Trust is a Two-Way Street

"  I looked at him and asked "Would you like a drink of cold water?"  He responded with just a nod.  I brought him cold water for the rest of the day.  "

Today I visited a lovely lady who is thinking of selling her home.  As I walk in and greet her, she immediately tells me that she has seen many agents, and doesn't trust anyone.  Fair enough, I think, perhaps she has had some bad experiences, and she proceeded to tell me how egotistical some of the agents she had met were, and how they inflated her property price to try to get her to sign.  She explained that one agent even refused to leave without getting her business and had been very pushy, but she had not given in.

I was trained by Neil Jenman and was a Jenman Approved Agent for many years.  Neil was a passionate Consumer Advocate, advocating for vendors in Australia, hating to see vendors ripped off by real estate sharks, and an industry that can be quite self serving.

I believe that a skilled agent well trained in ethics, does not need to lie and cheat for a living.  However even though I explained to her carefully that there is a right and effective way of doing things that is transparent, fair and actually quite refreshingly excellent, she could no longer see the forest for the trees - she had heard too much "information" from several agents before me, and even though I did not misrepresent or lie in any way she refused to give me an unbiased chance - choosing to see me as just another agent instead of really listening to what I was saying.  

I remember when I was young and renovating my first home, I had met some awfully rude tradespeople - they insulted my choices, swore a lot, overcharged me.  I made a decision that all trades would get minimal conversation from me, I'd had enough.  Finally I needed someone to install a fireplace.  It was a very hot day, and this tradesman was cutting some bricks, installing the facade, and I had shown him where the job was and didn't talk much to him.  A couple of hours passed.  I walked in and noticed that he was a quiet man, working quite diligently, and was sweating profusely.  I looked at him and asked "Would you like a drink of cold water?"  He responded with just a nod.  I brought him cold water for the rest of the day.  He did a beautiful job of the fireplace, and he was respectful, kind and a hard worker. It was a lesson that forever stayed with me:  It’s unfair to let the wrongs of others shadow those who follow.

In the movie Notting Hill, there's a terribly cheesy line with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.... "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."  It's cheesy for sure, but the meaning of the line is quite deep:  "please try to see me, not the title."

Cristina Cottrell is a fully licensed estate agent specialising in property sales and vendor advocacy in Melbourne Victoria.  

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