I think we still have a real estate agent in this forum... although he has not posted anything for a while :o

 

I used to enjoy a radio program that was on air years ago called "Lawyers, Guns and Money". The Warren Zevon tune of the same name was the theme song. A Barrister and a Solicitor were the on air talent and they had a favorite term they applied to real estate agents.....they labelled them "Land Rats".

ROFL.....I added that one to my vocabulary :D :D :D .

Back on topic, the car of choice for the local Land Rat is a dark coloured seven series BMW. Ain't no Land Rat in my street, though.

 

I take it you're not all that fussed by your legal colleagues who operate on a contingency basis? Aren't they operating as commission agents? Actually, I don't mind paying a commission as long as the agent works for it. Most of our sales are made through distributors who charge a mark-up. Unfortunately, they do very little in the way of marketing the product. Most of the customer inquiries are flick-passed to me for answer, as they don't have the technical background (even though most boast degrees in chemistry). Most also couldn't close a screen door, let alone a sale.

I'm a keen student of the sales process, and when I set my mind to it, I'm not a bad salesman myself. I've actually sold about 40% of the systems we make, so it has been interesting observing our real estate agent as he sold our house. I reckon he did a good job. He was particularly effective in closing. We interviewed quite a few before we chose, and we weeded out the obviously lazy (those who want you to sell cheap for turnover).

 

How about "car parks" - in my relatively small 6 level car park in Adelaide city there are 4 RX8's - Silver, Black, Winning Blue and my Ti Grey. I see them all every morning as I wind my way upto the second to top floor (way too long a waiting list for car parks :-( )
Only have one RX8 in my neighbourhood - another Ti Grey the next street over.

 

ROFL - I love that.

"Land Rat"

Gotta remember that one. :D :D

Thanks Gomez, you've cheered me up.

 

That's my good deed for the day done then.... .

 

Although I cannot speak with any authority for the practice in other states, it is my understanding (and certain knowledge in the case of NSW) that no legal practitioner can be paid a percentage of any verdict monies (as occurs in the USA) or 'commission'.

It is permissible to stipulate in your costs agreement (usually for speculative cases where you are working on a no win no fee arrangement) that you may charge a contingency of up to 25% in the event of success but that is a percentage of your fees, not the verdict amount (i.e. a 25% increase in your usual hourly or daily rate).

And before people start griping about no win no fee arrangements, just think about two things:

1. Without these arrangements many people with a legitimate cause of action would never bring a claim for fear that they could not pay for it, thus allowing the bigger end of town to ride roughshod over the little guy with no fear of any legal retribution.

2. Very few no win no fee lawyers take on cases with little or no merit (just like roughies at the races attract only the odd bet). Think about it - why agree to fund a poor case?

As for land rats , I was really only stirring the pot and I'm sure there are some decent ones out there (all hiding under the same small rock :p ) but I will never understand how commission represents a fair value of their expertise.

 

Keeping to the off-topic diversion:

You might be interested in a recent study by a group of economists, which compared prices realised by land rats when selling their own properties relative to those they sold for commission. I can't find the bloody thing, of course, but I recall it noted that agents on average had their own properties listed for 3 weeks longer than their overage commission sale listing, and achieved a 15% or similar higher price than for similar properties they list.

The reasons are obvious, of course. The commission incentive structure means that when they are selling your house, there's very little in it for them by holding out or negotiating harder with the prospective buyer for a higher price -- which they clearly do, when it comes to their own property

I'll find the link one day and post it

Luckily, of course, land rats would never usually choose an 8 as they mostly need 4 seats to take people on inspections. Of course, this rule does not apply if they specialise in >$1m sales, where the Porka is de rigeur, and where a test for a 'qualified purchaser' is whether they turn up in the 'right' car

 

And just to keep pushing the commission button, when we sold our Sydney property, our agent gave us a potential price that we thought was due to the over use of a "small green leafy plant" that used to be cultivated for it's fiborous properties. (Ie he was stoned)

So we agreed to the commision structure and added in a bonus incentive of 10% of anything he sold the place for above the nominated value. (we of little faith!)

He sold it for $60k more than the target! He was blown away and we were laughing ourselves silly!

And he drove a corolla.......well i was driving a landcruiser myself so what can I say!

 

I have to agree that the way the commission is structured, there is little incentive for the agent to go for he highest price, hence my suspicion of agents who are merely looking to turn over properties as fast as possible. When we interviewed agents, we did a lot of listening, and were on the lookout for buzzwords which might signal they mightn't be working as hard for us as they might. Phrases like "smartly priced to sell" and "realistically priced" are code for "sell cheap".

In my reference to lawyers working on contingency, I use the meaning of the word commission in its loosest form. Frankly, I think it's a good idea, because as you say, it allows people who mightn't have much money but who might have a good case to have a fair crack at the justice system. Commission, mark-up, call it what you will is a suitable way to reimburse services where there is an element of risk in the outcome.

I'm in a business where a great deal of work goes into getting the prospect to the point of being able to say yes, and the outcome is never certain. A prospect comes to us and says, can your gear analyse my sample/product to an accuracy of such and such and a precision of so and so, and we have to analyse their product/sample and show them their result (without them telling us what result they've already got). When we demonstrate how good we are, there is absolutely no guarantee they're going to buy, so that's when the salesmanship comes in. To me "ABC" means "Always Be Closing".

 

Getting back to the original thread, I haven't seen any Adelaide posters on this forum yet. Probably supports my observation that disappointingly there are very few RX-8's in Adelaide. I would love to see the stats on sales by area, I think SA would be very poor. I can go a week without seeing another one. I think performance cars generally sell poorly here, but having said that you can't throw a stick without hitting a WRX. Now that I've run the engine in I'm looking forward to one of the highlights of driving in Adelaide: a burn through the hills.

 

Welcome to the forum OzRX8

There's at least 2 other 8's in Adelaide -- AMG and DBB, although they've been a bit quiet lately

 

Welcome OzRX8 (can't believe no one snagged that nick earlier).

Good to have another SA member.

 

If you check page two of this thread you will see that I am from Adelaide as well and I seem to see RX8's all the time, especially in and around the city.
You must try the run through Meadows, via Pairs Creek on the way to Strathalbyn - its the road they use for the Classic Adelaide Rally - great fun.
What colour is your car OzRX8?

 

Thanks for the welcomes!

Ah, missed your location Scotty. Don't get me wrong, there are 8's about Adelaide, and if I see them they are usually around the city, but like I said I've gone for a week without seeing one but maybe that's just coincidence - I saw 2 yesterday.

My colour is the same as yours, if your avatar is a pic of your car!

A few months ago before I got the '8 I went to Strath via Hahndorf, which looking at the map is the run into Strath for the Adelaide Classic Rally (where your route is the run out). That was a really nice run. I'll have to try your suggested run soon. I love this time of year, especially for driving - longer days, perfect weather, occasional rain to wash the road clean. Unfortunately that also makes it the best time for work around the house.

Revolver: I couldn't believe this nick was free either.

 

I recently bought a place in the northern suburbs of Perth and while the sharks were finalising the deal, to my horror I noticed an 8 in the garage at the bottom of the street (I'm at the top in a cul-de-sac). I haven't seen that many 8's in the northern suburbs, and have only seen 1 other "Stealth". So what are the odds of me moving into a street with not only another 8 but an identical "Stealth".

I was passing the place one day and the 8's boss was admiring him in the garage so I stopped to have a chat....... and to check out the interior, also leather. Decent bloke, but he probably thinks I was taking the **** coz I told him I had an identical 8 but was in the ute at the time and whenever I've passed his place in the 8 I never see him, I only see him when I'm in the piece of $h!t.