CLIENTS MAKE US STRICT

It  was August 15, 2013. Early that morning the sun had not forgotten to sit in its traditional position.The cloud was bright and full of promises. i set about doing my regular work each day, when i received a call from a client who wanted to rent one of the apartments in our care. The thought of making some money made me to abandon what i was doing and run like a headless chicken to meet the client.

  Two gentle-looking men with a seemingly innocent faces stood unconcernedly and rather with much expectation waiting to see the agent. With my face beaming with smiles i greeted warmly as if i had known them for a century. They responded well, and soon i showed them around the property.

As they were taking a tour, i observed  a worried  expression in their faces. They quickly commented that the toilet space was too small for their liking. I made them to understand that it was not Goliath that was going to use the toilet then warranting a large space. After that we dived into negotiation. Since the apartment they were inspecting was a room and a parlour self-contain, the landlord charged seven thousand naira for the rent and upfront payment of one year to be made. Right there in there presence i called the landlord and persuaded him to accept six months upfront payment. As a veteran in the field i did a pretty good job convincing the landlord.

According to the ethics of my profession, i was to charge 20 percent  commission on the total amount payable. But because my client was a young hardworking man and we were going to be neighbours since the apartment was opposite where i lived, i decided to slash it down to about 10 percent.  Also,  i did not ask him to pay for registration. I negotiated good terms for him and made the landlord promise to fix the broken door and all other necessary maintenance to be carried out.

"To be successful in real estate, you must always and consistently put your clients' best interests first. When you do, your personal needs will be realized beyond your greatest expectations"-Anthony Hit

At the end of the day , the client never expressed appreciation for my extra-mile service and made me feel that i had exploited him. Although he eventually got the apartment, i left feeling unhappy over the way and manner i was treated. This was not my first experience. So i vowed to be strict with clients.

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