A while ago we were featured in an article in the Real Estate Current, but now there is more great news! Eerlijk Bieden founder Lourens was interviewed a few weeks ago by for an article in the Real Estate Advisor about the seal of approval for real estate agents.
The Real Estate Advisor is an opinionated and informative trade magazine of the real estate association VBO for real estate professionals, in short the perfect place to spread the message of Eerlijk Bieden ! The full interview can be read back via this link or read the entire article below.
Why a seal of approval for real estate agents?
How can the sector make the buying process for consumers more transparent and fair? Lourens Pel has a great solution with his quality mark for brokers and software Eerlijk Bieden.
When we speak to Eerlijk Bieden founder Lourens Pel, he has just launched his start-up a few months ago. "The idea arose from a striking column in the Financieel Dagblad, based on a bad experience with a selling real estate agent. Indeed, when selling the home of the columnist in question, the real estate agent had not been transparent about all the bids he had received after the deadline. In fact, the columnist even found out that the selling broker had already made a deal with a broker friend. This was further picked up by several investigative journalists. Soon this was picked up again by other media and further research was done within the real estate industry and industry associations which showed that this lack of transparency is indeed an ever-growing problem. Meanwhile, the housing market has only become more strained and now politicians are also getting involved. The moment they indicated that they see the problem but don't know a solution, I decided to take action."
Pel has worked in brokerage for about eight years, having started as an intern at a brokerage firm while studying Construction Management, stayed there and later made a foray into corporate brokerage. The industry is still in his heart. "Because of my time within brokerage, I know what the process is like. I know what different working methods are used and also where not only the consumer's problem lies, but also the broker's demand. By connecting the two, I found a solution with Eerlijk Bieden . In two weeks, I created a business plan and tested it in my community. I still have many people from the brokerage industry in my network who indicated that they saw something in my plans. Not long after that, I sent out a press release that was received beyond expectations. By the media and also by trade associations such as VBO. That's when I knew: I have to take this further."
Online bid form
Three months have now passed and Eerlijk Bieden is reality. What exactly is Eerlijk Bieden?
Pel: "We have developed software that estate agents can use to make the sales process as fair as possible. For example, we offer estate agents the opportunity to share a simple online bid form with those interested in a particular property. On this form, the consumer can leave all the necessary details and bid for the house in question. The contact details are anonymised, so that for the estate agent all candidates are equal and there is no longer any distinction between private house-hunters and purchase agents. In this way, there is no question of favouritism. After the deadline has passed, no new bids are accepted and both the estate agent and the seller receive an overview of all the candidates from which a buyer can be selected. Only then are the contact details known. Then everyone who has made an offer is notified at the same time, so that it is immediately clear whether your offer has been accepted or not. After the three-day cooling-off period, all bids are also sent to all candidates. By making the whole process transparent, we hope to help the estate agent regain the trust of the consumer."
In doing so, Pel also emphasizes that Eerlijk Bieden is more than software and an online bidding form. "I hope that we build up such a name that we are seen as the hallmark for real estate agents. So that a consumer immediately knows that things are fine when he sees our logo on a real estate agent; that this guarantees an honest sales and buying process. To also ensure that our software is used properly, we have audits of all transactions that go through our system. We then also check once per term whether a transaction is correct with what is listed in the land registry."
A nice middle ground
Estate agents still play an important role in the sales process, he continues. "The estate agent is still considered an important advisor in a complex market. With such an important process, as a consumer you should also feel that you can entrust a realtor with everything. Because of all the media coverage, the question arises all too often now: can I still trust this person? With Eerlijk Bieden, we give estate agents a helping hand in making it clear to everyone that they can be trusted as an independent party. Particularly in this incredibly difficult market with little supply and a lot of demand, as an estate agent you always have two interests: you always want to achieve the best and highest possible result for your client - the seller - but at the same time you also want to provide a good and honest service to house hunters. These two interests can sometimes clash. With Eerlijk Bieden, we have found a good middle course.
The first reactions are positive, although there are also questions, the founder continues. "Brokers or large parties who say, for example, that now is a very good market for sellers and who wonder what the situation will be like when there is a crisis. Simple: not much else, because what we do is nothing more than guaranteeing the consumer that the estate agent is adhering to the industry rules. Of course, these already exist, but apparently they are still being violated. So if you work with our software now and in the future, and thus follow the rules, you have nothing to fear."
Regaining trust
Another common reaction is of course that not all estate agents are the same. "I also certainly believe that it is probably a small percentage that ruin it for the rest. And I would also have preferred that my bid form and software had not been necessary at all. But whether you were already doing your job by the book or not, this can help estate agents regain consumer trust forever."
Fortunately, Pel's good intentions are coming across well: "I have just completed a number of pilots in Haarlem and Amsterdam to test everything thoroughly and we can say that it is catching on both with consumers and with estate agents. A number of local estate agents have even joined in directly and are already sharing this with the rest of the world to show everyone that they support this idea and are also in favour of a transparent and honest sales and purchase process. A great signal."
Still, at first he feared negative reactions. "Also because I know that many estate agents have their own working methods and prefer not to deviate from them. I don't want to impose it on anyone, say that they have to use my software or give them the feeling that I am attacking them because supposedly no one abides by the rules. Fortunately, it is not seen that way. Precisely because most people actually realise that things can no longer go on like this and that the current situation is damaging the image of our industry.
Simple system
As the founder says, complicated systems will not be received with much acclaim. "Because every estate agent has his own working method and matching system, I have chosen to set up the software and the bid form very simply. All in such a way that every estate agent can get to work within a few minutes. It's great that you can keep the momentum going for the consumer, while it remains easy for you. No links to apps or difficult CRM systems. It is set up very simply, so you can set up a bid form within half a minute and start selling immediately. Everything to keep the threshold as low as possible. Real estate agents are busy enough as it is, so you shouldn't have to spend valuable time on this too."
Besides the great advantage that Eerlijk Bieden enables a transparent and fair sales process and can be deployed quickly, it can also help real estate professionals such as appraisers. "Appraisers naturally have to assess homes based on transactions in a neighbourhood. Often the purchase price is now the only info he has. Within our system, an appraiser can see all the submitted bids in order to make a real and thorough valuation for the mortgage lender."
It also has additional advantages for the estate agent himself. "If you have to price homes according to what is happening in the rest of the street, and you can see what all the bids are and not just take the purchase price as the starting point, you get a much more realistic picture. As a selling agent, you can also use all this valuable data to draw up a very accurate profile. For example: how many people are coming to see it and how many bids can I collect? All information that you can take back into account when advising in the sales process."
Finally, there is an additional advantage for the sector organisation. "If there is a matter with the disciplinary committee against a branch member, as an organisation you can always fall back on the sales log that is kept by our system and is accessible to everyone. In this way, you have immediate proof that you have met your obligations. In this way, hopefully there will be hardly any issues left in the end. Now it is noticeable that fewer and fewer cases end up before the disciplinary committee, because it is often very difficult for a consumer to gather evidence."
Political
Politicians have therefore also indicated that a solution must be found in the short term. In July, Pel was invited to the Lower House to talk to the minister, a number of MPs, sector organisations and professors of the housing market. "The funny thing is that the government is mainly saying that they know there is a problem, they don't know what the solution is, while the sector has actually already initiated some solutions. It is now up to us to keep the politicians well informed. I would prefer to see the government play a connecting role between the large associations and the smaller market initiatives. By proactively informing politicians about all these new initiatives, we can hopefully demonstrate together that the sector is a self-regulating institution that solves its own problems."
Level playing field for all
What else is the ideal vision of the future for the founder of Eerlijk Bieden? "In principle, I am in favour of not imposing anything on anyone and of there always being a choice for everyone. If only because it would be difficult, for example, to force all members to work with Eerlijk Bieden from one day to the next. I do hope, of course, that we will grow into a solid component in the brokerage business. With an ISO-like status. That when you see our logo, consumers can be one hundred percent sure: this is the right place for me. I therefore hope that Eerlijk Bieden will be widely supported in the sector. And for now, I am of course extremely happy with every broker who joins and that we have created such a large support base in such a short time."
In this respect, brokers always have an important role to play, Pel concludes. "Although I do see that role changing somewhat. In essence, of course, an estate agent remains an advisor to either the seller or the buyer. Changing industry rules, changes in the housing market and digitalisation affect this. Ultimately, we hope to create a level playing field for all consumers in the Dutch housing market, regardless of the diverging interests of buyers and sellers. I like to compare the housing market to a stock market where everyone can trade shares freely. A market where the rules are the same for everyone. Just like in the stock market, as a consumer you usually want to call in an advisor for the necessary experience and expertise. I still see such a role for estate agents on the housing market. For this, the consumer must regain confidence in the estate agent. I therefore hope in the short term to realise this level playing field together with estate agents.
If you have any questions about this article or the quality mark for estate agents, please contact us!
