Diy First-time Buyer, How Do I Avoid Paying Commision?

[philomena 0]

Hello tempestblue,

I'm in same situation as you..really do not wish to pay the agents our hard-earned $$ for doing some paperwork.

I've just started my search though.. just got my HLE letter.

Don't give up!

Hi everyone.

Just need some advice from you guys. I'm a first time buyer looking for resale flats, and after reading through many property forums and attending the HDB resale talk, I'm quite determined to DIY my flat purchase, hoping to save the 1% of a typical buyer's sales commision, or potentially $5000! I think I've got a relatively good grasp of what I need to do regarding eligilibility, HLE, OTP, 1st and 2nd appts, and the timelines involved. I also have agent friends whom I can ask for advice if I really need to.

However, in reality, whenever I call up advertised flat listings, many times the agent listing it isn't even representing the seller, but insists on representing me before even showing me the flat that 'his colleague is representing'. I guess this is one of those 'already-cobroked' situation.

Question is, what is the best way to handle these situations as a direct buyer who wants a chance to view the flat, but doesn't want any agent to represent him? Should I:

1)Ask immediately about the agent's status and declare upfront that I am not willing to pay any commision? (Usually this means I don't even get to view the flat)

2)Keep quiet, act dumb and just say whatever I need to say to get that 1st viewing, while not signing anything?

3)Get my agent friend to help negotiate? (I really don't see the need to hire an agent, but if that's what it takes to even get a viewing, then i'd rather pay my friend than a stranger)

Anyone has any other creative advice or method of handling such a situation?

Cheers

[tempestblue 0]

Hi everyone

Thanks for all the tips and advice and encouragement :-)

I have just completed the purchase of my flat and I just want to share that yes, it IS possible to buy resale without an agent. As a 1st time buyer for a resale flat, the paperwork is actually quite easy. The most difficult part is probably negotiations and arrangements with the seller and agent, because I'm not very good talking to people.

A few lessons I learnt and some tips for future flat hunters in the same situation:

1)Read all the instructions and documents in the HDB website.

- And then, re-read them again and again as new developments occur in your flat-hunting situation. There is actually a wealth of info in there, hidden among the unfortunately designed webpages. Everything from HLE, OTP, resale checklist, exercising the offer, submitting resale application forms, CPF grants, documents you need to prepare, timelines you need to observe. Must be clear on what to do.

2)Having an agent friend to ask for advice

- Helps a lot, as they complement the theoretical HDB policies with knowledge of the ground, and can advise you specifically to your situation. If you don't have a friend you can ask, then ask lots of questions when you do house viewings. There are some very friendly agents who don't mind sharing their knowledge by way of chit-chat.

3)You can't view them all.

- Going without an agent, you'll encounter some unique situations.

a)Some seller agents will not entertain you. (One said to me that DIY buyers were high risk as they are more undecided, more likely to pull out or mess up the transaction due to lack of understanding of the procedures. Fair point.)

b)A lot of advertisments (both online and in newspapers) are put up by agents who aren't representing the seller. I think they work in teams within the company to enable 2 agents to act in tandem for both buyer and seller. When you call to inquire, you'll encounter agents who want to represent you, or agents who want to foist a colleague to you. I just walk away from these as I was sure I didn't want an agent.

4)Reframing your mindset

I was getting frustrated midway through my hunt as I was getting a lot of these bogus adverts. However, one day I reframed my perspective of the situation and found myself feeling much better. I just added the agent fee into the COV component I was willing to pay. e.g. I told myself.. for a 5 rm flat going at 500k, I was willing to pay 30k COV, or 25k COV + 5k agent fee. Having a fixed COV expectation lessens the indignation I felt about paying an agent, if it came to that.

5)Don't tarry too long.

-Good flats get offered within a day of a public viewing. Visit lots of flats, know the market rate, know how much you are willing to offer, and be decisive, yes or keep looking. We missed out on a really good one because we took 1 day to deliberate before making an offer. By the time we called, someone else had already grabbed it, albeit at a slightly higher offer than we were prepared to pay. The flat we finally bought, we paid an even higher COV than that (because by then we realised our initial perception of the market rate was way too low)

Eventually, I was lucky enough to run into a genuine seller and agent who dealt with DIY buyers. We offered on the spot, signed the OTP the next day, and everything is smooth sailing till completion on my part. (Can't say the same for the seller though, who had several documentation and CPF issues).

5)HDB appointments:

Rules of the thumb:

- Bring your IC, birth certs, HLE, original buyer's checklist, 15 month CPF contribution statement and 12 month income slips. Make photocopies beforehand or you end up having to queue up at the 7-11 shop downstairs at HDB hub to print them at exorbitant rates!

- Bring your parents, their ICs, their wedding cert! (When applying for CPF grant for staying near parents. I guess they need to assess that your parents are married legally and gave birth to you)

-bring some loose cash, nets card, and/or chequebook. There will be some payments to be done.

I'm sure there's more to say about this issue but these are the major points I can remember while typing this post. Hope it is useful for some of you.

[tempestblue 0]

hi all,

my fiancee has a friend who is selling her house which happens to be a unit that we like.

we are getting a friend who works an agent to only do only the paperwork for us.

for buyer (my fiancee friend), does she need to get another agent to do the paperwork, or can also ask my friend to help?

usually, how much "hangbao" we give for doing the paperwork? just curios.

thanks!

Your friend can definitely help, either in assisting you to do it by yourself, or officially. I think there are 2 different online channels for submission of resale application. One for DIY and one for agents.

Unfortunately, there are no rules regarding ang pow for friends for doing paperwork. Current convention is 1% of sale price for normal buyer's agent, but the real price can be anything. Depends on what it takes to keep your friend happy. :-)

[therat 18]

9 out of 10 agents are scumbags

the other one is just stupid

Agent is just a normal ppl who trying to bring bread and water on their dinning table.

Don't think is it right to call them name.

[bepgof 20]

9 out of 10 agents are scumbags

the other one is just stupid

Mind your words....

[altis72 0]

I am a first-time buyer and completed my resale transaction last month without using an agent.

I had an agent but she was not very helpful at all. I sought out the advertisements in the Straits Times Classifieds and managed to find a unit which I liked. The seller's agent allowed me to view the flat and I found him to be an honest and sincere agent. I made an offer which was eventually accepted by the seller. The seller's agent offered me the services of another agent (a friend of his) to handle my paperwork but I politely declined as I had decided to DIY. The seller's agent remain courteous thoughout the entire process. Must say I was very lucky to meet such a professional agent.

It was actually the bank which gave me a headache. The bank officer was not very knowledgeable even though as she was an Assistant Manager. Even though I had 14 days to obtain a Letter of Offer from the bank, I found the schedule rather tight.

It took the bank officer a few days to inform me that as I am a first time buyer, the bank require a 'screen shot' from HDB stating that I do not have any outstanding bank loans with HDB. I was also advised by the bank officer that I was not allowed to utiise all of my CPF funds in my ordinary account which was not true! I told off the bank officer after I double checked with CPF. Basically you need to leave some funds in the ordinary account for deduction of the fees (legal etc).

Please remember to go though the resale checklist. A scanned copy of the completed Resale Checklist must be submitted together with the Resale Application. The original copy of the Resale Checklist must be submitted to HDB at the First Resale Appointment for verification.

http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10321p.nsf/w/BuyResaleFlatChecklists?OpenDocument

[altis72 0]

1)Read all the instructions and documents in the HDB website.

- And then, re-read them again and again as new developments occur in your flat-hunting situation. There is actually a wealth of info in there, hidden among the unfortunately designed webpages. Everything from HLE, OTP, resale checklist, exercising the offer, submitting resale application forms, CPF grants, documents you need to prepare, timelines you need to observe. Must be clear on what to do.

very sound advice

[salavanun 0]

i guess its really tough to escape buyer agent fee. I sold my own house that time without paying agent fee, but when i tried to buy one without agent it was really tough n not sensible also. here is the reasons why

1. when call for viewing agents always say unit already cobroked.

2. when call direct seller agents always quoted very high cov when mentioned i am diy buyer.

I finally bought a unit at a lower cov thru direct seller agent even when there was much higher cov offered from others, The savings was much higher than the comm even if i had diy myself. Seller agent mostly hv control over the unit.

[snaem85 1]

i guess its really tough to escape buyer agent fee. I sold my own house that time without paying agent fee, but when i tried to buy one without agent it was really tough n not sensible also. here is the reasons why

1. when call for viewing agents always say unit already cobroked.

2. when call direct seller agents always quoted very high cov when mentioned i am diy buyer.

I finally bought a unit at a lower cov thru direct seller agent even when there was much higher cov offered from others, The savings was much higher than the comm even if i had diy myself. Seller agent mostly hv control over the unit.

for point 2 --> do u mean.. when you call directly to the seller's agent, they will quote very high when you mentioned that ur a DIY buyer?

how u managed to get a lower cov from direct seller agent then? even though he got higher cov offers?