TALES OF THE "AHENTE"

While the obvious solution to Tuesday's post is to avoid working with ahentes, the truth of the matter is not a lot of licensed and adept brokers practice in provincial areas. Moreover, the likely buyers of raw land are people who are from the area or who already own properties in the same area.

So how does one handle these ahentes?

Let’s dissect the problems mentioned in the story.

1. Ahentes want to “help” market the property

As I’ve mentioned, these ahentes will likely have connections to the likely buyer because they're from the area.

To control them, treat them as referrers, not brokers. Set aside a budget from the sale proceeds as their referral fee. Have them sign an agreement that delineates the conditions for the referral fee. Moreover, ask for their IDs.

All they have to do is to introduce their buyers to your broker of choice. They should NOT join showings or negotiations because they tend to say anything to help close the deal (i.e., lie).

I’m expecting many of these ahentes will be turned off by the requirements and not get the full commission. At the very least, you’ll be left with the serious ones. If all they have to do is introduce, who would say no to free money?

2. Buyer and Seller Meeting

The seller and the buyer should not meet until they have a signed offer letter that is acceptable to both parties. Ideally, the seller should provide the template for the offer letter to ensure its completion.

3. Annotation on Title

Whoever had the affidavit of loss annotated on the title had a copy of the title, seller’s ID, and signature.

Practice extreme caution whenever providing copies of the title. You could put a watermark on the document with the name of the person you’re providing it to, which would serve as a deterrent to sharing the document. All the transaction details should be kept confidential–most especially from the ahentes. You want to involve as little people as possible.

This is just my take on how to solve the problem. Good luck!