The channel partner or property agents are the backbone of any real estate transaction connecting aspiring home owners with their dreams. Can you imagine the crucial role channel partners play in the property business, given the fact that they are almost indispensable in bringing the buyer and seller together? From generating interest in available properties to ensure that deals are favourable to all stakeholders, channel partners play a crucial role in keeping the real estate industry moving forward. However, being at the epicentre of such crucial dealings comes with its fair share of risks and uncertainties.
As property agents, the middlemen develop a strong understanding of the requirements of their clients and are therefore able to influence the decisions of the end-user. Despite being in this pivotal position, however, they have to often carry out business in the face of challenging negotiations and uncertain payments. The fact is that after all the hard work they put in a property transaction if, for some reason, it falls through, they are not only left without a deal but also without their fee. And even when transactions do go through, often, in the end, the parties negotiate a great deal to downgrade the middleman’s fee, reneging on their initial promises. In other words, so far, the property agents have had to deal with a world of verbal promises and commitments that have carried little value. While agents and channel partners rely on trust and goodwill, we know that these come cheap.
But with escrow coming on the scene, all this is soon becoming a thing of the past. No longer do the property agents have to worry that they may not get their promised fee at the end of a completed transaction but also that any transaction powered by escrows ensure lesser number of defaults and unfulfilled outcoms, thus relieving the property agents of a massive burden on their shoulders.
Is escrow then the brahmastra (a mythological weapon given by Lord Brahma which does not fail) in the hands of channel partners which would annihilate all possibility of defaulted and incomplete transactions?
Indeed, an escrow powered transaction could well be this brahmastra that has descended on earth to root out the evil of false and dubious promises made in property transactions. Escrow is a financial arrangement where a third-party account accepts and holds the payments towards a deal until a designated conditional point beyond which the funds are processed as required.
With a secure payment platform like escrow, not only can the property agents leave behind their worry about payments, but they also feel better equipped to ensure secure and timely transactions for everyone involved. By helping eliminate the possibility of default payments, escrow empowers the property agents to seal the deals with complete financial transparency for all parties. Having the assurance that their goodwill and trust that they built over the years through successful property deals is not hinging on the success of the deal at hand allows them to forge ahead and make their mark.
In a market that runs on major financial decisions and payments, the pressure of carrying out a successful deal increases with the cost of the property; the most crucial role played by the escrow platform is that of replacing transactional insecurities with trust and assurance for everyone involved.
While escrows are mandatory for primary market transactions, the resale market which incidentally contributes to the lion share of the entire real estate market still mostly doesn’t operate through escrows. With digital escrows now available through new age payments and fintech platforms, channel partners can operate with renewed confidence by eliminating the danger of loss of trust and goodwill and their fee. Escrows not only ensure that transactions between parties are more transparent and secure but also protect the brokerage fee, thus empowering channel partners with a potent weapon giving them complete confidence and peace of mind.
