Should I Be Honest Tell The Agent That Im Not Paying?

[lovenest 0]

so technically speaking, we dont have a choice huh??

even if we search ourself, still need to pay seller's agent 1%??? they claim standard practice.

im quite blown by this practice......seems quite unfair unless of course i ask him to bargain for me...but them that seems unfair to the seller too.

[Homeowner 1]

Oh dear, didn't mean to discourage you in your efforts...but if you succeed, you'd be the second person I have heard of to circumvent this agent thing. And, I bet a lot of people will be interested to know how you did it.

But, I think GMC has a very good point about the legal dept. services.. you might want to consider the risk that you'll be taking if you do without an agent from a reputable firm. Think the smaller firms would not have such services.

If I remember correctly, another person on the net managed to avoid paying agents' fee but that's because the buyer and seller knew each other and sold the flat without any agent's involvement.

On the bright side, the seller's agent has greater incentive to close the deal with you 'cos he/she earns more. If sellers permit, try to fix the price in the option instead of valuation + $xx cash.

BTW, if you had been liaising with agents yourself, you'd have realised that they have their co-broking networks...make sure you get the details of the flats you're viewing so that you don't get two different agents setting up two viewing appointments for the same flat. Agents hate doing double work for nothing.

Good luck!

[zirhk3355 1]

so technically speaking, we dont have a choice huh??

even if we search ourself, still need to pay seller's agent 1%??? they claim standard practice.

im quite blown by this practice......seems quite unfair unless of course i ask him to bargain for me...but them that seems unfair to the seller too.

No, further to what GMC said, I would say that you do have a choice.

But of course everything got upside and downside; if you choose not to have an agent, then you must be confident enough to go through the deal yourself. This is really not that difficult, otherwise HDB won't conduct resale seminars as they would enforce you to be represented by an agent. Contrary to homeowner's experience, I have seen MANY people closing deals without agents.

However, the key is that we are always worried about this and that, so much so that we always fear the worst; can't be blamed also, after all how many Singaporeans have buy more than one/two properties in their lifetimes?? Thus we get an agent hoping that they would *really* act in our favour.

I do not have the stats, but I believe deals being screwed up by agents are no lesser than deals being screwed up by sellers/owners themselves. The difference is after being screwed up, if the deal still goes through (but at your disadvantage), you still have to pay commission if you had appointed an agent.

My personal advice: I think you are already mindful that there is no free lunch lah, but I would encourage you to build your confidence on closing the deal without an agent. Go for the HDB resale seminars again, check with friends, call up some lawyers, whatever. It is really not difficult - alternatively, you can appoint some guys who can doing your paperwork at a much lower fee. Think the website is www.diyhdb.com or something (pl google it).

My take is that agents are only valuable for their databases, network and efforts in searching for your properties/buyers. Their contributions for running errands, paperwork, legal, etc are really quite worthless, which you can DIY.

[Homeowner 1]

Hi Zirhk3355, can you share their stories of how they managed to buy a flat without paying the seller's agent? I'm really interested. Think these stories will be very encouraging and helpful to Lovenest, too. When I was looking for my current flat, I've even heard of 1 property agent buying her own flat and paying the seller's agent 1% commission accordingly!

Edited May 26, 2007 by Homeowner

[zirhk3355 1]

Hi Zirhk3355, can you share their stories of how they managed to buy a flat without paying the seller's agent? I'm really interested. Think these stories will be very encouraging and helpful to Lovenest, too. When I was looking for my current flat, I've even heard of 1 property agent buying her own flat and paying the seller's agent 1% commission accordingly!

Very simple - most of them just call the ads and make an appt as though they are going to pay. Use delay tactics when the agent asks to sign the agreement, until seen the unit, met the owner and try to get in touch with him/her personally. Talking to the owner does not mean to bypass the agent (you are not paying comm, so it won't benefit you to bypass), but you will reduce the possibility of the agent cooking up stories in-between, especially if the agent realised that you are not paying comm.

Another lot of them actually advertised personally on the papers themselves for "Properties Wanted". They indicated clearly on the ad that "agents are welcome but no commission given". This might reduce the numbers of calls they received, but at least they are fair and clear. You will be surprised still got agent call them one lor, especially those who do not have exclusive and want to close the unit quickly.

Last but not least are those who call up the ads and tell the agents frankly that they do not pay commission. 9.9 out of 10 cases the agent will slam down the phone, but its true, one of my friends did successfully get entertained by the agent and eventually bought the unit. Think the reason was that the agent initially had exclusive with the seller, but took too long to sell and the seller decided to terminate the exclusive agency. So the agent was rushing to sell the flat as she felt that got potential and does not want to let go.

[lovenest 0]

Oh dear, didn't mean to discourage you in your efforts...but if you succeed, you'd be the second person I have heard of to circumvent this agent thing. And, I bet a lot of people will be interested to know how you did it.

But, I think GMC has a very good point about the legal dept. services.. you might want to consider the risk that you'll be taking if you do without an agent from a reputable firm. Think the smaller firms would not have such services.

If I remember correctly, another person on the net managed to avoid paying agents' fee but that's because the buyer and seller knew each other and sold the flat without any agent's involvement.

On the bright side, the seller's agent has greater incentive to close the deal with you 'cos he/she earns more. If sellers permit, try to fix the price in the option instead of valuation + $xx cash.

BTW, if you had been liaising with agents yourself, you'd have realised that they have their co-broking networks...make sure you get the details of the flats you're viewing so that you don't get two different agents setting up two viewing appointments for the same flat. Agents hate doing double work for nothing.

Good luck!

i didnt understand about the fix price in option thing....can u elaborate.

plus i thought the paperwork are only the forms n submitting??? u mean thers more??

[lovenest 0]

went to view the unit with exclusive agent.

now i understand that the agent will sell only when he makes the best profit.

this one asking to pay for seller's commission and buyer 1%

this is madness.

[Homeowner 1]

i didnt understand about the fix price in option thing....can u elaborate.

plus i thought the paperwork are only the forms n submitting??? u mean thers more??

When you agree with the sellers to purchase the flat, you sign an option to purchase on the spot and place a deposit (non-refundable!!). Say, the current valuation expiring soon is $130k. Cash asked for: $20k. Two ways to write it in the option: valuation+ $20k cash or $150k. If you're getting a bank loan, you'll need another valuation. By the time you get a new valuation and appointment, the valuation might be higher or lower, so the end price may vary. I am suggesting that you fix the price in the option to purchase instead of letting the end price vary, if the sellers are agreeable.

Just ensure that you don't get two agents marketing to you the same apartment (which may happen 'cos they have co-broking networks)...saves you and the agents time. This has nothing to do with paperwork. This is just viewing the flats. Co-broking means agreeing to share commission. Eg. seller agent A agrees to co-broke. So, agents B, C, and D market the flat for seller agent A.

Zirkh3355 has kindly chipped in a couple of interesting suggestions...but the ball is really in your court 'cos its really your flat, your money and your risk. Good luck and best wishes!

[lovenest 0]

wierd thing ...i viewed a flat that i searched for myself and contacted the sole agent.

she told me i need to pay 1% com plus the seller's part of the comission and that will be the selling price.

means if val plus cash plus commission = selling price

does she have the right to ask 1% from me??? again claim standard practice.

its almost as if we need to pay them in order to buy the hpuse

[zirhk3355 1]

wierd thing ...i viewed a flat that i searched for myself and contacted the sole agent.

she told me i need to pay 1% com plus the seller's part of the comission and that will be the selling price.

means if val plus cash plus commission = selling price

does she have the right to ask 1% from me??? again claim standard practice.

its almost as if we need to pay them in order to buy the hpuse

To pay the seller's comm, I think that is a request made by the seller as part of the deal, so its up to you whether to accept or not.

But to pay the 1% comm, you CAN go around it. Had you signed any agreement that says you agree to pay the buyer's comm? If not, then I would suggest that you just keep playing along with the agent, use delay tactics eg tell her that you will sign her agreement during the 1st appt, tell her you need to let your husband/lawyer friend/etc see the agreement first, and so on. In brief, do not reject to pay her comm (which will cut you off the deal immediately) and also do not sign any agreement with her.

Meanwhile, to safeguard yourself, get in touch with the seller and let him/her know that you ARE willing to agree to her terms. Why? Because this will get the seller on your side and work together against the agent. If the seller is in the dark, the agent can tell him/her that you are not agreeable to the terms lah, got better deal lah, etc even though its not true.

[lovenest 0]

To pay the seller's comm, I think that is a request made by the seller as part of the deal, so its up to you whether to accept or not.

But to pay the 1% comm, you CAN go around it. Had you signed any agreement that says you agree to pay the buyer's comm? If not, then I would suggest that you just keep playing along with the agent, use delay tactics eg tell her that you will sign her agreement during the 1st appt, tell her you need to let your husband/lawyer friend/etc see the agreement first, and so on. In brief, do not reject to pay her comm (which will cut you off the deal immediately) and also do not sign any agreement with her.

Meanwhile, to safeguard yourself, get in touch with the seller and let him/her know that you ARE willing to agree to her terms. Why? Because this will get the seller on your side and work together against the agent. If the seller is in the dark, the agent can tell him/her that you are not agreeable to the terms lah, got better deal lah, etc even though its not t on oprue.

she is smart...she want to put it as the purchase price then later she will get the cash from seller. how to run away like that since it will be written on OTP what is the agreed price.

at the moment im super turned of by agents....what makes them feel they deserve 1% from buyer when they r not doing anything for us...it almost feels like an exhtortion.u dont want to pay then u dont get to buy the house.

Edited May 26, 2007 by lovenest

[zirhk3355 1]

she is smart...she want to put it as the purchase price then later she will get the cash from seller. how to run away like that since it will be written on OTP what is the agreed price.

at the moment im super turned of by agents....what makes them feel they deserve 1% from buyer when they r not doing anything for us...it almost feels like an exhtortion.u dont want to pay then u dont get to buy the house.

I don't think this is legal - you must check with HDB and IEA on it.

The agreed purchase price will be used as a basis for housing loan, so it cannot be tampered with or containing any other items. Otherwise, why not you go sign up for ID package, mark up the purchase price accordingly and get the seller to pay your ID??

This is similiar to the cases where the buyer gets the seller and agent to mark up the purchase price, so that s/he can get a "personal loan" at lower interest rates - HDB and banks are clamping down on this and offenders are dealt with severely.

[GMC 12]

so technically speaking, we dont have a choice huh??

even if we search ourself, still need to pay seller's agent 1%??? they claim standard practice.

im quite blown by this practice......seems quite unfair unless of course i ask him to bargain for me...but them that seems unfair to the seller too.

u do have a choice. it is up to you.

Nothing is free, got to learn things to hard way or pay someone to do the job.

We dont blindly pay the agent the 1%. This 1% dont just end after u sign the OTP.

[lovenest 0]

u do have a choice. it is up to you.

Nothing is free, got to learn things to hard way or pay someone to do the job.

We dont blindly pay the agent the 1%. This 1% dont just end after u sign the OTP.

can u elaborate what happens and what services they do for us after signing OTP that makes the 1% easier for me to swallow???

so that i can feel better about it at least if i feel they r doing a job

[zirhk3355 1]

can u elaborate what happens and what services they do for us after signing OTP that makes the 1% easier for me to swallow???

so that i can feel better about it at least if i feel they r doing a job

Doing the paperwork lor; one set of documents to submit to HDB for 1st appt, apply online for your resale, go down during the 1st appt date, arrange for 2nd appt, go down during 2nd appt, the end.

You will be disappointed if you expect the agent to come fetch you to go HDB - maybe if you give 2% comm then they will come...