Comparing Tokyo agent proposals: lower fee or fuller service?

[bikesAndFlag]

I have now put the Tokyo proposals side by side, which has raised a different question: are the firms actually offering comparable services? This is for an apartment expected to sell at around ¥220,300,000. The lowest-priced proposal leaves several tasks outside the fee, while the most expensive one promises professional images, financial screening of buyers, negotiation support and help through completion.

I would like measurable ways to compare them rather than assuming the fuller package is better. For example, who plans and approves the photography, who responds to enquiries after the listing presentation, and what happens if an agreed sale falls through? I am also checking recent comparable transactions, response targets, offer reporting and any conflicts involving buyers. Experiences of how Tokyo agents handled the file after winning the instruction would be helpful.

 

[FinnDale]

Ask each firm to put the fee basis and exclusions into one written breakdown, then price any optional work separately. Also request the name and role of the day-to-day contact, expected reply time, holiday cover, and who attends negotiations and closing. For comparables, ask why each apartment is genuinely comparable, not merely nearby. A polished pitch matters less if the file is handed to an unnamed team.

 

[kit_escrow]

One missing fact is whether the proposals define photography in the same way. Does it include planning, editing, floor-plan material and replacement images if the first set is weak, or just a short visit? I’d also ask what “buyer qualification” actually means in each proposal and at what point it happens. Otherwise identical phrases can conceal very different amounts of work.

 

[anika.dean]

I would not put too much weight on a promised response-time number. It is easy to promise quick acknowledgements; the useful answer may still take longer. Test the working arrangement instead: send every agent the same awkward scenario, such as two offers with different conditions, and ask who analyses them, who contacts you, how conflicts are disclosed, and how the recommendation is recorded.

 

[anika.dean]

Also separate preventing a failed transaction from dealing with one after it happens. Ask what the agent does when a buyer hesitates, misses an agreed step or tries to reopen negotiations, and which of those tasks are included. Their historical fall-through figure may lack context, but their explanation of a specific process should show whether support continues beyond simply forwarding messages.

 

[sam_tools]

I’d compare likely net proceeds under a few sale outcomes rather than treating the lowest fee as the automatic winner. Put fee, paid extras, scope and named contact in adjacent columns. Then ask for a sample weekly update and a step-by-step offer process, with personal details removed. If the fuller proposal cannot explain who does each task and when, its long service list is not worth much; if the cheaper one leaves you coordinating several critical stages, that saving may be misleading.