Discussion Random Discussion

[VDS66]

Exactly.
Companies like Purplebricks find a Niche where someone is making a non-commensurate amount of money for the service provided, and they find a way to do it cheaper, but still profitably.
I'd have put real estate agents on the ship.

http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Golgafrincham

Purplebricks is growing because it provides full service but charges on a fee for time.

Traditional agents charge commission which has grown via stealth on the back of a property boom... All the while agents doing less work than 20 years ago.

Savings are made by not having traditional offices and overheads.

The technology gives sellers 100% teansperancy in the process.

Also have to understand that the internet has changed how people search for homes and at what time during the day.

Purplebricks has adapted accordingly.

Yes, I do work for them and it a brilliant concept.

 

[St Kilda Death]

iMO traditional real estate agents are going the way of video Ezy, and taxis.
I only hope the banks are the next to go.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Purplebricks is growing because it provides full service but charges on a fee for time.

Traditional agents charge commission which has grown via stealth on the back of a property boom... All the while agents doing less work than 20 years ago.

Savings are made by not having traditional offices and overheads.

The technology gives sellers 100% teansperancy in the process.

Also have to understand that the internet has changed how people search for homes and at what time during the day.

Purplebricks has adapted accordingly.

Yes, I do work for them and it a brilliant concept.

Savings are made for recognising that flog real estate companies are getting paid extra ( by means of percentage payments ) for not doing anything extra.
Its not like retail where they at least have to invest in inventory. ( don't get me started on crap retailers who tell you they need 6 weeks to import something then still charge 1000% markup .. no thanks i'll import it myself ...cheap).

Percentage payments in general are a rort.
As are percentage taxes.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

iMO traditional real estate agents are going the way of video Ezy, and taxis.
I only hope the banks are the next to go.

I use banks, but haven't used any of the traditional big ones for years. I don't know why people do.

 

[VDS66]

Savings are made for recognising that flog real estate companies are getting paid extra ( by means of percentage payments ) for not doing anything extra.
Its not like retail where they at least have to invest in inventory. ( don't get me started on crap retailers who tell you they need 6 weeks to import something then still charge 1000% markup .. no thanks i'll import it myself ...cheap).

Percentage payments in general are a rot.
As are percentage taxes.

Pretty sure that's what I just said.

 

[St Kilda Death]

I use banks, but haven't used any of the traditional big ones for years. I don't know why people do.

More and more young people are getting loans through smaller internet companies.
Banks need to be kept honest.
No need for their huge millionaire wages at the top end.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Pretty sure that's what I just said.

Yeah but yours read like a sales brochure

 

[VDS66]

Yeah but yours read like a sales brochure

Nah mate, I am very proud of what I do.

I left the industry a few years back through disillusionment, but can happily ply my trade in line with my core values.

There are a lot of good people in the industry, but it's the way the industry is that skewers what people do.

When I started in 94 we charged 2.5% on house worth $85k.

That same house is worth $1m and agents still charging 2%.

So wrong because the agent has not contributed to the sellers capital growth.

As far as I am concerned, it's their money. They worked their butt off and sacrificed. So they deserve to keep every dollar rightfully theirs.

Not the buyer... And not the agent!

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Nah mate, I am very proud of what I do.

I left the industry a few years back through disillusionment, but can happily ply my trade in line with my core values.

There are a lot of good people in the industry, but it's the way the industry is that skewers what people do.

When I started in 94 we charged 2.5% on house worth $85k.

That same house is worth $1m and agents still charging 2%.

So wrong because the agent has not contributed to the sellers capital growth.

As far as I am concerned, it's their money. They worked their butt off and sacrificed. So they deserve to keep every dollar rightfully theirs.

Not the buyer... And not the agent!

The thing that gets me is that technically you don't NEED an estate agent. If there were none, a different system would exist.
Had the experience of telling one of them how to sell our house. Was advertising and promoting it in the wrong demographic.

 

[StCicatriz]

iMO traditional real estate agents are going the way of video Ezy, and taxis.
I only hope the banks are the next to go.

+1

the worst are property managers. special place in hell for them

 

[StCicatriz]

I use banks, but haven't used any of the traditional big ones for years. I don't know why people do.

the bigger banks nowadays all have these smaller no name banks they own. the has to be a reason why they are doing that

 

[SaintsSeptember]

the bigger banks nowadays all have these smaller no name banks they own. the has to be a reason why they are doing that

People who are happy to switch banks tend to gravitate to smaller ones with better conditions.
Really unless you have a business what do you wan't from a Bank.
In my case I want two things.
1. Low Interest.
2. Total Offset Account.

A major has bought the bank i'm with ( some time ago now ) , if they try to stuff with either of those things i'm off.

My credit card has :
1. acceptable limit.
2. No annual fees.

Of course these days a method of moving funds around quickly and easily is expected.

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

Uber is horrible for a number of reasons IMO

Sure the taxi industry here was friggin entitled shite, a government enforced monopoly. But uber is hardly an improvement. Maybe for the consumer but for the workers it's horrible. They have a very poor track record.

Anyways uber drivers are just a temporary measure. They'll soon have a fleet of driverless vehicles. Sucks for the workers who have invested in their vehicle etc.

So you will have this company of driverless vehicles paying pretty much **** all tax with no social responsibility to this country. But they'll be taking millions out of it.

i agree totally from talking to the Uber drivers they are getting screwed but as the end user the product they put out is better than the alternative.. personally i dont think i would use the driverless especially when there is a driver option.. im happy to pay for a service provided the service is worth paying for and personally ive had too many taxis over the years either not turn up or turn up late and take the piss in the way they charge for me to go down that path again.. i dont reckon im not alone in wanting to support people but the service has to be up to standard

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

+1

the worst are property managers. special place in hell for them

there are some total cowboys out there in property managment who are seriously taking the piss .. i had a friend who got into it and she was doing the right thing managing the propertys under her umbrella as you would want.. she ended up getting counselling from her employer for not doing her job properly because she was actually doing the job properly... she ended up quiting because she couldnt stand charging people for stuff she wasnt doing

 

[CursingFijian]

Its not a lot different in some of the traditional markets. Its just that the net has a much larger scope.

Harvey Norman doesn't build refrigerators , they put them in places where people will find them.
Do 13cabs own taxi's? I think Taxi's have been owner operated for ages. I'm still not sure how they circumvented the "license" system.

Those companies are only big because they have a total global market.
Its cherry picked though.
Apple certainly design/manufacture/sell their products. They have almost full product integration.
Origin mine minerals/generate electricity/ retail electricity, i believe they are more competitive than those who just buy and retail virtual electricity.

Bitcoin = Bank? Its more like a gold bar under your mattress.

Harvey Norman still has to invest in stock though, and warehousing and staff. In Fiji taxi companies have to invest in property for cab ranks, and they employ people to provide a customer interface as well as maintain vehicles. Not sure whether those things are the responsibility of the taxi company or are a civic responsibility in Australia. As you said Apple invests in factories. Don't know much about Origin, but a quick check suggests they have significant infrastructure in Australia.

There is a new class of corporation though that is making billions off the real currency and asset holdings of the global middle class, without ever returning any (or very little) in real investment to the community. What is the benefit of allowing businesses like this to operate? Efficiency?

 

[VDS66]

The thing that gets me is that technically you don't NEED an estate agent. If there were none, a different system would exist.
Had the experience of telling one of them how to sell our house. Was advertising and promoting it in the wrong demographic.

Technically you are correct.

The skill is in the sale price negotiation... That's the difference between selling and selling for a great price.

The biggest rort is when an agent crunches the seller rather than pushing the buyer to pay more.

Buyers have 2 prices... What they'd like to pay and what they will pay if they are forced to.

A good negotiator knows the difference and only focuses on the latter, because that's what they are paid to do.

 

[VDS66]

Harvey Norman still has to invest in stock though. In Fiji taxi companies have to invest in property for cab ranks, and they employ people to provide a customer interface as well as maintain vehicles. Not sure whether those things are the responsibility of the taxi company or are a civic responsibility in Australia. As you said Apple invests in factories. Don't know much about Origin, but a quick check suggests they have significant infrastructure in Australia.

There is a new class of corporation though that is making billions off the real currency and asset holdings of the global middle class, without ever returning any (or very little) in real investment to the community. What is the benefit of allowing businesses like this to operate? Efficiency?

On the flip side, I put anywhere from $10 to $25k cash in the sellers pocket...pretty decent benefit if you ask me

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

Harvey Norman still has to invest in stock though. In Fiji taxi companies have to invest in property for cab ranks, and they employ people to provide a customer interface as well as maintain vehicles. Not sure whether those things are the responsibility of the taxi company or are a civic responsibility in Australia. As you said Apple invests in factories. Don't know much about Origin, but a quick check suggests they have significant infrastructure in Australia.

There is a new class of corporation though that is making billions off the real currency and asset holdings of the global middle class, without ever returning any (or very little) in real investment to the community. What is the benefit of allowing businesses like this to operate? Efficiency?

the thing that gets me about Harvey Norman is the flog Gerry Harvey... the sales guys at Harvey Norman are on a comission based salary but the prices are set by the parent company then you have the face of the company (old Gerry) come out on ACA telling customers to never accept the ticketed prices always ask for the discount blah blah that discount doesnt come out of Harvey Normans end they always get their profit mark up on everything the haggle room is taking money out of the sales peoples pockets ...

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Technically you are correct.

The skill is in the sale price negotiation... That's the difference between selling and selling for a great price.

The biggest rort is when an agent crunches the seller rather than pushing the buyer to pay more.

Buyers have 2 prices... What they'd like to pay and what they will pay if they are forced to.

A good negotiator knows the difference and only focuses on the latter, because that's what they are paid to do.

Been there ... "yeah we can get that much from your house"..... wait , wait, "oh there's been a downturn in the market "

That's when you say. "I'm selling it because i can get $X for it, if you can't do it i'm not interested in selling ". I once said that to a guy even though i was really pretty desperate. It paid off.
So i'm asking myself. What is he doing for me, that i need to negotiate with him.

Another time i bought a house and made the mistake of listing through the agent we'd bought through.

It was taking forever and he wanted to drop prices.
They were a bit further out east than we were.
You know what?.... people who live in the outer suburbs will not move 5 km further towards the city , to get a worse house for the same money. In those days newspaper adds in the local rag were pretty common.
I had to tell him that he was doing it wrong, and i threatened to drop him. He then decided he could go halvies with an associated agent closer to the area who would draw people looking in that area.
Sold within 2 weeks.

Neither of these cases suggested to me that they were working or thinking on my behalf.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

the thing that gets me about Harvey Norman is the flog Gerry Harvey... the sales guys at Harvey Norman are on a comission based salary but the prices are set by the parent company then you have the face of the company (old Gerry) come out on ACA telling customers to never accept the ticketed prices always ask for the discount blah blah that discount doesnt come out of Harvey Normans end they always get their profit mark up on everything the haggle room is taking money out of the sales peoples pockets ...

ACA is an infomercial.

 

[Mowman]

ACA is an infomercial.

+1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Its a joke that show

 

[Mowman]

+1

the worst are property managers. special place in hell for them

Have been burnt a couple times with property managers with work, only deal with 2 in my area now both are great

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

ACA is an infomercial.

thats being polite..... i feel for the guys on that show you just know each night they just sit there thinking this is what my journalism degree has got me chasing a tradie down the street asking "will you give the deposit back?? "

 

[SaintsSeptember]

thats being polite..... i feel for the guys on that show you just know each night they just sit there thinking this is what my journalism degree has got me chasing a tradie down the street asking "will you give the deposit back?? "

Is it ACA has the "funny voice man" on it or is that 60 minutes?

 

[VDS66]

Been there ... "yeah we can get that much from your house"..... wait , wait, "oh there's been a downturn in the market "

That's when you say. "I'm selling it because i can get $X for it, if you can't do it i'm not interested in selling ". I once said that to a guy even though i was really pretty desperate. It paid off.
So i'm asking myself. What is he doing for me, that i need to negotiate with him.

Another time i bought a house and made the mistake of listing through the agent we'd bought through.

It was taking forever and he wanted to drop prices.
They were a bit further out east than we were.
You know what?.... people who live in the outer suburbs will not move 5 km further towards the city , to get a worse house for the same money. In those days newspaper adds in the local rag were pretty common.
I had to tell him that he was doing it wrong, and i threatened to drop him. He then decided he could go halvies with an associated agent closer to the area who would draw people looking in that area.
Sold within 2 weeks.

Neither of these cases suggested to me that they were working or thinking on my behalf.

In fairness, that argument cuts both ways...

Depends on who is setting the price.

When there's a $15k fee on the line, some agents will say whatever you want to hear to get the business.

That's old real estate school 101: do whatever it takes to get the business and then start "conditioning" the vendor asap.

Better still, get it to auction and you get paid quicker, and if the vendor will come down to earth quickly if it doesn't sell.

So who sets the price?

If your house was worth $800k and you said to me you will only sell for $900k, I would walk away because I can spend my time with serious vendors and make more money. My margins are very thin.

To me, it says you are not serious.

Others will take it on hoping you will eventually meet the market.

In terms of value, the seller has to be realistic. The internet is the great leveller. If an agent says they can get you a price then they have to quantify it.

If you know your home is worth 800 but appoint an agent who promises 900 then serves you right for being greedy.