Disappointment With Era

[blue_skies 3]

Just to share this is what happened to my husband and I. We wanted to rent our condo. Placed an advert for it, was approached by ERA who said they had a prospective tenant on hand. This was a local Singaporean with a family. I asked ERA if they had checked the background of the tenant, they said YES, already checked and even told me that the tenant ran his own business etc.

Tenant wanted to rent for two years and paid one month's deposit by cheque as goodwill gesture. We then signed all the papers with ERA. A few days later, he paid the remaining requierd amount by cheque and moved into the house.

Turns out the tenant's cheques never cleared. Kept chasing him to check but every time it bounced. By then I had already paid ERA their one month commission (for 2 yrs rental)

2 weeks after the tenant moved in, none of his cheques had cleared. Suspected something was very wrong. Contacted my lawyers who did a detailed background check and found that this tenant has court writs and summons against him!

Told ERA that the tenant they found me couldn't pay a single cent and I requested for them to refund part of my commission. Fat hopes. I wrote them a formal letter explaining that they did not do their due diligence and they replied to me re-stating everything I had in reported speech and said that "... our associate had dispensed their full obligations to you and had also assisted in mediating with both parties to attempt resolving the said matter".

This was the reply I received from their Customer Services representative.

In the end, I had to get my lawyers to write a letter to force the tenant to vacate my place.

In the process, I lost almost 12k altogether - 1k in lawyers fees, 5k in rental and 5k in commission to ERA, plus another 1k to do up my place again coz that tenant was so dirty and unkempt that no cleaning at all was done for 1 mth and my walls had dirt marks on them.

Lesson learnt:

1. If you are renting out your house, do a detailed background check on the tenant using your own lawyers. DO NOT trust what the housing agent says.

2. Wait for cheques to clear before allowing tenant to move in.

3. Do not pay housing agent their commission until you received tenant's money. You are not obliged to pay them immediately upon signing of the documents. Let them send you the official invoice from the office before you pay them.

4. I will never let another ERA agent handle my transactions.

Edited December 12, 2008 by blue_skies

[Yang Guo 7]

is there anyone that u can escalate to? i believe that if u fight this case, u will win

To give ERA $5k, means that the transaction is completed and they receive the $5k.

Now, the cheque is not cleared and this whole transaction is incomplete, how can they collect your $5k?

Edited December 12, 2008 by Yang Guo

[blue_skies 3]

Have written in to Institute of Estate Agents (Singapore) to highlight this matter to them but do not know whether they will be proactive to do something about it or just ignore my complaint.

Anyway might be tough for me to get back my money because contractually, there is nothing in the option to rent form that we sign with the agent & tenant that protects the house owners against this sort of tenant.

Bottom line: Must be very careful with tenants. Never know who is a bad paymaster because looks can be very deceiving.

[papbestdad 0]

Have written in to Institute of Estate Agents (Singapore) to highlight this matter to them but do not know whether they will be proactive to do something about it or just ignore my complaint.

Anyway might be tough for me to get back my money because contractually, there is nothing in the option to rent form that we sign with the agent & tenant that protects the house owners against this sort of tenant.

Bottom line: Must be very careful with tenants. Never know who is a bad paymaster because looks can be very deceiving.

You should ask your lawyer to make the tenant pay for your losses in agent commission.

Anyway, which agent will spend money to do a legal search on any prospective tenant?

What if a very-on agent do a search and paid for it using his own money and the landlord don't like the tenant face? Is the landlord going to compensate the agent?

The person who is going out of his way trying to cheat you is basically just the tenant.

When something goes wrong, the easier way to point the finger is towards the agent direction, don't you think? ( I wouldn't be surprise if landlord is also asking another 5k compensation from ERA because there is loss of rental income for one month)

[Cloudy 0]

I also had lots of issues with ERA Agent when I purchased my house.

My agent was definitely biased and I would say unethical. You can read all about him.

When complained to ERA, they onlygive SOP answer saying blah blah blah and that I still have to pay the commission.

When I questioned them time and time again if what the agent did met ERA's standards and that if ERA stood by the agent's actions, no reply at all...just ignore and ignore and ignore..

finally gave up on ERA decided just pay the comm and let the matter pass.

[zirhk3355 1]

On the paper, the agent seemed to have performed his full spectrum of service - find you a tenant, do the paperwork and concluded the deal. Like what ERA had said, the agent also came back to mediate the case for you.

Agent's due diligence for rental cases does not include bankruptcy checks, only immigration checks. This is because the landlord would have supposedly protected by the security deposit so it does not matter if the tenant is a bankrupt or has outstanding debts.

On hindsight, if the agent tells you that the tenant is ok and he has done his checks, the landlord should have requested for documented proof. Just like buying things, its caveat emptor; if you trust what the salesman tells you, its your own demise. Also, It is not the agent's duty to ensure that the cheques are cleared; how on earth can he know that?? Someone who has good credit standing can also have bounced cheques as long as he is out to cheat.

In the rental industry, be it residential or commercial or industrial, no landlord would allow the tenant to move in until all the documents are signed and the cheques are cleared.

Now, I am appalled that you had collected the 1 month's goodfaith deposit for a few days before move-in date, but you did not bank it in; why? The 1 month's goodfaith is yours to keep in the event that the deal fails thru due to the tenant's fault. And why did it take you 2 weeks' to realise that all the cheques are not cleared? Im sorry to say it seems to me that it was you who did not do due diligence to protect your own interests.

An agent would not tell you to wait for the cheques to clear before letting the tenant move in, simply because he wants his commission.

Lastly, if you had used the standard tenancy agreement, there is a standard clause for the landlord to re-enter and terminate the lease in the event of non-payments. You do not need to engage lawyers at all; as long as you had provided enough written notices to the tenant, just cut the tenant's lock, re-enter and lock it up with your own padlock (of course go with a witness to prevent loss allegation and ensure nobody inside the house before you lock-up!). If my memory did not fail me, the standard clause also provides you with the right to detain the tenant's belongings until he pays up his rental, otherwise you can auction them off to recover your debts.

[Stagger 0]

Yes I really agree that nowadays those housing agents are unethical. Is it because it is so market competitive that they resort into seeing $$$ only instead of looking into the consumer's actual need? They don't even bother to advise us on the forseeable implication. Basically, they just want to close the deal asap and get their cheque deposited into their bank.

Few months ago, I was thinking of upgrading and since my cousin is working in PropNex as a housing agent, I thought why not I support her by giving her the job to sell my house and get me a new one. I called her up, arranged for a meeting. Since she's new in this line, her manager actually tagged along. When we met, I was asked by the manager (Mr. C) of hers to sign an exclusive. I told him NO straight on his face. Since I'm asking my own cousin to help me on the housing matter, I will definitely not involved other agents. So, few weeks or months down the road, my cousin managed to find me a flat. I signed the OTP and was advised by her how I should go abt, getting the bank loan and whatever process that is needed. After exercising the OTP, my cousin called me to say that her manager has submitted my application as his own deal and therefore, she will not get any commission. I asked her how could that be, she said that because I didn't sign the exclusive, it means that my transaction is opened for any agents. I wanted to make complaints to the mgt but she told me that's no use. I told her that the seller's agent (also from PN) was contacted by her and he should recognise that she is actually the buyer's agent and not Mr. C. She told me that both Mr C and the seller's agent, who is a director are friends and that they actually collaborated and processed the transaction without her knowledge. On the other side, I have always thought that Mr. C and my cousin belongs to the same team and I wasn't suspicious at all when I sign the documents with Mr. C.

Even agents are scheming against agents and worst still, the manager who is supposed to help their associates achieve target, con them off their commission. So how could you trust them? At the end of the day, they still get their commission after completing their surface services leaving those unsurfaced problem to their buyer/seller.

[Misc100 2]

In the process, I lost almost 12k altogether - 1k in lawyers fees, 5k in rental and 5k in commission to ERA, plus another 1k to do up my place again coz that tenant was so dirty and unkempt that no cleaning at all was done for 1 mth and my walls had dirt marks on them.

I think you should go and claim back your 12k from ERA.

[blue_skies 3]

Just to update:

After writing in to Institue of Estate Agents in Dec 08 to find out what could be done about my situation, they replied saying that they couldn't do anything because the housing agents involved were not IEA registered. However they advised that the housing agents here were at fault and that I should try going to Small Claims Tribunal.

So filled in all the necessary forms required for Small Claims. I just claimed the full commission paid to ERA ($5k). My claim was accepted, told to turn up for appt in court at end Feb.

I just received a phonecall from ERA saying that they want to meet this week to refund me what I am claiming and ask me to withdraw the claim made to Small Claims Tribunal.

So all's not lost. At least I'm going to get back $5k. Phew.

[Stagger 0]

Just to update:

After writing in to Institue of Estate Agents in Dec 08 to find out what could be done about my situation, they replied saying that they couldn't do anything because the housing agents involved were not IEA registered. However they advised that the housing agents here were at fault and that I should try going to Small Claims Tribunal.

So filled in all the necessary forms required for Small Claims. I just claimed the full commission paid to ERA ($5k). My claim was accepted, told to turn up for appt in court at end Feb.

I just received a phonecall from ERA saying that they want to meet this week to refund me what I am claiming and ask me to withdraw the claim made to Small Claims Tribunal.

So all's not lost. At least I'm going to get back $5k. Phew.

wow at least we know that Small Claims is doing their job to protect consumers' interest! Congrats, finally an end to all the inconvenience that had caused to you!

[vampree 0]

Really disgusted with ERA's tactics ... if blue_skies has not resorted to going to Small Claims, they would have ignored and bullied blue_skies and many others in the same predicament.

By going through Small Claims will mean they have another 'black mark' against them and 'wisely' agreed to settle out-of-court.

Many of these companies would dare the consumer to goto court believing 9 out of 10 would back-out.

I almost went the same path (ie) Small Claims over a car purchase ... in the end, the dealer agree to sort things out between us.

That is why in big $$$ purchase/transaction, always make sure T&Cs are well noted and all uncertainties captured in black and white ... all verbal agreements count for nothing unless you have creditable witness or manage to record them down ... if u need to a nag and err on the cautious side, do so.

yes, you might lose that house or that tenant or that car ... but would u rather spend weeks and months going back and forth worrying, losing your temper, spoiling your days/nights and making countless trips to courts to sort things out ?

[Stagger 0]

Just wonder what will happen to ERA if blue_skies insist on the court settlement. Can blue_skies claim more? As in the amount of stress he or she has gone through and the precious time wasted to get the matter resolved.

[therat 18]

wow at least we know that Small Claims is doing their job to protect consumers' interest! Congrats, finally an end to all the inconvenience that had caused to you!

ERA just don't want to further "blacken" their name especially after the flipping case.

Go into small claims will be recorded.

[vampree 0]

Just wonder what will happen to ERA if blue_skies insist on the court settlement. Can blue_skies claim more? As in the amount of stress he or she has gone through and the precious time wasted to get the matter resolved.

If I remember correctly,

(a) amt < $10K, then can goto Small Claims ..

(b) trying to claim excessively, this will work against you .. as part of the Small Claims process, you must show that you are willing to compromise and have made all attempts to settle out of court with the other party

[Stagger 0]

If I remember correctly,

(a) amt < $10K, then can goto Small Claims ..

(b) trying to claim excessively, this will work against you .. as part of the Small Claims process, you must show that you are willing to compromise and have made all attempts to settle out of court with the other party

I see, thanks for the info. So unless ERA is not willing to pay the claimed amount and offer something much lesser. Otherwise, it would be best to settle it out of court.