Need Help! Direct Buyer With No Agent Need To Pay 1% Commission To Seller's Agent?

[born_again 0]

HI

I also sell my own house... did advert n etc myself... (even go to neighbouring flats to drop flyers...)

end up, i also sold my house via property agent, it was an open listing. she was asking for 2% but i didn't agree as i told her i did advertising myself

in the end, i told her if she could sell for me at a certain agreed price, i will give her 1% comm..

she did and i paid her 1% comm...

me too. I did my own advert to sell my 4room flat and had to put up with all sorts of agents. Some made appointment to view my place with 'their' buyers but turned out to be INVISIBLE 'buyers' as the agent merely wanted to get me to sign exclusive with them. Whatever they said, i'll shoot them down with a NO NO NO. In the end, i sold my flat to an agent with her buyer and nego for an acceptable comms (less than 1%) due to negative sales.

But, we ended up paying 1% towards our buying of the next flat as we contacted the seller's agent who advert the unit in our targeted block. It was the only unit selling so in the end we settled for that flat. It was not a pleasant experience as the seller's agent sided the seller all the way eg. 90days OTP as seller need time to source for a place, had to extend the stay after 2nd appt and not paying a single cent for goodwill rental, etc. We had no experience and was just to eager to pay deposits to the seller and the stupid agent only dropped the bombshell on all the conditions after we signed the necessary. In the end, it was the seller's daughter who spoke up for us as a mutual party and told her mum that its only right to pay the rental if they are going to move out later.

for my next flat, i also tried to sell it on my own and again all sorts of nasty agents came along the way. In the end, a friend helped us to close the deal and we paid less than 1% for the selling.

for buying of current flat, we got smarter but time wasnt on our side so we contacted an agent to view his seller's unit at one of the blocks that we zoomed in. Ding dong here and there and in the end, we decided to get the unit. We nego for an acceptable comms and we paid slightly less than 1% for the buying.

Moral of the story = its better to get your own agent for your buying and dont get smoked by the seller's agent.

[Mr Anything 0]

Moral of the story = its better to get your own agent for your buying and dont get smoked by the seller's agent.

Actually i got a different opinon.

Instead of looking for a agent to help me (a buyer) source for a flat, i source for a flat myself and dealed with the seller's agent and also paying the seller's agent.

My reasoning being, some sellers agents do not want to co-broke with your (buyer) agent. Means they dun want to sell to u if you have an agent. This happens when the sellers agent is confident of selling the flat and wants to earns both sides.

This is especially true for "hot property" flats such as those high floors, good view etc etc. They will normally (i think) co-broke for flats that are harder to sell (low floors etc etc).

End up, buyer's agent sometimes cannot get very good flats. They end up getting all the low floors or beside a main road type of flats.

Hence i look for flats and deal with the sellers agent and also give him commission. Most of the time sellers dunno what their agent is doing. Seller's agent will tend to accept a lower price and earn both buyer and seller commission rather than accept a higher price but having to co-broke with buyer's agent. The seller's agent will probably put his personal gain on top of the seller.

Of course this happens only when the property market is hot.

[seashell 0]

me too. I did my own advert to sell my 4room flat and had to put up with all sorts of agents. Some made appointment to view my place with 'their' buyers but turned out to be INVISIBLE 'buyers' as the agent merely wanted to get me to sign exclusive with them. Whatever they said, i'll shoot them down with a NO NO NO. In the end, i sold my flat to an agent with her buyer and nego for an acceptable comms (less than 1%) due to negative sales.

But, we ended up paying 1% towards our buying of the next flat as we contacted the seller's agent who advert the unit in our targeted block. It was the only unit selling so in the end we settled for that flat. It was not a pleasant experience as the seller's agent sided the seller all the way eg. 90days OTP as seller need time to source for a place, had to extend the stay after 2nd appt and not paying a single cent for goodwill rental, etc. We had no experience and was just to eager to pay deposits to the seller and the stupid agent only dropped the bombshell on all the conditions after we signed the necessary. In the end, it was the seller's daughter who spoke up for us as a mutual party and told her mum that its only right to pay the rental if they are going to move out later.

for my next flat, i also tried to sell it on my own and again all sorts of nasty agents came along the way. In the end, a friend helped us to close the deal and we paid less than 1% for the selling.

for buying of current flat, we got smarter but time wasnt on our side so we contacted an agent to view his seller's unit at one of the blocks that we zoomed in. Ding dong here and there and in the end, we decided to get the unit. We nego for an acceptable comms and we paid slightly less than 1% for the buying.

Moral of the story = its better to get your own agent for your buying and dont get smoked by the seller's agent.

Actually i got a different opinon.

Instead of looking for a agent to help me (a buyer) source for a flat, i source for a flat myself and dealed with the seller's agent and also paying the seller's agent.

My reasoning being, some sellers agents do not want to co-broke with your (buyer) agent. Means they dun want to sell to u if you have an agent. This happens when the sellers agent is confident of selling the flat and wants to earns both sides.

This is especially true for "hot property" flats such as those high floors, good view etc etc. They will normally (i think) co-broke for flats that are harder to sell (low floors etc etc).

End up, buyer's agent sometimes cannot get very good flats. They end up getting all the low floors or beside a main road type of flats.

Hence i look for flats and deal with the sellers agent and also give him commission. Most of the time sellers dunno what their agent is doing. Seller's agent will tend to accept a lower price and earn both buyer and seller commission rather than accept a higher price but having to co-broke with buyer's agent. The seller's agent will probably put his personal gain on top of the seller.

Of course this happens only when the property market is hot.

actually both have got the right point..

becus i sell n buy myself, alot of things, mostly the agent will side their clients

for my case, even tou i paid them commission, but when comes to disagreements or arrangements of dates n etc, they will side their clients..

so i can understand why born_again have that moral in mind..

it is also true that, like mr anything said, when u buy, if u source for a direct agent to buy, direct agent always prefer to deal direct buyers than to do co-broke.

[zozo 0]

sigh .... we just paid 1% commission to seller agent .... he also got commission from bank as he referred us (that could be 0.5% of loan amount ) and interest rate is higher!! sad thing is he never gave us any backup ... always gave extra effort to seller to have good bargain. we had to pay COV and let the seller stay for extra 3 month !! the house is not fully renovated, no kitchen cabinet, kitchen and bathrooms are in original condition. above all we have to live in a rental unit for another 3 months (

[Michael_CHW 0]

I have been sourcing for a flat for myself for about 3 months to-date.

And this is done on my own efforts.

All seller agents would tell me the same thing, that it is a "standard" that buyers will still need to pay 1% comm to the agent, either his own Buyer's Agent(B-A) or the seller's agent(S-A).

Some argued that, by paying the S-A the comm, the S-A would be likely to help u close the deal, as compared to another potential buyer who offers a higher price but has a B-A to co-broke with.

I find this is cow dung.

I just feel that, it is the Property Agents (not all, but majority) who is manipulating the market.

Simply because they (not all, but majority) would want to collect extra comm whenever possible.

If all buyers who source for their own flats for viewing, all united and tell the S-A to go marina and fly kite, would it still be possible for S-As to ask for comm in such cases?

I might not be updated but, why is IEA or SAEAnot coming out with any guidelines like, if the agent help you to find the flat, you should pay comm (generally 1% for buyers); and if the agent merely help you to do up the documents, then the "service fee" should be around...$xxx?

In this way, it will be clear and no dispute for all parties.

I tried calling HDB to clarify, but again it proved my impression about HDB....they simply push things away, especially when this is not within their "job scope".

I do agree HDB is not the governing body to regulate such issues, but I am sure they would have received countless enquiries of the same. Yet they can't even provide a reference for the general public to check. I simply gave up on them.

I am still looking for a flat on my own, and I will only pay the agent if he/she was the one who found the flat for me.

If I am the one who sourced and arranged for viewing of the flat, then I will be the one receiving my comm.

By the way...anyone looking at selling his/her 3-room flat in Bt Merah area?

Can PM me and wel nego on our own. Then we don't have to pay any agents buyer's comm or seller's comm.

hahaha...

[jamora 0]

Hi Forummers,

This is my first time posting.Just wana share my experience

We source out a few units on our own. All the seller's agent will say have to pay standard commission 1%.

Then finally we found one so called can negetioate..the one frm Pro***. after much negotiation, iwhich i asked for 0.5% finally he agreed for 0.75% provided we let him use other company name(so called his mom's company). So we signed the form blankly..he said he will key in the rest. We trust him.

Then 1st appt came, another lady came so called represent us to HDB officer as our agent. As HDB rules, the agent cant take both frm commission seller n buyers. But that we dont really care. Then finally came the 2nd appt, he showed us the form we signed which was photocopied. and its shows 0.8%! So dumbfounded- what to do.. have to pay 0.8%. The mistake : We didnt ask for another form to indicate how much the percentage we paying him No doubt, its only 0.05% diffrence, we really feel he is cheating us. But what can we do and wah la.. the cheque written to his name (not other company). So, he got both party commission. and till now, we are still waiting for an official reciept frm him for a month liao

So for those buying without agent, pls dont sign any blank form. Dont believe when they say, will fax or mail the form. Nomrally, they will say they only have with 1 form leftif posible, have double copy for u n one for the agent. At least there is some proof documention.

[Plastic3 0]

Hi All,

This is my first time posting here, I am an Agent.

Regarding the 2% commission for Sellers Agent & 1% to Buyers Agent, it is the guideline IEA give to Agents.

Is the commission negotiable? Yes & No.

What I would say is if you feel your Agent has done a good job pay him the 2% commission...like many of you have mentioned Agents also need to eat, Agents of the big four Dennis Wee Group, ERA, Propnex & HSR do not take all the commission we have to split with the Agency, Agents also need to pay for advertising in Papers & on the Internet, brochures, roadshows, car petrol....etc

I have heard of smaller Agencies giving Agents 100% of the commission to entice Agents to join them, but these smaller Agencies do not provide adequate training to the Agents.

If you feel that your Agent didn't do a good job negotiate a lower rate, especially if the Agent did something wrong behind your back complain to the Agency, have that Agent dealt with...so others will not have to endure nonsense behavior from unethical Agents.

As for the 1% commission paid to the Sellers Agent from buyer, I feel it is not right as well as there is a conflict of interest, but this has been in practice for a long time and is the standard that all Agents follow there is no quick way of changing it. For Buyers either negotiate a lower commission with the Sellers Agent or find yourself an Agent to help you source for your property...an Agent will definitely be able to find more listings than if you search for it yourself because of our contacts and network..

With the upcoming regulation on Real Estate Agents, i believe more rouge Agents will be weeded out and the standard of service will improve.

Edited May 5, 2010 by Plastic3

[Phantom 1]

Hi All,

This is my first time posting here, I am an Agent.

Regarding the 2% commission for Sellers Agent & 1% to Buyers Agent, it is the guideline Real Estate Agencies give to Agents, Agencies tend to urge Agents to uphold the guideline by providing service that would compel the clients to pay it.

Is the commission negotiable? Yes it is, hope this clears the confusion.

What I would say is if you feel your Agent has done a good job pay him the 2% commission...like many of you have mentioned Agents also need to eat, Agents of the big four Dennis Wee Group, ERA, Propnex & HSR do not take all the commission we have to split with the Agency, Agents also need to pay for advertising in Papers & on the Internet, brochures, roadshows, car petrol....etc

I have heard of smaller Agencies giving Agents 100% of the commission to entice Agents to join them, but these smaller Agencies do not provide adequate training to the Agents.

If you feel that your Agent didn't do a good job negotiate a lower rate, especially if the Agent did something wrong behind your back complain to the Agency, have that Agent dealt with...so others will not have to endure nonsense behavior from unethical Agents.

As for the 1% commission paid to the Sellers Agent from buyer, I feel it is not right as well as there is a conflict of interest, but this has been in practice for a long time and is the standard that all Agents follow there is no quick way of changing it. For Buyers either negotiate a lower commission with the Sellers Agent or find yourself an Agent to help you source for your property...an Agent will definitely be able to find more listings than if you search for it yourself because of our contacts and network..

With the upcoming regulation on Real Estate Agents, i believe more rouge Agents will be weeded out and the standard of service will improve.

It's a guideline. Not cast in stone.

Agents don't advertise 1k or 2k for a HDB average cost around 400k. and 1% from seller is already 4k, 2% is 8k .. another 1% from buyer makes that 12k in total. Averagely, the marketing of a property can cost an agent between 180 to 350 in terms of petrol cost and newspaper advertising, unless the seller is difficult and puts a ridiculous price, resulting in ads every week for months... In a market like today, the cost of marketing is much lower, 1 or 2 day ad in classifieds you can get many calls in the days and weeks that follow..

Getting the leads of sellers is the highest cost of marketing. This can easily range into thousands as agents drop flyers at least twice a month in the same area for a couple of months.. other agents use techniques like false ads to get leads of buyers..

Agent's that are promoted typically share 90/10 with agency. so it's still alot of money on the average for 1 HDB sale.

Only newbie agents share 70/30 for the first 10k of commission depending on agency, thats just a rough guide..

1% paid to seller agent is a de-facto practice for a long time, one can choose not to pay and many times agent block the offer. Let's face it.

I will pay the seller agent tier commission for my next flat, if he represent the seller as sole agent.

if COV 15,000 and below : I pay 1% + let them refer my mortgage loan

if COV between 15,001 - 20,000 : I pay 0.85% only

if COV between 20,001 - 25,000 : I pay 0.75% only

if COV between 25,001 - 30,000 : I pay 0.5% only

Spoke to 2 agent and they quite keen to represent me to their seller. waiting for valuation reports. Performance base tiering makes more sense in current market to ensure seller agent works for u. Direct buyer don't want to pay agent fee? most likely you might get your offer blocked by the agent.

Edited February 26, 2010 by Phantom

[Plastic3 0]

I will pay the seller agent tier commission for my next flat, if he represent the seller as sole agent.

if COV 15,000 and below : I pay 1% + let them refer my mortgage loan

if COV between 15,001 - 20,000 : I pay 0.85% only

if COV between 20,001 - 25,000 : I pay 0.75% only

if COV between 25,001 - 30,000 : I pay 0.5% only

Spoke to 2 agent and they quite keen to represent me to their seller. waiting for valuation reports. Performance base tiering makes more sense in current market to ensure seller agent works for u. Direct buyer don't want to pay agent fee? most likely you might get your offer blocked by the agent.

Hi Phantom,

Your commission scheme is very reasonable, i'm sure many Agents are happy to serve you.

[forgotten 1]

Sigh ... my current agent (representing me, buyer) die die refused to lower her rate leh. I have to pay her 1% + GST. However, she indeed gives good service these months.

[tnqhome 0]

Sigh ... my current agent (representing me, buyer) die die refused to lower her rate leh. I have to pay her 1% + GST. However, she indeed gives good service these months.

I wrote to propnex, and seller agent have replied to reduce the commission... I still waiting official reply from propnex for the commission...

If you didn't sign the commission agreement, why need to pay?

[aloskimo 0]

i sold my flat cck on my own..

no agent involved.

so when i was looking for woodlands area, all expect buyer comm.

i was reluctant to pay cov and agent fees.

i think the price is not realistic.

so i ended up buying northoaks. price below seller valuation, and my bank match the valuation for a 80% loan.

no buyers comm for private (standard practice).

so i did not pay a single cent for comm to any agents. thank goodness!

now i am sourcing for a renovator...

so troublesome to move house