I sold a $9m Orchard bungalow, but never made another sale again: An ex-property agent shares his story

What would you think of a realtor who, as his very first deal, managed to transact a $9 million bungalow? Impressive right? But this week I spoke about the incident to this very same (former) realtor, who has an odd follow-up: that turned out to be the very first and also very last successful sale he ever managed! This is the story of my friend James (not his real name) and how he managed to sell just one property in his short stint as a property agent: 

It began with a mutual friend moving from Singapore 

Back in 2010, James and I had a mutual acquaintance who was semi-retired, and looking to move. We'll call him M.

M was intending to join his recently married son in the UK. M also preferred the countryside there and was intending to wrap up his business dealings in Singapore. 

M was also divorced, and his other children had their own properties. 

On top of this, M wasn't too enthusiastic about his son's plan to move in together in the UK, as he was used to having his own space. All this pointed to one decision: 

M's bungalow, located close to Ngee Ann City (Takashimaya), would be sold. Selling the property would fund both M's retirement, as well as the cost of moving abroad.

James says that: 

"At the time I used to joke that M's property agent will win the jackpot, and can retire after one sale. So M made a remark that if I like it so much, I should go and be a property agent and sell it for him. 

I said that for such a high commission, sure!  And although I was joking at the time, I really began to think that maybe it's worth the effort, and I could do it."

While he had never been in any sales line, James felt he had a career that required the same skills:

"I had been in hospitality for around 11 years, and I had worked in various hotels as the front-end staff. Where I was at the time, I was one of the youngest managers. But I found the income and hours didn't match, so it was time for a change." 

Although James admits he "wasted a lot of time" before acting, he indeed became a property agent by early 2012. He considers himself lucky:

"M was not urgent about moving, or else by then, the house would have long been sold. He also didn't think I was serious. The whole time when I was dilly-dallying about joining the property line, he used to joke and say that I am the worst agent, wait how many years also, his house will never be sold. 

So he was quite surprised when I finally told him that, hey, now I really can sell his house. And he just told me to go ahead and try then."

A lucky headstart to a property career

James was told by quite a few people that he was very lucky, as most agents would spend years working before being trusted with such a high-value transaction. But it was coupled with yet another burst of good fortune.

James' mother, who worked in the food supply business, had a wealthy client who had just become a Permanent Resident (PR). This made it possible for the client to purchase landed properties, given the right approval. This being early 2012, the property market was roaring to a peak, which would come the next year. 

James describes it as "my stars aligning," as it happened less than a few days after he began marketing the listing. As it turned out, James would never even have to deal with another prospective buyer. 

Within a month, the newly-minted PR viewed the property twice, and decided that they liked it. James says it wasn't sure if they were very relaxed as buyers, or gave him special leeway because of the business relationship with his mother:

"I was nervous about the state of the property. Even though the location was good, the house was from M's father's generation, and was a bit run down. The only work we did was to do a fresh coat of paint and some patching on the roof. But there were issues with the plumbing, and other things common to older landed homes. 

But as it turns out the buyer was more interested in the location. And the buyer even commented that their previous home overseas was also old, so they were not scared of such issues." 

Some brief scares during the transaction 

While James was elated to handle such a transaction as his first, he now admits he was suppressing fear a lot of the time:

"Agents have professional indemnity insurance, but I kept thinking about my relationship with M and my mother. At some point, it sunk in that if I screwed up, it would affect people that I knew personally. 

M was already telling his son he would move, he even found a place there to rent first, and all these things. And as for my mum, if I did a bad job, she would lose an important client as well. Some nights I would wake up at two or three in the morning, and just hope and pray that everything is going right. I checked, double-checked, and triple-checked everything."

The worst scare came a few days after the buyer had given verbal consent to the purchase. All communication with the buyer suddenly ceased, and James was left scrambling to try and contact them for about three days. 

"I don't understand why they would do that to me. Suddenly no answer to my calls, my emails, nothing. I thought they changed their mind, and M was pressing me to find out what was going on. 

And I didn't want to trouble my mother. How can she annoy her own client on my behalf, correct? So I thought I lost the sale, or maybe I said something wrong.

It turns out the client was just busy handling some business affairs, and for some reason, she decided to just ghost me in the meantime. I guess it needed all her concentration or something, but I was really freaking out for three days."

The next scare came from M's bedroom. Just as the buyer was getting ready to close the deal, M called James to say there had been a small fire.

"He suddenly called me at almost midnight, and he said his air-con caught fire. I said how can your air-con catch fire? But the air-con unit really caught fire, and the fire spread downward. But luckily the only thing burned was part of the wardrobe, and some damage to the flooring, and the wall next to the master bathroom. He agreed to have the damage fixed as part of the deal. 

Till today I don't know if it's good luck that the damage was so small, or bad luck that it happened at all."

(Incidentally, air-con units were the most common appliance that caused house fires between 2008 to 2014. We don't know if it still happens today, but now you know to keep an eye on it). 

A moment of glory 

James says he would prefer not to reveal the transaction amount or date, as he could likely be identified from it. However, he says it was a substantial windfall for him, and ensured he was happy and well-fed during "the rest of my short career as a not-very-good agent". 

James is quite frank when he says that, after that one divinely granted head start, he found he was rather poor at his job:

"Over the next 1.5 years, I closed nothing except a few rental transactions. And I also began to realise that I was not well-suited to the job at all. 

Flexible hours are often touted to be a huge job benefit; but flexible hours doesn't mean fewer hours. Also, I found that property agents are at the mercy of too many things. You can spend $1,000 marketing something before the client changes agents. You can show a unit four times to someone and then they suddenly vanish and ghost you. 

You even get blamed for things that are not your fault. One client shouted at me in public, because during a viewing the buyer broke a window latch." 

James also found that, ironically, he was spending less time with his family despite the flexible hours. This was because he tended to meet clients on weekends or after office hours, when his wife and children were home from work or school (and conversely, he would be alone in the house while they were out). 

James also found that, despite all the mentoring and coaching sessions, he didn't have the skills to work a cold market. But at the same time, he had sworn off working with family and close relations. 

"The first sale was because of I knew M, and because my mother had a good relationship with her client. I was just along for the ride. I did the transaction, but it feels like my mum did the work."

James also remembers the tension he felt, at potentially damaging personal relationships by tying them to his business. This meant rejecting warm leads that came from family members and close friends. 

"So after more than one year, I saw what I could truly manage on my own: I got a couple of rental leases signed, and that's it. So I decided to cut my losses, and move on to other things. I had a nice head start, but this car broke down before reaching the finish line." 

From a personal perspective, I would venture that James wasn't as bad a realtor as he imagined. It was also a matter of timing. 2013 was the last peak of the property market, and following relentless cooling measures, the market went downhill for the next few years. And 1.5 years seems a short time in the market, but it feels like a lifetime for someone surviving on commissions. 

Nonetheless, the "hit-and-miss" nature of this business may explain why we constantly have around 30,000+ realtors and the number seldom changes. The churn rate is high, and veteran realtors are scarce. 

James says that, for anyone looking to be a realtor:

"It's not just about being a people-person. You need much more discipline and organisation, especially since you're always left to your own devices. And for those who can't stand the feast-and-famine cycle, you're better off with a more regular employed job." 

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This article was first published in Stackedhomes.