As Proudhon wrote in his 'What Is Property? Or, An Inquiry into the Principle of Right and of Government': 'All property is theft'. 170 years further run down the line, previously communistic states like Russia and China have given up on the concept of 'share and share alike' and are now gleefully embracing the principles of free market capitalism and ownership. And it seems to be working for them, because they now own half of London.
But even if it could still be argued by some that 'property is theft' it's pretty well universally accepted that, regardless, all estate agents are thieves. Well there you have it, something we already knew. As sure as eggs are eggs. There's an estate agent per 2300 properties in the UK. Given that most people move only every seven years or so, that seems rather a lot. But they survive against the odds because of the rich selling fees that they charge. Ultimately, if you write low volumes of business but manage to make each transaction worth a fortune then you're in the enviable position of getting away with doing little for a quite a lot in return.
And you don't have to be Albert Einstein to figure that one out. And you don't have to be Albert Einstein to be an estate agent either: most of the time your work is about taking a few photographs, typing up a property description, posting everything online and then waiting for the phone to ring. It may have a lot to do with the dress code because the only other people wearing suits like that are bankers and all they do is gamble with other people's money... lose all of it... and receive an annual bonus worth more than the net GDP of a small African country for doing so.
In comparison, at least the original highwaymen of yesteryear took their time to rob you. And card sharks by way of recompense for departing you of your money, entertain you with their hide the lady antics. But five grand for taking some snaps and some measurements? That is theft, good and proper. The profession, for want of a better term, continues unabated however. Dipping into your wallet whenever you move and taking what amounts to the equivalent of a holiday here and a small family car there.
And yet, perhaps out of sheer masochism, we still let this happen. Maybe we just like people taking money from us. It's our own fault really. There is an alternative: rather than handing over our money to an estate agent who's just going to run off to his local dealership with it - whether they're selling BMWs or something a little more pharmaceutical - we should instead be looking at something that, given the immense disparity in cost, looks at first glance to be too good to be true. But it is true, it is good and it is an online estate agent. With an online estate agent, you get all the exposure of the traditional service offered by a traditional estate agency, but at a fraction of the cost and none of that financial humiliation.
But even if it could still be argued by some that 'property is theft' it's pretty well universally accepted that, regardless, all estate agents are thieves. Well there you have it, something we already knew. As sure as eggs are eggs. There's an estate agent per 2300 properties in the UK. Given that most people move only every seven years or so, that seems rather a lot. But they survive against the odds because of the rich selling fees that they charge. Ultimately, if you write low volumes of business but manage to make each transaction worth a fortune then you're in the enviable position of getting away with doing little for a quite a lot in return.
And you don't have to be Albert Einstein to figure that one out. And you don't have to be Albert Einstein to be an estate agent either: most of the time your work is about taking a few photographs, typing up a property description, posting everything online and then waiting for the phone to ring. It may have a lot to do with the dress code because the only other people wearing suits like that are bankers and all they do is gamble with other people's money... lose all of it... and receive an annual bonus worth more than the net GDP of a small African country for doing so.
In comparison, at least the original highwaymen of yesteryear took their time to rob you. And card sharks by way of recompense for departing you of your money, entertain you with their hide the lady antics. But five grand for taking some snaps and some measurements? That is theft, good and proper. The profession, for want of a better term, continues unabated however. Dipping into your wallet whenever you move and taking what amounts to the equivalent of a holiday here and a small family car there.
And yet, perhaps out of sheer masochism, we still let this happen. Maybe we just like people taking money from us. It's our own fault really. There is an alternative: rather than handing over our money to an estate agent who's just going to run off to his local dealership with it - whether they're selling BMWs or something a little more pharmaceutical - we should instead be looking at something that, given the immense disparity in cost, looks at first glance to be too good to be true. But it is true, it is good and it is an online estate agent. With an online estate agent, you get all the exposure of the traditional service offered by a traditional estate agency, but at a fraction of the cost and none of that financial humiliation.
About the Author:
Using a high street estate agents means paying high estate agents fees. Using eMoov, the UK's leading online estate agents instead will get your house sold by showing it to 170 million internet visitors each month. No extortionate commissions, no percentage fees, no sole agency tie ins. Just a lot of fixed, low cost estate agents fees which might even make you begin to like estate agents again.
No comments:
Post a Comment