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The founder of a Victorian real estate group has stressed the importance of transparency for agents — especially in a changing market.
OBrien Real Estate founder Dean O’Brien has revealed that it’s now “a non-negotiable for our business that OBrien agents are always fully informed about the condition of the home they’re selling before the campaign starts”.
He believes that while there are plenty of reasons to get a building and pest inspection report upfront ready for your buyers, “the number one reason, for our agents, is transparency”.
As well as wanting buyers to feel confident when they are putting offers forward for any properties listed by an OBrien agent, the founder said it prevents the traditional power imbalance that occurs when agents are not involved with the inspection reports: “As an agent, you can’t have your buyers knowing more about a property if you are going to achieve the best result for all stakeholders in a sale.”
This perspective has led OBrien Real Estate to partner with Before You Bid — with its new approach seeing the brand contribute a percentage of the cost of independent reports so that buyers can download the report at a discount, and it can be relied upon by all parties.
It’s reportedly already paying off: “What we are seeing is more buyers turning up to auction, reduced days on market and no more re-negotiating in a cooling-off period,” Mr OBrien said.
One perk of this new partnership is that by having a report upfront, OBrien Real Estate can sell properties without the report as a condition in a contract.
“Buyers are still able to get their own report if they like; however, we can keep the property on the market until they get their own report and make offers unconditional of a report. This helps us avoid what are always disappointing conversations with the vendor,” the founder said.
The new partnership is a formalisation of a years-long working relationship between the two brands, with Before You Bid chief executive Rhys Rogers stating that it is the right time to step up the alliance: “The market downturn has meant plenty of agents are looking at ways to secure what might be the one and only buyer of their property.”
“Having everything in place to secure buyers unconditionally is crucial,” he expressed, adding that many agents are recognising that the best strategy at play in a market downturn is to help engage buyers upfront — “providing them with all the information they need to make an informed decision and encouraging them to move assertively on properties of interest”.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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