To Sell Using A Real Estate Agent, And Pay 3%

[Richb2004v2]

We are looking to sell our house and seem to be fortunate enough to actually have a real estate agent in our town with which to advertise the house etc. However as you probably all know the charge is quite high at 3% I just wonder how many people manage to sell their property without using an agent and if you think it is worth paying or if you think there are other ways.

I can also envisage possible problems. What if I meet someone that wants to buy the house, will the agent then still want his cut and claim the buyer still saw his advert?

Any advice or experience welcome.

[Nio]

3% is high?

What country are you from?

I think 3% for full blown reality services is very cheap

I also will offer my personal opinion

How many Thai's by second hand homes as opposed to new ones?

If the answer is not many, then their services and marketing might be quite useless

Try craiglist, ebay and any other free website first

Post your own sign first

Give it 30 days and see if you get any bites

Maybe you can sell it yourself

Post in on Facebook Thailand Group where there are 75,000 members

Try it yourself first

[Richb2004v2]

3% of 5 million baht is a lot I think. If I remember the last time I sold a house in the Uk it didn't cost me anything like as much. Plus in Thailand there are other payments to make on top if the 3%.

Thanks for the advice though.

[Thaifan2]

3% is huge for doing very little and some now charge 5% in Thailand .I have sold houses in Ireland and was charged 1.5 % by the estate agents ( who worked hard to sell ) .I believe its around the same in the UK .

[chiangmaibruce]

You may not be fortunate at all - they could be complete incompetents or crooks - anyone can call themselves a real estate agent in Thailand

Will the agent want a cut if you find the buyer ... have a look at their agreement for their terms & conditions (if they are serious professionals they should provide one) and/or ask them this question.

Are there other ways? Someone has suggested the do-it-yourself route using a sign and internet listing etc. Certainly very very few Thais would sell using a real estate agent - mainly word of mouth. As to what is best for you ... well can't say as I don't know your situation ... e.g. are you living in Thailand? do you have a Thai wife? who is likely to buy your property (what demographic? etc) and so on. Maybe also try to talk to other foreigners who have sold (or are selling) homes in your area ... one way to find them is via posting in your regional forum here in Thaivisa ... see what worked (or didn't work) for them

Edited March 3, 2010 by chiangmaibruce

[goldfinger]

3% of 5 million baht is a lot I think. If I remember the last time I sold a house in the Uk it didn't cost me anything like as much. Plus in Thailand there are other payments to make on top if the 3%.

Thanks for the advice though.

try to find someone which does it for less than 3%

(this would be 150 000 Baht!!!- whats that???)

Actually, you should be happy , if you find soembody at all, that buys your house.

Then I would not care about this 3%

[Richb2004v2]

3% of 5 million baht is a lot I think. If I remember the last time I sold a house in the Uk it didn't cost me anything like as much. Plus in Thailand there are other payments to make on top if the 3%.

Thanks for the advice though.

try to find someone which does it for less than 3%

(this would be 150 000 Baht!!!- whats that???)

Actually, you should be happy , if you find soembody at all, that buys your house.

Then I would not care about this 3%

That's the way we have looked at it. If they find someone fairly quickly and we get the cash to move on then even the 3% will be worth it. We could opt to do the Thai method and put a cardboard sign on the gate and sit and wait, but I'd hate to have to wait and wait. We don't know many other ferang in the area to be honest. If I were part of the bar scene and was in contact with lots of people it would probably be easier. In a way I am grateful to have a local agent as I know some areas don't. If we didn't then it would literally be a case of a cardboard sign.

[givenall]

I listed my home to sell by a real-estate and believe if I say they are worthless. What I found they list you home and just wait till someone by chance get interested and then they go to show. They do not do anything especial and so far nothing has happened with our home. I am used to agent that does something to attract customer, but I guess tht is not Thai style. We had more action when we listed ourselves and put a sign outside so in couple month I go back to my old.

[johnnyk]

Like everything there are good ones and bad ones. A good house fairly priced in a good location should sell. But how quickly you want to sell is an important factor. Try it yourself as suggested above but don't use the magic marker cardboard sign. It lowers the tone!

If trying it yourself doesn't work then go to agents and try to work a deal.

Be realistic in your pricing, too many expect 6 million for a 3 million house simly because its THEIR house.

[monkfish]

My experience with Agents is bad! We listed with 7 agents but had NO viewing after 6 months then we put a for sale sign up outside and had loads of viewings.

I think most buyers know they will be paying the extra 3-5% with an agent so drive around looking themselves.

Be prepared to have the price knocked down by 5-10% by the buyer so just put the asking price up by this amount.

Do not sign any contract with an agent other than if they sell the house they get the 3% or just don't sign any contact they are useless anyhow.

Neighbors may also be interested to sell your house but will also want 3% commission anyway at least they do something.

The funniest experience I had was a Thai lady who wanted 3% commission to buy the house for her husband in the UK.

Good luck! you never know just may be the agents are better where you are but do try both.

Our neighbor sold their house on a free add board in Tesco's, you just never know.

[craigt3365]

I just got an email from an agent in Phuket offering 6% commission to agents. In the US, 5-6% is the norm. Very rare to sell a house for anything less.

I had a home in Southern California. It was a bad time to sell, but I had to due to work. So, after 4 months of nothing happening, I offered a bonus of 1% to the selling agent. As you may know, the 6% gets split between the selling and the listing agent. And then the brokers on each end get their take. So in the end, the actual agent gets about 1%. So my offer basically doubled their commission. The house sold in 2 weeks. Well worth the 1% and I didn't have to lower the price....

But like mentioned above, some are good, some are bad. Get references for sure.

[maccaroni man]

i have been quoted anywhere from 3 to 10 percent but none of the agents i have used were worth the time it took to meet them. I have a soft spot for sales people but the realestate people are the weakest sales people i have ever seen. in samui there was a company who actually placed an article in the local rag saying that they had not sold 1 house in 11 mo.s? excuse me but if that is the case, fire all the sales staff. the time share pros are selling everyday in the same market. imo do it yourself.

[quiksilva]

3% is market practice for much of Thailand (Phuket is slightly more) and market practices elsewhere are irrelevant.

With respect to your problem Rich, as an agent myself (albeit in commercial property) I'd suggest the following solution:

Insist that (all) your agents submit a prospect registration form to you stating who their prospective purchasers are, and that you'll sign that form which also confirms the fee that would be payable to them in the result of a successful introduction, on the day the prospect actually inspects, together with the agent, but only if you have not already seen them yourself or with via someone else.

[ChampagneSuper]

5% is the norm now in Hua Hin, it went up from 3% when the post-Tsunami boom hit the town.

Some developers choose to offer over the odds as an incentive, can be up around 8%. There's good and bad, as with everything in town, but from my dealings I say more good than bad.

Someone said they do nothing for their fees, you're forgetting the 100k/month rents on the Hilton or 'Burger King' Roads, very high monthly advertising fees, lots of staff & company cars. I know many have months of email contact, arrange airport pick-ups and collect them from their hotels to spend a day showing customers round town. But I couldn't care less if they played solitaire for 7.5 hours of the day as long as they show our houses to price-range customers in the last half hour.

Criticising them might get something off your chest but it won't help sell your houses, and to be honest, rightly or wrongly 3% commission won't get you many viewings (with a lot of the agents), unless your house is of mega value ofcourse. What I'm basically waffling on about is 5% is the current going/expected rate.

CS

[dickie58]

5% is the norm now in Hua Hin, it went up from 3% when the post-Tsunami boom hit the town.

Some developers choose to offer over the odds as an incentive, can be up around 8%. There's good and bad, as with everything in town, but from my dealings I say more good than bad.

Someone said they do nothing for their fees, you're forgetting the 100k/month rents on the Hilton or 'Burger King' Roads, very high monthly advertising fees, lots of staff & company cars. I know many have months of email contact, arrange airport pick-ups and collect them from their hotels to spend a day showing customers round town. But I couldn't care less if they played solitaire for 7.5 hours of the day as long as they show our houses to price-range customers in the last half hour.

Criticising them might get something off your chest but it won't help sell your houses, and to be honest, rightly or wrongly 3% commission won't get you many viewings (with a lot of the agents), unless your house is of mega value ofcourse. What I'm basically waffling on about is 5% is the current going/expected rate.

CS

I have my house for sale here in Ptty, most of the local agents here are charging 5%, as an incentive i have offered them a bit more if they sell over a certain amount, & before a certain date, most of them have still done nothing.

Even @ 5% they stand to get 1 million bht in commision if they sell this place, i think for that amount there entitled to advertise a bit, & do something for there money?

Yes the market is very quite at the moment, but i've heard of some high end houses being sold in Ptty fairly recently, so buyers with big money are around

I would advise the OP to put a decent sign on his gate, & also advertise on some real estate related web sites as well. If the agent sells it OK, pay there commision.

if you get a private buyer from your own sign or advertising, the agent is not entitled to anything.

[tooninthai]

OK, the cardboard sign outside the house written in marker pen may not look very good, but it works.

You could have a decent sign made up at one of the local shops that do decals and shop signs. Many will take a computer copy of a design and print it for you in full colour. So have a good For Sale sign made up and attach it to a tall post so it can be seen from a distance.

Better than a piece of brown card any day. That is if you do decide to sell it yourself.

[fred110]

I sold my Pattaya condo on Thai Visa! I also put free ads on boards at local stores. Depends if you want to make the effort or pay.

[PhiPhi]

3% of 5 million baht is a lot I think. If I remember the last time I sold a house in the Uk it didn't cost me anything like as much. Plus in Thailand there are other payments to make on top if the 3%.

Thanks for the advice though.

try to find someone which does it for less than 3%

(this would be 150 000 Baht!!!- whats that???)

Actually, you should be happy , if you find soembody at all, that buys your house.

Then I would not care about this 3%

That's the way we have looked at it. If they find someone fairly quickly and we get the cash to move on then even the 3% will be worth it. We could opt to do the Thai method and put a cardboard sign on the gate and sit and wait, but I'd hate to have to wait and wait. We don't know many other ferang in the area to be honest. If I were part of the bar scene and was in contact with lots of people it would probably be easier. In a way I am grateful to have a local agent as I know some areas don't. If we didn't then it would literally be a case of a cardboard sign.

Our business is a property agency (not estate agency) focused on leasing but I think some of the same principles apply:

• 3% - 5% seems to be the standard range for commission so unless you are prepared to accept that don't bother worrying about using an agent or not.
  
• If you decided that you are prepared to pay a commission then I would list with as many agents as possible and put it in writing that you will only pay commission for a unique buyer not one that you have seen or had contact with before.
  
• Be proactive and promote your property yourself, I understand your area is famous for golf so try promoting on golf sites and forums and not just Thailand centric ones. Craig's List and Thai Visa are a few sites you can post free classified ads on, use them and look for more.
  
• A sign is a must English & Thai, most computer malls have a small shop that could knock out a nice legible weatherproof sign for a couple of hundred baht.
  
• Make use of noticeboards in supermarkets, bars, etc.
  
• Ensure you use attractive photographs of your property, perhaps you know a friend who has a decent wide angle camera and flash who would be willing to help you out.
  

If you've correctly priced your property and it is desirable enough it pretty much comes down to some basic sustained marketing activities and the more exposure you can give your property the better chance you have of selling it. So as long as you have well defined terms with your agents embrace them and use as many as possible, use their websites, store front listings to your advantage after all you are obliged to pay nothing unless they come through for you.

Good luck with the sale.

PhiPhi

[culicine]

We used an agent, but sold it via a neighbour. Still had to pay the agent fee, and also a small fee to the neighbour for finding a buyer. I would suggest give it a year and try to sell it yourself first. If there are no takers after a few months you might need to drop the price (we did), and it sold quickly. Being second hand, Thai don't like to pay a lot. They will look for a bargain, like anyone else. If you can wait 2-3-4 years to sell then hold up the price. We spent quite a bit on our place and I would say we barely broke even on the sale.

[Thaifan2]

We used an agent, but sold it via a neighbour. Still had to pay the agent fee, and also a small fee to the neighbour for finding a buyer. I would suggest give it a year and try to sell it yourself first. If there are no takers after a few months you might need to drop the price (we did), and it sold quickly. Being second hand, Thai don't like to pay a lot. They will look for a bargain, like anyone else. If you can wait 2-3-4 years to sell then hold up the price. We spent quite a bit on our place and I would say we barely broke even on the sale.

You must be a soft lad to pay the Agent when your neighbour found a buyer .Grow some balls ,is my advice .

[trogers]

Selling a landed property faces more hurdles than and a freehold condo when you want to target foreign buyers.

[steelepulse]

Be proactive! Take out ads in the BKK post and other publications where there is your target market. Start posting on internet websites with your listing, here at TV, bahtsold and whatever other real estate websites you know about. Pay a bit of money and have a website created just for your property. Chances are there aren't a lot of competing houses for sale in Ban Chang so you should get a decent search engine ranking for "house fo sale Ban Chang" with a bit of effort. Actually what I suggest is what good agents should be doing on top of just adverting on their own websites.

[culicine]

We used an agent, but sold it via a neighbour. Still had to pay the agent fee, and also a small fee to the neighbour for finding a buyer. I would suggest give it a year and try to sell it yourself first. If there are no takers after a few months you might need to drop the price (we did), and it sold quickly. Being second hand, Thai don't like to pay a lot. They will look for a bargain, like anyone else. If you can wait 2-3-4 years to sell then hold up the price. We spent quite a bit on our place and I would say we barely broke even on the sale.

You must be a soft lad to pay the Agent when your neighbour found a buyer .Grow some balls ,is my advice .

The agent would be paid regardless of who finds a buyer. This was in our contract. Actually we dropped the price by almost 200K (posted on the net), but the buyer didn't know this, and paid a larger sum than what he needed to, if he went through the agent directly. My advice to the OP is to not use an agent. It's not really necessary if the house is good value for money. A similar house down the street from me was selling for 500K more than mine. They will NEVER sell at that price./

[chickencurry]

For what it's worth, we are in Phuket and selling our property (re-sale). We are with 18 agents/brokers. Commission ranges from 3 percent incl VAT to 5 percent plus VAT.

A lot of the agents seem useless. There have been 3 I think who seem to be working hard for us and bringing clients. We had one offer a couple of months ago which we turned down. Last week we found a buyer wishing to pay the full price. We have accepted, obviously.

[evanson]

For what it's worth, we are in Phuket and selling our property (re-sale). We are with 18 agents/brokers. Commission ranges from 3 percent incl VAT to 5 percent plus VAT.

A lot of the agents seem useless. There have been 3 I think who seem to be working hard for us and bringing clients. We had one offer a couple of months ago which we turned down. Last week we found a buyer wishing to pay the full price. We have accepted, obviously.

Well c'mon who are they then? Don't keep us in suspense

'Though willing to bet not many others will have shared your good experience, rather like the ongoing thread in the Phuket forum. Some poster will tout a couple of names as being 'good', only to be shot down by another poster (me ) saying they were rubbish.

[jayinoz]

We used an agent, but sold it via a neighbour. Still had to pay the agent fee, and also a small fee to the neighbour for finding a buyer. I would suggest give it a year and try to sell it yourself first. If there are no takers after a few months you might need to drop the price (we did), and it sold quickly. Being second hand, Thai don't like to pay a lot. They will look for a bargain, like anyone else. If you can wait 2-3-4 years to sell then hold up the price. We spent quite a bit on our place and I would say we barely broke even on the sale.

You must be a soft lad to pay the Agent when your neighbour found a buyer .Grow some balls ,is my advice .

I agree to an extent, having been a property and business broker in Thailand a decade ago. We found we got bypassed very often, when we spent a lot on marketing the businesses and properties for sale. The agent contract you sign really means very little, as it takes 3 years in civil court to try sue you to pay the 3% when it does sell VIA the agent. Or under an exclusive contract. So I bailed on that business after a year of operating it. As I simply had too many litigation cases to deal with after 1 year- downing in paperwork and wa no longer enjoyable experience.

So i am looking at this from the other side of the fence. Yes there are good and bad agents. There are agents whom get a million baht for a business and give the thai owner 100,000bt. So all types of tricks occur. There are agents who do a great deal of advertising and work for their 3% and they deserve the money. Ultimately whether you pay them it is up to you. They may try threaten you to get their commission, as many may know it takes 3+ years to wait to be heard in civil court. Then the agent still may get nothing.

Most agents now try to keep the buyers and sellers away from each other. Yet many men have a Thai girl whom can go direct to the property or business and bargain with the owner- I found. We would hear it had already sold weeks later whilst we were still paying 1000s of baht to advertise it. Or if you speak Thai, go bargain for yourself. Bypassing the agent is easy- yet whether you do it depends on how ethical you are. If the agent did nothing- pay nothing but look out for some heavy intimidation tactics and debt collectors (Often police debt collectors)- if agent did a good job- pay them what you agreed and all will be good.

Sunbelt and Century 21 are very wary of these facts and go out of their way to have a team of lawyers have you sign off on everything under the sun to rightfully protect their 3%. Or 6% in terms of business sale. Stick to the more ethical agents and not the no names- unless you recommended to them by a trusted friend.

[Zstarx]

3% is actually quite reasonable in Thailand

[KhaoNiaw]

A couple of years ago, we sold our last house, a townhouse in Samutprakan, pretty quickly by putting the details up on free websites like homedd.com. There's quite a lot of sites like that where you put up a listing for free and some of them let you upload pictures. I put the house up on 6 or 7 of them - they're all Thai language but we were expecting a Thai buyer anyway. It took a couple of months but we had quite a lot of calls and a few people round to look before the eventual buyer came in. And so we didn't pay any agent's fees to anyone.

Most of the sites said they remove the details after something like 3 months if you don't log in and extend the period. But we still get the odd call asking if the house is still for sale and I can't remember all the sites to go back and remove it.

Edited April 19, 2010 by KhaoNiaw

[rellim]

For what it's worth, we are in Phuket and selling our property (re-sale). We are with 18 agents/brokers. Commission ranges from 3 percent incl VAT to 5 percent plus VAT.

A lot of the agents seem useless. There have been 3 I think who seem to be working hard for us and bringing clients. We had one offer a couple of months ago which we turned down. Last week we found a buyer wishing to pay the full price. We have accepted, obviously.

Hi chicken curry, Just read your post and was interested to see that you used 18agents/brokers when selling your property in Phuket. I am also in Phuket and looking to sell a property being 7 rai plot of sea veiw land on the north of the island. Any advise on the best way go about finding a half decent broker or any other methods of selling would be greatly appreciated.

[haveaniceday]

Selling a landed property faces more hurdles than and a freehold condo when you want to target foreign buyers.

What is a "Landed Property" please?