rawmeat

Mine was clear cut. The seller agent told my agent unit wasn't available. I called myself and got an appointment. I made an offer below valuation to try luck. The only thing the seller's agent ask was for me paying him commission. period. Got commission got talk, no commission no talk. I said yes, and he came out with the smiling owner and said all set. I later found out that he told the owner the flat in the area all sold around those prices and my offer was a good deal. His neighbour sold at $70k cov a month later.. too bad for him... how i knew, that owner was represented by one of the 3 agents(previously) helping me find a flat, just that we couldn't agree on price. The seller's agent who's serving me, did basically nothing for me... all communications were centered around paying him, period... everything said and promised all became non-existence... only the commission mattered. that's the real estate agent world today. face it live with it. government made it clear they'll do nothing about it other than ask them to get sufficient insurance to boost the insurance industries hit by recent crisis... one stone kill 2 birds...

most importantly, close down those 'shell' middleman agencies that made the real estate industry look as if there are some governance.... whereby, they're simply an avenue to protect agents against educated consumers... on the point that i can insist... well, it's a sad truth today. if the seller's agent is unscrupulous, like me, he would make it very clear that you're not getting the house if you wish to have any neg other than the selling price.... especially for popular estates... just call any ads and ask what's the lowest price the seller is looking for, 90% of the time the agent you give you a ****ty reply asking you to look elsewhere.... if he's friendly, wait till you meet him and 90% of the time, this kind of agent will cheat the seller he represents by selling at low price if you agree to his commission.. end of the day the agent has everything to win... the selling price means few hundred to the agent only... as long as he sells, he's happy, who cares about the price. just yesterday, i received several brochures... one from top agent in singapore (with an article from newspaper), another claims to be top agent (with pictures of the team receiving several prizes) of the estates.... both claimed to be able to sell the house at the best prices.. guess what, the prices that they listed to be the fetching price of my estate was lower than the valuations over the past 1 year... they simply copied from the net, and failed to notice that those units were all 1 to 5 floor and sold below COV.... gosh... like what alvin mentioned, they are indeed true.. hdb used to sell for 60% of the current prices and in those days, 1 or 2% seems ok, and in those days... paperwork were more tedious and information weren't readily available online. Since 5yrs ago, i could walk to HDB counter, get a copy of option to purchase, speak to the counterstaff forever and clarify all your doubts, all for free. Do realise that we've MPs in real estate businesses, they know the tricks better than anyone else, so it's no longer ignorance on the government's part. Agents should charge commission like fengshui masters.... put a price tag on yourself and see if people engage your services, if you're good, people will be willing to pay, if you're not, consumers are not force to pay. That's fair and square. btw, those resources that someone was talking about only available to agents. Well, if it's only available to agents, it means it's not a good resource in today's context as it missed out the general public whom are the buyers. All resources should be available to all, that's called resources.

i paid 1.6k for his services few years ago on my old flat.. he offers a common package that includes life analysis and fengshui. all the ornaments he recommended will be given to you without additional costs. i'll only state facts here. his life analysis was different from master Lin (famous guy who operates from a HDB flat).. i go to master Lin every year for life analysis, and happened that it was just few mths after Tan gave me his analysis. So I got master Lin to relook at my fengshui (everything already completed) again just in case, he said it was fine but added one ornament and charged me a token sum (coffee money) only as he wasn't the main guy... life analysis wise, i'll trust master Lin as my luck totally changed after i started going to him before CNY every year... but i didn't ask for fortune, only for peace and harmony... Master Tan is very good in customer service, as after that if you wish to buy or remove furniture, you can send his company an email and they'll reply accordingly. they'll send you regular updates and calendar which is quite useful (those chinese kind with all the important dates)... He makes you feel safe as he's company setup looks reliable unlike normal fengshui masters who operates from small shophouses and use pencil to draw on your floorplan, master tan's uses CAD software... high tech baby...

I'm not going to list the agency but after a month of asking around people who've bought or sold flats through agents, I realise that several agencies have this in fine print. "Commission due on 1st appointment" well, mine happily ignored all my calls after 1st appointment ($ in the bag already, so why bother right?), so far only heard one nice story where the agent continue to serve after that, and another that allowed the seller to strike off that clause and to pay by 2nd appointment instead. Why are we paying on 1st appointment when the approval only comes 1-2weeks later and the whole transaction only completes by 2nd appointment. What if anything happens and we need assistance. What if the deal didn't go through after that when either parties breaks the agreement and goes to court? Are we paying 2% or 1% just for agents to list on straitstimes that cost $50 each, or online for free and submit paperwork that educated people like us can do easily? And also back to my earlier point on being forced to pay commission when seller's agent cheat the seller by not getting him a best offer but instead give it a buyer who's willing to pay him commission, and tell the seller that's the best offer he can get based on his experience? Can someone shed some light on this?

my initial agent from ERA also was from door-knocking and he was very polite and pro... that was why i invited him into my home to tell him i'm also looking for a flat... guess that's ERA's modus operandi... if he was my agent, i'll pay him the 1% with no complaints....

hmmm.... my nightmare or agent from **** is from the best real estate agent agency as advertised in newspapers and he's not new loh... haiz... suay suay suay.... Guess what, I've 3 agents one from HSR, one from ERA, and one from DWG, all quite responsive to my queries (but I realised they missed a few listing on the newspapers, but i finally understood why when i found my current flat).................. but they'll friendly and knowledgeable so i'm ok, didn't think too much about commission then.... when i found the dream block that i wanted on sale on internet listings, i actually asked them to call for me as I was in Europe, all reverted that it's not available. I called from overseas myself and identified myself as the buyer, and got a viewing appt immediately for the following week when i returned. there, the agent (my current lousy agent not by my choice) made it clear that he wants my commission and did not make flat available to co-broke due to that. he'll only open if no choice... before anything, made me sign the commission form and said its the same as any other commission form... never realised there's a fine print there "due by 1st appointment" which i find ridiculous.. and later, found out that that's non-negotiable? what the **** after that, i realised he knew probably knew nothing about real-estate and unlike my 3 former agents who offered to do calculations, pay for my submissions, explained the procedures even though i only first met them, etc... this guy knew nothing and offered nothing even when i asked for it... worst still, everything he said during the sales (which i wanted to write it down on the option form but he assured not to as he'll take care of it) all turn out to be what i deem lies... after that signatures, everything promised were like a forgotten memory to him. just want to highlight here that a lot of times, we can choose a agent that we're comfortable with to represent us, the buyers. But there are lousy agents out there selling houses who will lower our chances by not co-broking... and forcing buyers to pay them commission if we want to buy the house they're selling... and also because of that, they don't care about the services rendered to you as you've no choice but to pay, otherwise, don't buy... ridiculous. Buying house sometimes is like going to the IR to place a bet.... don't bother about whether the agent have CEHA, or registered with SAEA, I've more personnal experiences to share why those doesn't help and it's still the matter of luck..... morale of the story? if you're a buyer, engage an agent, but also look for the house yourself. If you really like a house sold by an agent who doesn't co-broke, live with the lousy services.... if you're the seller, engage a trustworthy agent from big companies like DWG, ERA, etc... not those small small (even if it's rated as the best in singapore by local newspapers) firms... a big firm has more levels to neg. with before you hit the wall... i hit the wall with mine immediately... there's is nothing, absolutely nothing in Singapore to police this agent's services no matter how bent their professionalism is. Unlike insurance where all agents are properly governed, the policy with housing agent is only to take actions when they clearly break something, and it must be 'clearly' if you know what i mean....

this worries me.... i've a few friends who engaged image. the review was that their quotes were very high, higher than those giving away freebies like chew or meng designs... but quality and coordination was superb that's why they engaged them... when i went expo the other day, i focused all my attention at their showflat. gosh, lucky i haven't sign yet.. i don't mind paying a bit more if they're hassle free, i guess image is not the one then.. i do have a hassle free designer from my past reno, but his carpentry subcontracter is horrible....

i posted after reading the newspaper as i received saea's replies on the same day.... i asked specific questions but were given those generic neutral answers yet again.... i thought i was in luck that my problematic agent was registered with them, too bad..... i just have to keep searching....

i'm quite shock to learn how ungoverned the agents are and how they can get away with their crimes without any punishment as there are no goverance at all.... click a few buttons, get 1% comission from sellers.... if sellers refuse to commit to commission, then house is not available for sale... this had got to stop...

ok lah, there are good agents and bad agents.... i was unlucky to kanna a bad one.... worst still, his company don't respond to my queries and simply just bill me for commission... sent email to saea also no use, the replies were all neutral and political... haiz... what's singapore coming to in housing agents governance... and it had been so many years that somebody said that something would be done... easy money for agents.. zero protection for buyers/sellers i wonder when this would catch up with the insurance industries where there are proper goverance and dispute resolution agencies offering proper advice and help for free at the basic levels...

Should i engage a ID after my 1st appointment or after completion? I would like the renovation to start immediately when i receive the keys. Also, do you normally give the ID your budget for them to design or ask them to propose? I only have a budget of $50k+ but I'm not sure if that's enough for my resale flat for reno and i don't really know how i would like it to be design and would prefer for the ID to propose.... Should I inform the ID of the budget first in that case? Also, is it possible to make the ID commit to all items (including lightings, bathroom accessories,etc...) into the quote... the last time i renovated my parent's home, the cost overrun by 10k due to all these that were not included.

the more i ask the more i find my agent useless... i suspect he's just a part-time agent despite his 'status' in his company.... everything i ask him, he will hesitate... i'll have to ask if he knows or don't know... everytime, he'll throw smoke and pretends that he knows... and insist that i don't know about resale procedures and shouldn't doubt him.... when i call hdb subsequently and get a different picture.. he'll pretend he has never advise me earlier and insist that if i'm buying a house, i should already know all these... or made an effort to read up... i makes me wonder why am i paying 1% commission for the agent to just do paper work for me? I can easily do it myself.. I always thought agent will give me a piece of mind, englightening me on all the procedures so that i don't have to waste time reading, settle all paperwork for me and just giving me the exact date to show up and exact stuff to bring.... it's all not happening for my agent.. I got to call HDB to ask so many things and I'm impressed by HDB's hotline, they could provide all answers and even advice you on how to carry out everything.. really regreted, but looking back, i don't have a choice either as singapore as no rules?? governing these agent? if we don't pay them commission or sign on the commission form, they can always play punk and say seller don't want to sell without the sellers knowing.... similar to agents who refuse to co-broke. feel like quitting my job now and be a property agent.... advertise for people, get commission, do paper work for people, get commission... and i just need to close 1 deal every 2 mths to match my current pay...

I found a good one... finally. Not about to promote him here but if you want his number, PM me. Name is Master Lin.... civil servants would know him well... everyone i asked engaged his services previously... recommended by my colleagues... as advised, i went for my life analysis with him to be convinced and he was spot on.... and gave free advice for my current's flat's fengshui which was spot on as well (based on past analysis by the famous Master Tan)..... that cost me less than $50. anyway, i've engaged him for my new flat's fengshui... charges are $188 for floorplan analysis, if u didn't follow his recommendation strictly, he will come down and advise on remedies but i don't know the cost of that yet..... i'll post again when that happens.....

will keep you guys updated.... i'm not sure if i'm allowed to post the names of agent here? can meh?

as mentioned, i've been dumb earlier i also signed the commission form as he assured me in everything i asked from him.... the walls will cost a bomb even though it's lesser than exercising my option. i don't think case can do anything without proof... i've dealt successfully with case on several occasions and those were with documented proof. it seems for this, everything is in the agent's favour. there were 3 agents when i viewed.... 2 agents claimed to be representing the owner while one said he'll represent me solely and asked me to sign the comms form before i can proceed.. very confusing also... but all from the same established property firm. i guess i've been successfully conned and all options is a losing one for me... which one for be the least damaging one?"? renovation and pay the few thousand additional myself?

Recently confirmed the purchase of my resale flat. I've viewed it and based on the floor plans, the current owner did a lot of modifications - 1rm less after hacking down the walls/doors, larger master bedroom, expanded bathroom, etc... I love the location and told the agent that if the flat was sold as the original floorplan (i have the floorplan as my relative stay a few storey above), i'll definitely buy. And I personally showed him which walls were affected, etc... the agent told me that everything will be based on floorplan when i take over and assured me that under HDB ruling, the owner will have to renovate the flat back to the floorplan configuration before selling. with that i decided to buy and asked for that to be included inside the OTP form when exercising but agent assured me that that wasn't required as owner has to do it and the agent himself will ensure that will happen. when accepting the OTP, I asked if the owner is aware of that and the agent reassured me again and told me he'll ask me along when hdb's inspector comes knocking. lord and behold, after inspection, the modifcations were all approved by hdb previously and the owner does not need to do anything. the agent acted ignorant and claim that he misunderstood me as saying i wanted all illegal modification to be corrected. he said that this clause was already stated in the OTP that's why he didn't include it. I repeated word for word what he told me before I signed the OTP but he claimed that he did not make those statement.... and he i want floorplan conditions, i'll have to ask my contractor to do it. I already paid $5000 to accept the option (again the agent did not tell me i don't have to pay the entire $5000 and simply told me the cost to exercise was $1000 and accept is another $4000). I've been dumb and did not check the procedures before committing. What can I do now? What options to I have? giving up the $5000 may incurr more loss (and I'm not sure if i've to compensate the owner anything) than having to pay my contractor to modify the flat's configuration. But I feel cheat if I pay my contractor myself.