Do real estate agents always get a commission?

[baansgr]

Why cut out the agent....they will have checked the property, can negotiate the best price for you, go to land office for transfer, assist in FET if required...you're getting that all for free while the seller pays....if you prefer to get a lawyer that you have to pay for...by all means do so

[rumak]

34 minutes ago, Travel Dude said:

It's really nasty of you to go with an agent and then go through with the 2nd agent. How do you think agents make a living and feed their family? Shame on you to be so inconsiderate. 

 

i don't think that was Surelynot's intent.   Seems like you are pretty quick to call someone out when you don't know them,  or the circumstances.   He admits he made a mistake, but we all do sometimes when not understanding how things work

The whole business with agents is screwy and often confusing.

 

NOW  i know ( as best one can be sure)  that  1. If  i am buying i do not sign or promise anything to an agent or agents.   I would say that as a buyer i am not paying commissions and if they intend to try to get one it is up to them to talk with seller .    period

 

2. I was foolish once to grant exclusive agency ........ and as such anyone contacting me i told them to contact the RE agent .   When time period of contract was over a form was signed ( i wrote it ! )  giving them 30 days notice that i would not continue the agreement.

 

this world..... gotta cover your butt .    handshakes just don't work anymore

[richard_smith237]

43 minutes ago, Travel Dude said:

It's really nasty of you to go with an agent and then go through with the 2nd agent. How do you think agents make a living and feed their family? Shame on you to be so inconsiderate. 

Are you for real ???

 

The vast majority of these ‘so called agents’ are just charlatans scrolling the internet looking to piggy-back on someone else sale....  the vast majority of agents who contact me are complete time wasters.

 

Additionally, as a potential buyer and renter I have had my time wasted repeatedly by agents who take me to numerous properties I have no interest in. 

 

As someone selling our house (and have previously sold our condo) we’ve had agents waste my time. 

 

I haven't got a lot of good to say about the ‘industry’.... IMO its far better to go it alone - this isn’t about taking someones job off the table, its about simply not having my time wasted and getting things done correctly. 

[richard_smith237]

34 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Why cut out the agent....they will have checked the property, can negotiate the best price for you, go to land office for transfer, assist in FET if required...you're getting that all for free while the seller pays....if you prefer to get a lawyer that you have to pay for...by all means do so

 

For the most part thats rubbish. 

 

Renting / Selling: Agents have never come round to my properties to ‘take their own photos’ - they just use my photos. They don’t do any of their own ground work. 

 

Even the bigger agencies use extremely rudimentary contracts for rental agreements, the same contracts are available on the internet !!

 

We’ve sold our last property and purchased the lates property without an agent - completely unrequited, the rules are not difficult. 

[Warat]

I’m an owner on condo and I got bad experience on agent. That I prefer to contact tenant by myself because after they got my money for one year contract but they are gone. Never help me for anything. Including I got one case that my tenant broke my contract and can’t stay for 1 year as contract.... why agent don’t return money to me as agent got tenant who can’t be in completely time in contract.

 

so if anyone is looking for condo. My family owned many places in Bangkok. Please contact me to know may have some condo you are looking for then you can get the best deal from me directly.

 

 

[Warat]

I disagree with you. The agent just try to get money from the owner then you get higher price as agent fee. If you want to best deal, you should contact the owner directly. 
 

im an owner and I have many property for tenant to see in many areas. If you are interested to look my condo, feel free to contact me.

 

*Line # edited out*

Thank you 

[KaputtAlreadyNa]

On 5/4/2021 at 12:39 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

Thanks for all your replies.

When I understand this correct then it seems depending on the contract it might be that the seller has to pay a commission to the agent even if the agent was not involved with the person who actually buys the unit.

That's what I wanted to know. If the seller actually pays or not is up to the seller. As far as I am concerned the seller should act according to the contract he signed.

 

 

It is not my intention to cut anybody out of the loop. If I never talked to any agent and I don't have the information from the website of an agent then the agent was never involved - and not cut out of the loop.

I know an agent who is very active in the building were I currently live. Somehow she seems to think everything that is sold in that building has to be her business. But that is obviously BS. As far as I see it she is only involved if the seller or the buyer signed an exclusive contract with her. If the seller and buyer meet without her why should she get a commission?

 

If I were you, I would personally walk into that building that you are interested in,  talk to the management,  ask whatever questions you would like to know and than tell them that you are interested in buying a condo in  that building,  there is a very good chance that they will tell you that there are heaps of apartments available, go and have a look ask for the price,  if you like it make them an offer,  the owner will  definitely give you a counter offer  (doesn't matter what price you gave), if you are happy you buy,  if not just tell the management that this is not your price expectations but you are still interested in buying and if they come across another room that is available,  they will contact you. It always work,  that's my experience and the agent's fees and all that,  I have never worried about it except the net price that I am willing to pay. Best of luck. 

Warmest.

[inThailand]

There are two basic broker agreements, exclusive and non exclusive. Brokers love to sign the exclusive one, that pays them a commission regardless of who actually sells the property. 

 

As a buyer it's not your problem, though you may get a slightly lower buying price if the seller is not paying a broker fee. 

[OneMoreFarang]

14 hours ago, baansgr said:

Why cut out the agent....they will have checked the property, can negotiate the best price for you,

Are you joking?

An agent gets x % of the selling price. If the selling price is higher then the agents will get more money. It's not in the interest of the agent to "negotiate the best price for you" (the buyer).

 

The agent will try to sell as expensive as possible to get the highest commission. And I don't blame the agent to do that. Because if I don't pay the agent directly why should the agent work for me?

 

Some time ago a friend bought an apartment. He hired an agent who he personally knew to help him verify possible condominiums and to help him negotiate and do all the legal work. That agent received a fixed amount of money from my friend to work in his interest. That worked just fine.

[rumak]

9 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Some time ago a friend bought an apartment. He hired an agent who he personally knew to help him verify possible condominiums and to help him negotiate and do all the legal work. That agent received a fixed amount of money from my friend to work in his interest. That worked just fine.

like i said,   if you can find someone you trust ( we all know how tricky that can be) .....

then paying a fee like your friend did for helping can be worth it.  

trust

trust

[Gee Ku]

Hello OneMoreFarang, I deal straight and simple, no deviousness and dishonesty. I wish to sell a Condo unit of 40sqm in the Silom-Surawong area for 2.5 million Baht.

No broker. Tel.081-8513488.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 minute ago, Gee Ku said:

Hello OneMoreFarang, I deal straight and simple, no deviousness and dishonesty. I wish to sell a Condo unit of 40sqm in the Silom-Surawong area for 2.5 million Baht.

No broker. Tel.081-8513488.

Thanks but no thanks.

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, Gee Ku said:

Hello OneMoreFarang, I deal straight and simple, no deviousness and dishonesty. I wish to sell a Condo unit of 40sqm in the Silom-Surawong area for 2.5 million Baht.

No broker. Tel.081-8513488.

 

Are you the owner ?

 

[cheskakim]

Hey there! I know it's a really old post but I'm curios what you decided to do in the end and how it worked out for you. I also want to contact a home seller directly, but I know that he has an agent that listed the property. I just think It would benefit us both instead of spending money on the commissions. Thanks!

[Njoku]

Ive put my condo up for sale, no signed agreement with the agency which surprised me, they have advertised it and one inspection, contacted me recently after 6 months to ask if I am still wanting to sell, yes, the deal is like anywhere if a buyer you are dealing with was introduced to your property by the agent/s then commission is payable, if on the other hand my condo office manager gives me the lead it would be nice of me to give her something if the sale went through.

 

In AU you are under obligation for as long as the contract is valid for even if the buyer bypassed the agent and came directly to you.

[OneMoreFarang]

15 minutes ago, Njoku said:

if on the other hand my condo office manager gives me the lead it would be nice of me to give her something if the sale went through

 

In my condo the manager demanded the full commission. Somehow, she forgot that she was already paid to work in the building.

Now we have a management company, and they have strict instructions not to tell anybody about units for sale and rent.

 

I heard about another agent who was regular in our building. It seems someone didn't want to pay the commission, and she went to court and won. I don't have any details. 

 

[orang37]

An agent colleague of mine had a similar issue. She sold a unit in a building where the manager tried to claim a referral fee after the deal closed, even though there was no agreement. It's standard in most places for the agent to get the commission and the manager definitely overstepped, but the lack of formal obligation gives you more flexibility in managing how you sell. It's always better to have clear arrangements. There's platforms for agents that offer transparent commission structures that prevent these types of situations.

[JimTripper]

On 5/5/2021 at 8:43 PM, richard_smith237 said:

Additionally, as a potential buyer and renter I have had my time wasted repeatedly by agents who take me to numerous properties I have no interest in. 

They do that to wear you down. Most people will get tired of viewing just anything and select a property quicker. Never go on those tours where they just take you around. Only view properties you have seen photo's of beforehand and feel like it's something you want.