There is this Proverb which goes thus: Why buy the Cow when the Milk is Free! Well i am now Advocating that the Milk should no longer be Free!

I know i have been at the Fore Front of trying to make Real Estate Agents both on Nairaland and those Operating in the real World especially in Lagos and Ogun State to Curb sharp Practices and try to be responsive and attentive to their clients. In short Good name is better than Gold!

But in recent times, after listening to the complaints of Estate Agents and the likes against Clients, i personally ventured out to understand where those complains are emanating from and why Estate Agents have decided to become callous to Clients and one truely cannot blame them in most circumstances because the Client actually sets him or herself up to get hoodwinked and there are various instances i have noted and supplemented with true life stories which also includes me personally at the recieving end.

1. I followed a particluar Agent on Nairaland for the whole day to study his day with Clients and what i saw and heard made me feel so sorry for him and  it wasnt too hard to understand his frustration. For example, there was a Nairalander who he claims called him from abroad in respect of one land he advertised in Lekki. The Nairalander came with his friend to help him scout out the place with the Agent to see if it was alright and before you knew it, the Friend was complaining left right and centre about everything from the location to the price and what have you. The Agent offered to show him other places to compensate and i saw the agent spend his money calling other Agents and sorting out transportation to and fro to show this guy 4 different places all the way from Sango tedo down to Ibeju Lekki and you can imagine the distance. After wards the Friend said he will be in touch and till date, the Client neither had the decency to call the Agent that he or she was no longer interested. The Agent complained bitterly that this is what he goes through with about 75% of Clients and he spends his money to show them around and they neither compensate or want to assist them in the search and will be quick to condemn. He said it was even because i was around that he decided to show the person only properties with good title unless i would get angry and after doing his best to sort all these things for him, what was the result And how much he had lost financially no matter how little and next time, he wouldnt be so open to the next Client to show them properties with good title because it will still be the same way he will be treated, so instead of having the client's interest at heart, he will have to focus on his own survival because the Client doesnt care about him.

2. I also followed another Agent called Ngozi here on Nairaland to watch proceedings from the sidelines and hers was also quite astonishing:

A client from Abroad called her that he needed a property for sale in Oregun and sent Ngozi to procure the property for him. He also called me to monitor it for him and i should go with Ngozi to make sure she gets the right one. As usual, The client is never satisfied and Ngozi for 3 weeks kept on scouting for houses for this man to buy, calling him, using her money to move to and fro hoping that if she finally gets it right, her efforts will be rewarded. Finally when she got what the man wanted, what happened next? The Client stopped communicating with her, went behind her back because Ngozi gave him the address and phone numbers of the owner, and sealed the deal directly with the landlord and left her hanging dry .

The Chick was in tears when she related what happened and vowed not to be this open with Clients and do everything to Milk them dry because she had been used thoroughly especially when she decided to do it in a professional way to assist a client.

3. Well another thing i have noticed is that Clients delibrately want to to lied to. In fact for you to be successful with Clients you need to lie to them continously for them to believe you. Take for example a situation where a Client abroad sent me all the way to Ogun state to do a search for him. After doing the preliminary investigations i found the documents where forged and the land to be questionable and after relating all these to him, the seller was able to convince him that i was the one trying to make sure the deal won't go through and he sent another person to reconfirm and in collusion with the seller, the new person was able to recommend that land to the Client to buy so that the sale will go through and he will get his commission and zap from the scene. Since then, i stopped doing any search concerning Mowe/ ofada or anything Ogun State because it was so heart shattering, driving all the way down there for nothing with the aim of helping someone out and instead i got eggs thrown back on my face.

I find it funny that someone is ready to shell out over N1Million to buy a land or property and finds it so so difficult to pay a small token to make sure your buying your money's worth through a valid search? It baffles the hell out of me. I also find it difficult to understand that you want to buy a land or property over N1Million but you find it difficult to induce the agent with small cash for his transportation and phone calls to help you find the best property for you?

For those that feel like criticizing, please do because we live in a free world but for once put your self in the shoes of the Agents and see if you would be happy if you were treated like so. A good property is only as good as the agent and lawyer that is happy to help you purchase it. Most properties that are fraught with problems is because the Client feels he or she is smart enough to scheme or out wit the buyer's agents. You might have won today but it will definately come and bite you back in future.

Finally Big Ups to You Mr Ekwe****(a Nairalander Full name withheld)! You also give me confidence to do good things for people. This Man has been searching for a good land to buy for almost 3 months. We have searched almost 20 Places in Lekki/Ajah that were either under government acquisition, had court issues or the omoniles wanted to cheat him and each time i advised him not to buy, he would patiently wait till the next week we had the chance to scout around for other lands until Yesterday when i finally gave him the pass mark! You are an Inspiration  because you listened and i promise you that even if the wahala comes from Heaven tomorrow and one General Abacha rises up to claim that land, i will stand gidi-gba for you! You deserve your joys now!   

Arguments and queries welcome from both agents and Clients to share experiences. The aim of all this to to find a better working condition to help all parties. Because at this rate i am almost compelled to believe the Agents are the Victims except there are compelling arguments to show its not!

Cheers

@Chaircover,

Pls tell d house who this Professional UK Estate Agent is?

U said, she did not charge u a penny.

I am curious. Lol!

@Lawyer,

I am pleased u can feel our pain.

I appreciate u a lot, d Law, for all d wk u did about restoring my username.

But, this spam software is a big pain in d butt.

@Chaircover,

Happy Mother's Day.

After readin your post, I guessed that, it is u!

Did u get my emails?

@Chaircover,

Don't disappear from d Properties section, now that u hv your shop.