One of the most common questions I’m asked when a potential client is speaking to me is “Do you have access to properties that are not listed on the market”?
I think there are lists out here in cyberspace of the ‘top 10 questions to ask a buyers agents” and that question is definitely on those lists!
My answer to this is ‘Yes’.
Yes, we do have access to properties that are not listed on the net for the world to see. I am always quick to follow up, however, with some additional information. Basically, just because a property is ‘off market’ doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good. It must still be assessed just as any other property would be.
We will often have agents contact us with properties that they are going to be listing, so it’s more of a ‘heads up’ pre-listing that the property is coming to market and we may have an opportunity to buy it before it goes live – or not. The seller may be happy for us to look at it but the plan is to still take it to market and ensure there is an open home. The seller may indeed sell it to us before anyone else sees it – bonus!
There are genuine cases of ‘silent listings’, however, where a seller doesn’t really want to go to market. This happens for a variety of reasons, sometimes people just don’t want to have open homes or tell others they are selling or they may need a fast and uncomplicated sale. The reasons may be due to personal or financial factors at play.
In all cases, when a selling agent tells a buyers agent about a property they are listing, whether it is on the market, offer the market, pre-market or whatever, the selling agent isn’t telling you about it because they think it would be an amazing property for the buyer (who is our client), they are telling us about it because they are trying to sell the property and represent their seller (their client).
The important thing here that same the level of assessment and due diligence that one would apply in considering any property must apply to this property, regardless of whether it was on-market or off-market.