agents which have sprung up recently, will charge you a fee simply to put your property on the market.
You pay them whether they sell your property or not.
Once they’ve got your money, they keep it, even if they don’t sell your property.
Once they’ve got your money, how much effort are they going to make to find you a buyer?
Once they’ve got your money, where is the incentive for them to work hard on your behalf?
Once they’ve got your money, how hard are they going to try to ensure that your sale goes through?
Because the truth is, once they’ve got your money, it really doesn’t matter to them if they sell your home or not.
At Marshall Vizard, we charge a fee, which is only payable when we have finished the job and the sale of the house has gone through.
I hope that sounds fair?
If you are considering selling your property, call us on 01923 751301 for a free, no obligation valuation.