Real life consulting incident from ACRE® Ron Stuart

1. Ignore it as not worthwhile? 
2. Engage him and try to turn it into a sale by convincing him he should consider other properties as well (which offer a co-broke, of course)?
   
3. Slow dance him until the seller listed the property, thus ensuring a co-broke?
   
4. Try to convince him he needs a buyer's agent's services and should pay a percentage of the purchase price for that privilege?
   
5. Swallow your resentment at working for nothing and just freely give him the information he wants in exchange for goodwill and, hopefully, future business?

Here's what happened. Peter accepted an invitation to my office for a chat. I found out he had just graduated Dalhousie Medical School and was about to begin a residency program. Already pre-qualified for mortgage financing, he was pre-sold on consulting with an ACRE® after visiting my web site. He felt comfortable realizing I wasn't out to sell him anything.

After explaining and suggesting certain services from which he might benefit, he readily engaged me at my hourly rate to advise him on fair market value. When he learned that the price he was preparing to pay privately was several thousand dollars above fair market value, he said my fee was the best bargain he ever made and the money thus saved would more than fund engaging me to complete the transaction. This was quick and easy because I just happened to know the neighbourhood as well as I know my own back yard.

He did just that, engaging me to visit the property, prepare the offer, present it to the owner and negotiate an agreement, guide him through due diligence, hold his deposit money in trust, and troubleshoot the deal through to closing.

He promptly paid me for every minute of my work, amounting to slightly under $1,000 dollars and was happy to have saved approximately $3,000 to $4,000 on the price of his purchase.

Consulting is wicked cool!