On a tour

Success story of the roadside brokers

One would have come across terms like ‘roadside restaurants’, ‘roadside tenements’ and even ‘roadside romeos’ but the emergence of a new class of ‘roadside realty brokers’ is a recent phenomenon. They operate efficiently without tables, office rooms, fans/air-conditioners, posh furniture and so. Some of them sit on their bikes or any vehicle, and some even operate by the ‘roadside’ or from the terrace. Enterprising ones carry a portable stool — one never knows how long the wait for a prospective client will take. The beep of an SMS and they are on their toes for a rendezvous with a customer.
Their sphere of activity is not limited to finding premises for rent; they prefer dealing in property: selling or buying apartments or vacant spaces. Even locating a flat for rent fetches them a commission of a month’s rent from both the tenant and the landlord. It’s a syndicate-type system where a cut of the commission goes to many hands. There are times when brokers charge for scouting for a place, whether one settles for it or not. Delays are not welcome and too many searches are generally not entertained. Such people are gently avoided.
The news about any premises coming up for rent or sale spreads like wild-fire but care is taken that the news is let out only within the syndicate. Real estate brokers operate much like police stations or post offices — they have more or less fixed working areas. Territories are marked and brokers have to work within those limits.
Good ties are maintained with government officers with whom they interact while on the job. This helps in seeing files through and getting necessary certificates issued. Keeping the officer in-charge happy is the secret behind the success of many such brokers. A darker side of this nexus is the use of muscle power as and when required.
They see ups and downs in the business and never share the tricks of the trade or information about their contacts with clients or wags from the media. There are many things esoteric about what they do and how they do to overcome hurdles in their path. In the end, they emerge successful thanks to the reliable contacts they have; for this some even resort to sharp legal minds to pass through the creeks in the law. They see to it that their clients’ worries are eliminated and the property changes hands. To add flair to their approach some master a working knowledge of astrology, Vasthu, etc., in order to offer ready tips to customers, solicited or unsolicited.
Their tribe will definitely increase in number in future, and their tactics will evolve further.
This article appeared in the New Indian Express Mindspace page on September 8, 2012