Agents Commission For Selling Land

[Kevin1908]

I think real estate agents take a large percentage in Thailand. A few years back when going through my divorce I budgetted for 8% in real estate agents fees to sell some beach front land in the south owned though a company.

It needs to be sold as part of the divorce settlement and to clear the mortgage on the UK house. I have been in no great hurry to sell as the interest only payments on the mortgage are very low, I don't need the money now and the land value might go up, the UK pound might continue to go down, but above all, my ex wife doesn't get her share untill I sell. The agreement was that I arrange the sale. That way my ex thinks that I pick up all the costs. Little does she know.

Had a call today from the guy I pay to look after the land and he thinks he has a potential buyer at a very attractive price. Up until now the only price I could get was well below its valuation and potential worth. Hence I have been in no hurry to sell.

What sort of percentage would be a reasonable rate to pay this guy if he can get my asking price. We are talking a sizable amount of money.

[LennyW]

3%

[Kevin1908]

3%

That seems reasonable. He will get a nice earner and I will tell the ex wife it was 8%. She stitched me up enough times over inflating everything I ever paid for.. And her brother stole my pickup truck after the divorce.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

I think 3% is already high even for a "proper" agent. In the UK you would rarely pay more than a couple of %.

[rgs2001uk]

I think 3% is already high even for a "proper" agent. In the UK you would rarely pay more than a couple of %.

Except we aint in Kansas now are we?

3% is the normal Thai rate, I have a friend who does these sort of deals, in many cases for a quick sale where he already has a buyer lined up he will drop to anywhere between 1.5-2.5%.

[thunder30101]

You wont know how many hands are in the sale here when it comes to real estate. The only thing you should be concerned about is how much goes in your pocket when the sale is completed.

[candypants]

I think 3% is already high even for a "proper" agent. In the UK you would rarely pay more than a couple of %.

you are not in kansas anymore toto.

when you are buying, some agents try for a 5% finders fee

[Kevin1908]

I think 3% is already high even for a "proper" agent. In the UK you would rarely pay more than a couple of %.

Not sure you can compare the UK with Thailand. When I looked into placing the land with a commercial real estate agent it was 8%, PAID IN ADVANCE. I asked the ex for her share of half of the commission and was told to **** off. She seems to think she can walk away with half the sale price and I pick up all the costs. Oh dear is she in for one big surprise.

[rgs2001uk]

When I looked into placing the land with a commercial real estate agent it was 8%, PAID IN ADVANCE

Jeez, please tell me where in Thailand you were asked for this and by whom, farang or Thai?

This is just taking the piss, hope you told them to swivel.

Who owns the land, the mrs or a company?

Why not sell the land to a friend for peanuts, with a seperate cheque made payable to you?

[BlackPuddingBertha]

I think 3% is already high even for a "proper" agent. In the UK you would rarely pay more than a couple of %.

you are not in kansas anymore toto.

when you are buying, some agents try for a 5% finders fee

Actually I've never been to Kansas, with or without Toto.

What I do know is that the figure of 5% which is commonly bandied about by Pattaya estate agents explains why every other shop there has condo billboards outside and no clients inside. And the 3% that is mentioned here is still way over the top.

More fool those who pay it. I certainly wouldn't.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Not sure you can compare the UK with Thailand.

I dont see why not. Do Thai estate agents do any more work to secure a sale than a UK agent? The #%$£ they do. In fact they do a lot less and they often take months or years to get the sale anyway, where a UK agent would do it in weeks.

So why should they be worth more than a UK agent for doing the same task?

[PattayaPhom]

5% all the way and thats good value for the amount of work involved

[Kevin1908]

When I looked into placing the land with a commercial real estate agent it was 8%, PAID IN ADVANCE

Jeez, please tell me where in Thailand you were asked for this and by whom, farang or Thai?

This is just taking the piss, hope you told them to swivel.

Who owns the land, the mrs or a company?

Why not sell the land to a friend for peanuts, with a seperate cheque made payable to you?

Off the top of my head I can't remember. I know it was one of the big real estate companies, Siam something. To be honest I never intended to use them . I knew we would only sell this by word of mouth but for the divorce I had to be seen to marketing the land. Quoting 8% suited my purposes because when we went to the divorce court it was shown as an expense of selling the land. It was taking the commission up front that really pissed me off. It may have been half up front. I am going back 4 years now. Still a sizable amount of money.

The land is owned by a company.

[Pib]

5% all the way and thats good value for the amount of work involved

Said the PattayaPhom Real Estate Company agent.

Based on my googling and looking at about a half dozen of the googled sites, it seems the ballpark range is 3 to 5% for Thailand like as mentioned at this Link. Real estate is pretty much an unregulated industry in Thailand like mentioned at this Link...so I expect commissions can vary all over the map.

[PattayaPhom]

Not sure you can compare the UK with Thailand.

I dont see why not. Do Thai estate agents do any more work to secure a sale than a UK agent? The #%$£ they do. In fact they do a lot less and they often take months or years to get the sale anyway, where a UK agent would do it in weeks.

So why should they be worth more than a UK agent for doing the same task?

Apples and oranges....when did a sale in the UK take only a few weeks to complete..never!!!...UK buyers will pay a lawyer two or three thousand Sterling, thats 2-3% on a 100K apartment and then the agent on top......the only reason a sale takes years is because the owner wants a ridiculous price, those properties are just not worth listing. Many pigs in pokes out there and why any agent wastes their time with them I dont know.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Apples and oranges....when did a sale in the UK take only a few weeks to complete..never!!!...UK buyers will pay a lawyer two or three thousand Sterling, thats 2-3% on a 100K apartment and then the agent on top......

Apples and oranges? Hardly. Estate agents and estate agents, all doing exactly the same job. In fact the UK agent will have a lot more to do because he, unlike his counterpart in Thailand, has some laws to obey relating to how he presents the details.

As for Thai agents deserving more because the buyer here is saving money on not having to do conveyancing, that the biggest load of claptrap I have ever heard. It's the land office that does the conveyancing here, so let them have the solicitor's fee for doing it if you like.

And if searches etc are already done you can indeed complete a sale in the UK in days. Of course here there are no searches to be done or paid for, and that's one other saving for the buyer/vendor that I suppose you would like to go the agent.

Every time any agent opens his mouth in here he always seems to prove what a money-grabbing, idle and incompetent bunch they are.

[PattayaPhom]

Apples and oranges....when did a sale in the UK take only a few weeks to complete..never!!!...UK buyers will pay a lawyer two or three thousand Sterling, thats 2-3% on a 100K apartment and then the agent on top......

Apples and oranges? Hardly. Estate agents and estate agents, all doing exactly the same job. In fact the UK agent will have a lot more to do because he, unlike his counterpart in Thailand, has some laws to obey relating to how he presents the details.

As for Thai agents deserving more because the buyer here is saving money on not having to do conveyancing, that the biggest load of claptrap I have ever heard. It's the land office that does the conveyancing here, so let them have the solicitor's fee for doing it if you like.

And if searches etc are already done you can indeed complete a sale in the UK in days. Of course here there are no searches to be done or paid for, and that's one other saving for the buyer/vendor that I suppose you would like to go the agent.

Every time any agent opens his mouth in here he always seems to prove what a money-grabbing, idle and incompetent bunch they are.

You really have no idea of what is involved in real estate in Thailand.

[candypants]

Apples and oranges....when did a sale in the UK take only a few weeks to complete..never!!!...UK buyers will pay a lawyer two or three thousand Sterling, thats 2-3% on a 100K apartment and then the agent on top......

Apples and oranges? Hardly. Estate agents and estate agents, all doing exactly the same job. In fact the UK agent will have a lot more to do because he, unlike his counterpart in Thailand, has some laws to obey relating to how he presents the details.

As for Thai agents deserving more because the buyer here is saving money on not having to do conveyancing, that the biggest load of claptrap I have ever heard. It's the land office that does the conveyancing here, so let them have the solicitor's fee for doing it if you like.

And if searches etc are already done you can indeed complete a sale in the UK in days. Of course here there are no searches to be done or paid for, and that's one other saving for the buyer/vendor that I suppose you would like to go the agent.

Every time any agent opens his mouth in here he always seems to prove what a money-grabbing, idle and incompetent bunch they are.

i would say that there most certainly is due diligence to be done here, and only a fool would not make sure the title is clear, the seller has the legal right to sell etc.

you can equate thai real estate brokers with brokers from the UK all you want, but the fact is if someone here brings you a sale, they will expect their cut.

you can complete the deal and tell them to take a hike if you wish, let me know how that works out for you.

i would also agree that most agents are bone idle, but i have also worked with indispensable agents that have smoothed the way for everything from title transfer to registration title upgrades etc as a part of the service offered for the commission.

Main problem is that most are looking to sell you something, few are looking to bring you a buyer

Edited March 21, 2013 by candypants

[BlackPuddingBertha]

i would say that there most certainly is due diligence to be done here, and only a fool would not make sure the title is clear, the seller has the legal right to sell etc.

"Due diligence" is not "searches".

As for farang agents in Thailand actually doing due diligence, most of them couldn't even spell it, let alone do it.

Most farang agents here are unregulated, untrained, unprofessional and incompetent clowns who couldn't get a real job if they tried. And that's probably why they are selling condos here.

[rgs2001uk]

i would say that there most certainly is due diligence to be done here, and only a fool would not make sure the title is clear, the seller has the legal right to sell etc.

"Due diligence" is not "searches".

As for farang agents in Thailand actually doing due diligence, most of them couldn't even spell it, let alone do it.

Most farang agents here are unregulated, untrained, unprofessional and incompetent clowns who couldn't get a real job if they tried. And that's probably why they are selling condos here.

Most farang agents here are unregulated, untrained, unprofessional and

incompetent clowns who couldn't get a real job if they tried. And that's

probably why they are selling condos here.

I wonder how many of them speak Thai never mind read Thai.

We never see them over on the language forum.

Most are ex barrow boy spiv types with their ex BG girlfriend working as their translator come secretary.

[Rooo]

On Samui they are hopeless, biggest waste of time & they ask from 3 to 7%, for what? They can't even show a house, they are just glorified drivers IMHO.

[thunder30101]

How did a topic about real estate sales turn into a farang bashing episode ??? The fact is this aint the uk if you want to buy or sell property here by yourself and think you know all about thai people and how things work here go for it. Like I said before the only thing that matters is what will end up in the op's pocket at the end of the sale.I will add your ex must be dumber than a box of rocks as any self respecting thai woman would attack your company structure and pay off the locals to take it all from you and give them their cut and leave you with nothing.

[PattayaPhom]

How did a topic about real estate sales turn into a farang bashing episode ??? The fact is this aint the uk if you want to buy or sell property here by yourself and think you know all about thai people and how things work here go for it. Like I said before the only thing that matters is what will end up in the op's pocket at the end of the sale.I will add your ex must be dumber than a box of rocks as any self respecting thai woman would attack your company structure and pay off the locals to take it all from you and give them their cut and leave you with nothing.

Probably because most of them are either too poor to buy anywhere or are one of those that have been trying to sell their house in the boonies for an extorinate price and dont like it when an agent tells them its only worth half what they want...but hey ho, they are all property experts and know more than people that work in the industry....if you said anything about teachers in the teaching forum you get banned for a week, here its open season on agents...

[Farma]

I'd be more inclined to call some of the comments in this thread a wake up call to real estate agents, especially in the tourist areas, rather than a bashing.

I also believe (know) 1 or more contributors to this thread don't fall into the too poor to buy classification. I'd classify them more as informed shrewd informed investors.

An unregulated industry, agents demanding high or upfront fees, regular exposure of outright scams, should i go on...

[candypants]

i would say that there most certainly is due diligence to be done here, and only a fool would not make sure the title is clear, the seller has the legal right to sell etc.

"Due diligence" is not "searches".

As for farang agents in Thailand actually doing due diligence, most of them couldn't even spell it, let alone do it.

Most farang agents here are unregulated, untrained, unprofessional and incompetent clowns who couldn't get a real job if they tried. And that's probably why they are selling condos here.

i was unaware we were talking about foreign agents, i personally have never used one.

generally one can cut directly to the thai the farang has doing all the work.

they are the ones with all the relationships.

As for up front fees, you would have to be mad, why remove any and all incentive to complete the task?

Edited March 22, 2013 by candypants

[rgs2001uk]

Seeing as at least two realtors have replied, perhaps they would be so kind as to explain to us mere uninformed mortals, why the Thais can do it for 3% or less and farangs are quoting anything up to 10%.

[PattayaPhom]

Seeing as at least two realtors have replied, perhaps they would be so kind as to explain to us mere uninformed mortals, why the Thais can do it for 3% or less and farangs are quoting anything up to 10%.

Because they work from home and not a registered company, no work permits or taxes to pay

[taninthai]

I honestly don't know why anyone would use a faring agent I'm sure you woolly use a Thai agent in your own country that couldn't speak read or write the language,I'm sure there maybe a few fearing agents that did the job in their homeland ,but I'd say the majority over here are just chancres,pattaya phom which category are you

[PattayaPhom]

I honestly don't know why anyone would use a faring agent I'm sure you woolly use a Thai agent in your own country that couldn't speak read or write the language,I'm sure there maybe a few fearing agents that did the job in their homeland ,but I'd say the majority over here are just chancres,pattaya phom which category are you

All of the above

[taninthai]

I honestly don't know why anyone would use a faring agent I'm sure you woolly use a Thai agent in your own country that couldn't speak read or write the language,I'm sure there maybe a few fearing agents that did the job in their homeland ,but I'd say the majority over here are just chancres,pattaya phom which category are you

All of the above

Should have known you never get a straight truthful answer from a real estate agent.

In all honesty if your bussiness cannot be competitive with the other agents out there you are onto a loser straight away ,just because Thais don't need work permits and can set up bussiness cheaper than farang is no reason to be charging more than double your competitors commission and if that is your sole reason for extortanate charges I think you have set up the wrong bussiness.

Of coarse saying all that there is always the gullible arriving who will be in their comfort zone dealing with a fearing agent and believing everything they say ,I guess this is your target Market.