Estate Agents Here

[CroBiker]

only place in Phuket I know about having detached homes according to Condominium act and thereby allowed farang freehold, is Boat Lagoon. Upmarket pricing though

If I'm not mistaken, that new project at Cape Yamu falls into same category. My compatriot went there to buy a home and he was pleasantly surprised after they told him about this option. However, prices are astronomical.

[paulfromphuket]

Well......now that we all know that JOESHEAD is WOOHOO, I'm certain that there is absolutely no point in getting in a discussion with WOOHOO, but, I'll give it one last try.

When you say "well situated", you have to qualify well situated to what. The OP never stated.

If "well situated" is left open-ended, it usually refers to somewhere near the main tourist areas. As Thalang is not situated near the main tourist areas, it is not considered one of the more desirable areas, which is reflacted in the land prices in that part of the island.

If the OP means well situated (as in close) to the airport, or, a myriad of smelly shrimp-farms, I would agree with him.

Last post on that subject.

First let me address the main issue here the agents on this island are 99% crap, most with no experience and without any idea of any property market.

Now secondly your issue with Talang, well it is a big area, it was the islands capitol before Phuket town, it encompasses Surin, Bang Tao Layan, Nai ton beaches, plus Chentalay as well as all 4 marinas, 3 of the main golf courses and the 2 private schools. and well most of the north of Phuket.

So whilst it may be not the main tourist area, although it does cover the Dusitani, Banyan tree, Shearaton,Ttwin Palms and countless other 5 star resorts, it is a very desirable part of the island for expats.

Land prices vary from quite cheap in the remote rubber to off the scale for beachfront.

I presume Karen you are involved in selling to generally older expats/ retirement market that does seem to favour the way south areas but don't knock what many consider to be the best part of the island.

I need a very good reason to go south of central, like a free party with a bed included.

,

[KarenBravo]

I presume Karen you are involved in selling to generally older expats/ retirement market that does seem to favour the way south areas but don't knock what many consider to be the best part of the island.

I need a very good reason to go south of central, like a free party with a bed included.

,

Wrong! I have no business interests in Phuket.

Best beachfront bars are in Chalong and Rawai. Your loss.

[petercallen]

Wrong! I have no business interests in Phuket.

Best beachfront bars are in Chalong and Rawai. Your loss.

Karen come on be realistic, how many expats live in a area because it has bars my guess would be

5% to 10%, most expats live in the area that suites them best and that could be anywhere in phuket.

[LivinginKata]

Inflammatory post removed, plus the replies.

[KarenBravo]

Wrong! I have no business interests in Phuket.

Best beachfront bars are in Chalong and Rawai. Your loss.

Karen come on be realistic, how many expats live in a area because it has bars my guess would be

5% to 10%, most expats live in the area that suites them best and that could be anywhere in phuket.

I would say that the majority of expats live in Kathu, Chalong, Rawai and Nai Harn areas.

Bang Tao and Cherng Talay areas have many expats that have holiday homes, but, less full time residents.

Edited April 16, 2010 by KarenBravo

[Wellington]

Siam Real Estate seem to be about the most professional. They have a very good web-site.

http://www.siamrealestate.com/

I have met and spoken with a man named Kevin at Siam Real Estate, he seems to be a straight shooter, IMO.

Read the small print in their contract very carefully

[Wellington]

Five percent!!??

Now, that is getting greedy. The standard percentage is supposed to be 3%.

Every agent we approached over the last two years has quoted 5%

You may get less by hard haggling, then they'll make even less effort to sell for you

[Valentine]

Five percent!!??

Now, that is getting greedy. The standard percentage is supposed to be 3%.

Every agent we approached over the last two years has quoted 5%

You may get less by hard haggling, then they'll make even less effort to sell for you

I agree, 3% is a thing of the past & if you do get it they will focus on the higher commission homes.

[steelepulse]

So back to the actual topic, What do these agents do besides list your property on a website? I'd like to know if any of these estate agents do anything besides listing your place on their website and sending out an email to everyone on their list ( actually I'm sure most don't even do this).

Do any of these agents arrange an "open house", tour of various properties in a certain price range on any given day of the week (i.e. Mondays 2-5 mil, Tuesdays 5-10 mil etc.)? I am not in the biz at all, but I could see shuffling a van full of people every day to various properties as being a proactive approach.

[SeanPhuket]

So back to the actual topic, What do these agents do besides list your property on a website? I'd like to know if any of these estate agents do anything besides listing your place on their website and sending out an email to everyone on their list ( actually I'm sure most don't even do this).

Do any of these agents arrange an "open house", tour of various properties in a certain price range on any given day of the week (i.e. Mondays 2-5 mil, Tuesdays 5-10 mil etc.)? I am not in the biz at all, but I could see shuffling a van full of people every day to various properties as being a proactive approach.

I can only wish for an arranged open house Steel, but Im not going to wish for to long now. I think they give a tour of properties with high commissions very close to their offices but who knows, or even just 'well situated' places lol. One day I may pop by an agent as a buyer and see how they treat me and operate.

On another note, for my place I have laughed off the cowboys and am having a pop at marketing the villa myself. 4 enquiries in 24 hrs, so wish me luck!

Sean

[steelepulse]

>>On another note, for my place I have laughed off the cowboys and am having a pop at marketing the villa myself. 4 enquiries in 24 hrs, so wish me luck!

That's what I would do also. Doesn't take that much effort in the internet days.

[cdmtdm]

I can only wish for an arranged open house Steel, but Im not going to wish for to long now. I think they give a tour of properties with high commissions very close to their offices but who knows, or even just 'well situated' places lol. One day I may pop by an agent as a buyer and see how they treat me and operate.

On another note, for my place I have laughed off the cowboys and am having a pop at marketing the villa myself. 4 enquiries in 24 hrs, so wish me luck!

Sean

hey sean , what did you do setup a website ??? how did you market the property keen to find out the best approach

cheers CdM

[WOOHOO]

Best beachfront bars are in Chalong and Rawai. Your loss.

I try not to use icons, but how would you put this in to words...

On the plus side though, at least you're a cheap date.

I had no idea when you were talking about the tourist center of Phuket, you were referring to Chalong and Rawai. I assumed you meant Patong, Karon and Kata. Down there you are miles away from everything!! What tourist facilities do you have down there apart from a scanky zoo? People in Cherng Talay would beat you to Patong, Tesco, Central, Phuket Town and pretty much everywhere else.

So you're telling me half a rai down there costs more than half a rai near Bang Tao beach? I'm not up to date with my land prices, but that sounds dodgy to me.

Anyway, doesn't really matter, because the term is still relative, and will be different for everybody.

[KarenBravo]

Down there you are miles away from everything!! What tourist facilities do you have down there apart from a scanky zoo? People in Cherng Talay would beat you to Patong, Tesco, Central, Phuket Town and pretty much everywhere else.

You never seem to understand posts, but, like to put your own spin on things. It was a comparison between Thalang and Chalong. Cherng Talay was never mentioned.

Chalong miles from anywhere? Phuket Town, Patong, Kata all within 15 minutes away by motorcycle.

Chalong, Rawai and Nai Harn area is the best in Phuket for my purposes (just my opinion).

The fact is, Thalang has the cheapest land prices on the island. Why do you think that is?

[WOOHOO]

Your comment about comparing Thalang and Chalong, and not talking about Cherng Talay, highlights your lack of understanding. Cherng Talay is in Thalang. Comparing Cherng Talay and Chalong is much closer to like for like.

I will leave this thread here. The fact that we seem to be on different planets some times, isn't going to help us agree any time soon. I will however comment on anything else you say, if I happen to disagree.

[KarenBravo]

Yes, I know that Cherng Talay is in Umphur Talang and Chalong is Umphur Muang and Patong is Umphur Kathu. We are not comparing Umphurs. For most people, Thalang is regarded as a different place than Cherng Talay, just as Patong is regarded as a different place than Kathu.

[LivinginKata]

In the last few posts I have removed a number of remarks between 2 members as those remarks were just intended to inflame each other. Please stay with the topic, and not with personal bickering. Thank you.

[paulfromphuket]

Not sure if I dare say anything, but after 8 years living in Thalang well Surin and almost Laguna I know a lot of expats that are happy to spend 5 minuites more on a flat road(no Mountain) to get to some pretty happening bars etc than spend millions more to live in in Patong Kata or Karon. I also know many that have invested some big money in this area and would die laughing at the thought of living in Chalong

I went to Chalong last night, for a good reason free food and a driver but what a mission, I needed a drink by the time I got home.

Horses for courses I guess.

But right now you can't beat Surin beach after dark in my humble opinion, catch, pla, sterolab,taste plus all the other gaffs like anne and tarik, the irish pub, beutey and the beach and even a gay bar, buoy plus lots of Thai ran places too.

and I reafirm the agents are rubbish, we need to reinvent the property market here. Siam real estate 4 years one enquirey for me a joke.

[petercallen]

I don't believe the agents here have any training.

A salesman should have to do a training course to sell realestate and a licensed agents should have

a diploma in realestate which takes a lot of study.

A house should be inspected and properly valued by comparing it with similar property's in the surrounding area

which have been sold, this includes construction,quality of Finnish, age, land area, location including views, traffic

flow [ no one wants to live on a busy road ] and many other things.

Most people will have several agents value a property and then decide who they want to sell it,

they will then sign a agreement with the agent giving him an exclusive right to sell the property

for a agreed on period of time.

The agent will then take all the necessary photos inside and outside to be put on his web site.

He will open the home for inspection, usually on the weekends and advertise the inspection times

in the newspapers.

He will also over value the property by a small amount so he can negotiate a price that the owner

is happy with.

All costs of marketing the property are paid for by the agent as long as you do not want to sell it by auction

then the owner has to pay for the advertising costs as large advertisements in several newspapers are expensive

and if the owner puts to high a reserve price on the property it will not sell.

Agents do not do this here, most people will not give an agent an exclusive right to sell a property and people ask to much for there

property, that's why there are probably thousands of unsold property's on the market here, i have noticed

that people who drop the price of there property to a fair value usually sell fairly quickly as long as

they don't take to long to do it and all the potential buyers have bought elsewhere.

[chickencurry]

Five percent!!??

Now, that is getting greedy. The standard percentage is supposed to be 3%.

Every agent we approached over the last two years has quoted 5%

You may get less by hard haggling, then they'll make even less effort to sell for you

Hi Wellington. My experience, which is current, is that a lot of agents are reducing commission. We have been with 18 agents - commissions ranged from 3 percent inc VAT to 5 percent plus VAT. Average of 4 percent.

[Wellington]

Peter Callen seems to have hit the nail on the head with his summary of what should be done by a professional.

Trouble is there are only a handful of agents in Phuket who know what professional means.

Most are ignorant chancers.

[Peterocket]

Not sure if I dare say anything, but after 8 years living in Thalang well Surin and almost Laguna I know a lot of expats that are happy to spend 5 minuites more on a flat road(no Mountain) to get to some pretty happening bars etc than spend millions more to live in in Patong Kata or Karon. I also know many that have invested some big money in this area and would die laughing at the thought of living in Chalong

I went to Chalong last night, for a good reason free food and a driver but what a mission, I needed a drink by the time I got home.

Horses for courses I guess.

But right now you can't beat Surin beach after dark in my humble opinion, catch, pla, sterolab,taste plus all the other gaffs like anne and tarik, the irish pub, beutey and the beach and even a gay bar, buoy plus lots of Thai ran places too.

and I reafirm the agents are rubbish, we need to reinvent the property market here. Siam real estate 4 years one enquirey for me a joke.

I'm not sure if I understand you completely, are you saying that you think that property in Patong, Kata or Karon cost more than Laguna or Surin? From my experience Laguna and Surin are the most expensive locations on the island. I would certainly pick Laem Singh Villas or the Ayara Hilltops over any of the locations you mentioned.

Anyhow...I agree with you about Surin, I think its one of the best areas Phuket if not for the beach in the day.

[WOOHOO]

Anyhow...I agree with you about Surin, I think its one of the best areas Phuket if not for the beach in the day.

Totally agree. Wouldn't go near Surin beach during the day, but I was at the catch beach club today, just as the sun was setting. If that isn't what life in Phuket is all about I don't know what is.

I'm not being argumentative (for once) but there are tens of places of that quality from Kamala up to Bang Tao. I can't think of any in the south. Have I missed some somewhere?

[Wellington]

Hi Wellington. My experience, which is current, is that a lot of agents are reducing commission. We have been with 18 agents - commissions ranged from 3 percent inc VAT to 5 percent plus VAT. Average of 4 percent.

Hallo CC,

One major catch in "agents" contracts,which they do not publicise, is ,as happened to us a year ago,they will "steal" a deposit paid to you as either "holding" or initial 10%, IF you are unfortunate enough to have a buyer who pulls out of the deal for whatever reason; in our case, because he became jittery about the exchange rate.The agent was generous enough to hand us a bit of the deposit but in spite of the fact that his contract DID NOT have a clause to this effect ,he still robbed us of a substantial sum;

Not all agents do this, but take action appropriately if you spot this clause.

[SeanPhuket]

Hallo CC,

One major catch in "agents" contracts,which they do not publicise, is ,as happened to us a year ago,they will "steal" a deposit paid to you as either "holding" or initial 10%, IF you are unfortunate enough to have a buyer who pulls out of the deal for whatever reason; in our case, because he became jittery about the exchange rate.The agent was generous enough to hand us a bit of the deposit but in spite of the fact that his contract DID NOT have a clause to this effect ,he still robbed us of a substantial sum;

Not all agents do this, but take action appropriately if you spot this clause.

How about calling it a 'reservation fee' in the sell and purchase contract and not a deposit? Then the agent will have no right to take it or take their cut from it as your agency agreement with them outlines a 'deposit' right? Change the wording, just an idea ... (but of course pay any fees if the deal went through)

I had Siam Real Estate email me back extremely, extremely late a day or two ago asking me to sign an agency agreement with them. I wrote back and reminded them (incase they forgot lol) about professionalism and that they hadn't even seen the place yet, yet wanted me to sign anyway.

CDM (question from the last page) - I have made a website, not the most modern site with all the technology like agents have but it has lots of pictures and tones of info on, I also have a good friend whom works in SEO so I got 3,500 GBP worth of free SEO. On top of this I have plenty of flyers around the island now and have done loads of classifieds. From the last week I have about 10 dreamers and wasters but 5 serious potential so its looking great!

Its good to see the thread has continued to generate interest.

-Sean

[petercallen]

Hallo CC,

One major catch in "agents" contracts,which they do not publicise, is ,as hppened to us a year ago,they will "steal" a deposit paid to you as either "holding" or initial 10%, IF you are unfortunate enough to have a buyer who pulls out of the deal for whatever reason; in our case, because he became jittery about the exchange rate.The agent was generous enough to hand us a bit of the deposit but in spite of the fact that his contract DID NOT have a clause to this effect ,he still robbed us of a substantial sum;

Not all agents do this, but take action appropriately if you spot this clause.

The deposit should go to the vendor not the agent less the agreed on commission.

There dosnt seem to be any laws here protecting the vendors rights.

[katabeachbum]

The deposit should go to the vendor not the agent less the agreed on commission.

There dosnt seem to be any laws here protecting the vendors rights.

why should the agent have commision for not making the deal go through? and why would anyone trust these agents to handle any payments at all?

BTW, interesting to see how many girls used to work in bars now work in the realestateagents shoppingcenter stands

[petercallen]

why should the agent have commision for not making the deal go through? and why would anyone trust these agents to handle any payments at all?

BTW, interesting to see how many girls used to work in bars now work in the realestateagents shoppingcenter stands

Its not the agents fault the purchaser backed out after paying a deposit, the agent did his job selling

the property and would have spent time doing this, i personally would be happy getting the majority

of the deposit and the agent marketing the property again, this did not happen.

[123ace]

The estate agency approach imported to Phuket is based on ‘selected’ parts of the UK model, which works for the UK and has been adapted very well for obvious places like Hong Kong and Singapore. Perhaps not surprising in a culturally much removed location, such as Phuket, the system has proved not to be as transferable.

The market is stacked against the industry and has had a lot of recurring obstacles in the last five years, including ownership / title barriers, financing (lack of) and political worries, all of which have effectively lead to a far reduced (and still declining) pool of potential buyers. This has led to any quality operator seeking a career to NOT work in Phuket. All the leading or top operators in country (and there aren’t many!) are based in Bangkok, or more realistically elsewhere in the region.

Phuket is a big place, it is very hard to logistically get to and from all the places where there is activity. This really is an issue in terms of people being on time, or just not turning up. The market is flooded with sellers but has a dire scarcity of buyers, so it obvious which side the agent has to hand hold. Buyers call every agent and therefore make the agents job a nightmare trying to secure any sale.