Who needs Agents? Find an Expat instead!

LOL! A recent story (abridged) …
Buyer: “Oh no I’d never buy a DVD player from a random bloke in the pub. Too rissssssky.”

Agent:Very wise! Oh so how did you hear about the house you want to buy here?

Buyer: “Oh the barmaid in that bar showed me it, she was very nice! She says I don’t need a to worry about black money or the paperwork.  And I don’t need an estate agent!”

Thought bubble!  So the biggest purchase of your life, 1/4 of million+ €€€ and you think the … well phhfff… we wish you luck with that one!

We know that a mechanic can fix a car. We  know the electrician will fit new lights. We know a butcher will cut a nice fillet of beef. We know the barmaid will serve ice cold drinks on hot days and the chef will cook that beef…

But a good real estate agent will sit next to you and hold your hand through the long property purchase maze, they will value, photo and video your property, negotiate the deal, sort the deposits and contracts, take you to get the right paperwork like NIEs, find me a good lawyer, open a bank account with you, know the area, the trade people,  help you with transport and the legal notary and always help you after the sale.

Do we also know the estate agent has lots of costs in running an office, employing staff, equipment, computers, websites, tax, insurance, advertising, networking, car / petrol, telephone bills, electric, water, heating, fixtures, fittings and so on… ?

We know the local agent will be part of the community, give to local charities, pay the rates, keep abreast of local planning and events, help the other businesses, create and distribute wealth, introduce people as friends, eat & drink in the local catering establishments and so on.

So a good estate agent is more than just sales person in our opinion. What do you think?