|
This has become a mine field and a rather off putting factor when buying a horse. In my research for this article I was told that a commission is due to you when you:
make a phone call
I have been involved in the sale of a horse on behalf of a client of mine when the prospective buyer took 10% off the asking price on behalf of her coach (who didn’t even come to see the horse) because this is their arrangement. In the sale of property the commission goes to the estate agent who sells the house to the new owner. In order to receive that commission the estate agent has met the client either through a show house or a newspaper property advert. Often an estate agent will offer a finder’s fee either for the person who finds the seller, or the buyer of the property. This is at the discretion of the estate agent. I feel that a standard agreement should be set amongst horse owners, buyers and or sellers. A standard 10% commission is due to the person who takes you the buyer to see the horse that you buy. Be they your coach, mentor, or rider. As they have found the horse and taken the time out of their day to go and show it to you. If your coach comes along to advise you then they are not due a commission. IF the person who found the horse chooses to share their commission with your coach, then that’s their choice. This I see, as a coach, as part of your commitment to your client. You should be advising your client to buy the horse that’s best suited to them and not the horse that’s best suited to your bank balance due to the commission attached to that horse. I feel the most important advice for coaches, riders, owners and dealers is to be up front with people. And to be clear with them. A prospective buyer needs to ask up front of everyone involved in the sale of the horse-which is getting commission and what is the commission Likewise a coach who is spending a huge amount of time travelling around the country looking at heaps of horses needs to say that their costs must be covered and weather they expect commission or not. And a seller needs to tell anyone who enquires about their horse weather a 10% commission is included or not. If it’s not included I think it’s very important to remember to state that no more than 10% commission should be added to the price. This is another area where people get greedy and put on 20-40% commission which results in the horse not selling. People then wonder why it’s been on the market for so long and don’t look at it because they presume that there must be something wrong with it. In the mean times it hasn’t sold because someone got greedy! TO recap: Whether you’re a buyer, seller, coach or owner be upfront about whether the commission is included or excluded. State how much you will allow the commission to be (10% being standard) and discuss openly who the commission is going to be paid to. |