Agents Commission For Selling Land

[BlackPuddingBertha]

... if you said anything about teachers in the teaching forum you get banned for a week...

Hmm. Sounds like it may be worth a punt.

TEFL teachers in the main are another hopelessly incompetent bunch and, unsurprisingly, in Pattaya a lot of people seem to do both jobs part-time.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

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

.................

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

At least the Thai agents generally know where the condo building is, which is more than can be said for many farang agents. Either way 3% or 5% or 8% are all far too high regardless of what nationality they are.

An up-front fee is just plain bonkers, as you say.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

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

Ho ho ho. And UK agents who earn a decent living by charging just 1 or 2% max dont also pay much higher wages, national insurance, taxes, rates and VAT than agents do here?

[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

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.

Since when is 5% more than double 3% ???...those arriving do not pay commission as they would be buying rather than selling. Paying tax as a registered company does cost a lot annually. The Thai agents you talk about do not pay tax!!! As I tell any prospective customer that comes to us and say they have it with another agent at 3% and dont want to pay 5%...just ask them,"have they sold it yet"...answer is always no. That extra 2% goes a long way with marketing expenditure in order to secure a sale.

[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.

Since when is 5% more than double 3% ???...those arriving do not pay commission as they would be buying rather than selling. Paying tax as a registered company does cost a lot annually. The Thai agents you talk about do not pay tax!!! As I tell any prospective customer that comes to us and say they have it with another agent at 3% and dont want to pay 5%...just ask them,"have they sold it yet"...answer is always no. That extra 2% goes a long way with marketing expenditure in order to secure a sale.

Marketing expenditure ...lol....but it's free to place an add on tv classifieds ,bht&sold and your own website.

I don't fall for all the crap which some of your prospective clients may fall hook line and sinker for.

[PattayaPhom]

Another one with no idea of marketing or real estate in general. The websites you quote are usless.....you can put a 300 word description and 20 pictures of a property and the only responses you get are "more details and pictures please".....Local publications, international websites, foreign exhibitions, these dont come cheap. If you sit down and work out the costs involved you may take a different view, I very much doubt you have the slightest idea of all that is involved and associated costs and as for keep on comparing to the UK...This is Thailand not the UK!!! Yes there are agents like you describe but there are also many that offer a proffessional service to domestic and international clients.

[taninthai]

i agree the websites i quote are all useless because they are aimed at the ferang market and everything is clearly way overpriced through just pure greed or the owner paying well over the top in the first place and obviously not willing to sell at a loss,as for knowing about real estate in general im admit im no expert but i am also not stupid enough to get involved with something i can never actually own and will be very difficult to off load for a profit .

[Kevin1908]

"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"

Is that comment addressed to me? She would be on a sticky wicket if she tried that since she can't demonstrate that she has put any of the capital into the company which I understand is against Thai law. Contrary to her getting everything my Thai solicitor is confident that she is the one who would get nothing if it got legal.

[ThaiReal]

3 % of the sales price, from the owner for the agent is the standard in land sales. Anyway, some agents could try to make up.

Another point is the transfer fees at the land office, or the legal fees. I´m agent since 2007 (trustfull - the only way).

Edited March 22, 2013 by ThaiReal

[comserve]

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

The only area I have experience is QLD, Australia.

There the standard commission is $900 + 2 1/2% of the remainder. A strange amount but has some history on it reflecting the days when a lot of properties were quite cheap.

I would suggest that the due diligence has nothing to do with the seller, it is "buyer beware".

That is the reason that most people at home employ a lawyer to conduct the transfer.

Mind you, in Thailand, where there is no zoning control, that would be questionable. As long as the chanot is provided then that is really all that matters!

[comserve]

In the long run, if the net price is right, I would not be concerned what commission is paid.

[KBAA]

The Thai Law say 3% !

That is for all who come with a buyer to a piece of property, always 3% !

Even you had not asked for any agents etc.

[diarmuidOGW]

Kevin,

I have acted as an agent for land and house sales over the past eight years and the % has remained constant at 5%.

The valuation that you have on your land and what you have been offered may differ and that is because the value of your land is worth what you will be paid by the potential buyer.

[Chua]

I asked a good friend who is an agent in Thailand... here's what she said:

Commission rates vary around the world. In Hong Kong, real estate commissions are only 1%. In the USA is 2.5% for the buyer's agent and 2.5% to the seller's agent (so in most cases, a total of 5%). The difference in rates is primarily due to the existing secondary market of attracting good agents with a rate at least as high as that which other sellers are offering.

In Thailand, between two Thai people, the rate had traditionally been 3% since this is also codified as the default under Thai law in the case where no commission agreement exists. But that doesn't mean that both parties cannot agree to a higher rate. Indeed, with the 3% base rate, Thais traditionally also offer the agent an "excess payment" where if the Thai agent can get the seller's asking price + X, they get 3% of the asking price plus X, which often works out to well over 10%.

Prior to 2008, between expats, the rates were typically 4% to 5% for properties up to 10 million THB baht and 3% for those over this price. However, due to the global economic recession and downturn during 2009-2011, the decrease in customer demand coupled with the even stronger desire to sell among property owners, the 5% rate spread to virtually all properties, even those with price tags in the hundreds of millions of baht range. The 5% standard rate has since extended to most all properties sold by Thai people as well. They realize that since other sellers are willing to pay 5%, they need to offer the same or else the agents will not be motivated to send the customers to them.

During the 2011-2013 period, some very wise sellers began offering as much as 6% or 7% because the smart ones realize that even this relatively small difference to them makes a huge difference to the broker, who will be incentivized to promote, advertise and prioritize properties which produce the highest ROI.

The best answer is to ask the agent what rate other sellers of comparable property are offering them and then match or beat that rate.

[khunPer]

Normally agents gets 3%, sometimes 5%.

[julemanden]

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

What work is that, list it on a homepage and then what else?

[12DrinkMore]

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.

It is far far better not to get involved in real estate in Thailand at all.

Rent.

Rent.

Rent.

For at least five years living permanently in Thailand rent. Only then will you know where you want to live.

The ONLY exception is that you are spending an insignificant amount that you can write off with a smile.

Keep your money away from where the greedy can get their hands on it.

[Briandajew]

Buying land might be different from selling, back in 1997, when we bought about 10 rai, we paid nothing as commission to the guy who sorted out the land details (He basically did everything - found the owner of the land, arranged deposits contracts and then to the Amphur - which was where land was bought and sold before the later land registry offices) I believe the seller paid for most of the costs apart from some lawyers fees we needed at the time as she did not have the original chanote available - It had been damaged and the amphur required a replacement from Bangkok (Which took more than three years!!!!)

I think on the contract for 1 million Baht he got 25000.

7 years later on another purchase of another 10 rai the same guy did all the arrangements and out of 1.3 million, I think he received 15000 - These are "Up Country" prices and are not through real estate companies, so there is some massive variations.

[sydneyjed]

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.

Same as Sydney...they are all lowlife scheming scumbag bas....ds who act like they are brain surgeons..Wake up people!!!

[swerving]

I very rarely contribute to this forum as i find many contributors to be childish and boring in their views and expressions, but this one has me incensed. Because i am a real estate agent my girlfriend must be a BG? What a ridiculous statement. Because i am a real estate agent i cannot speak Thai?

I have lived here for 16 years, i speak very good Thai, i do not go to bars and would not even consider having a g/f who was ex bar.

Land office does conveyancing? Ridiculous. Lawyers do conveyancing, which in Thailand is know as due diligence. A competent Thai lawyer will complete DD in 48 hours for about 15,000thb.

Because i am an agent i am idle, incompetent and money grabbing?

Some people have absoloutely no idea how others work, or have no interest. I work an average of 12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week trying to sell land for my clients. My income has dropped 90% over the last 4 years due to the GFC, so i have to work harder.

As for commissions, no one would pay a commission up front. That is like going to a restaurant, ordering a meal, paying for it and leaving without eating it.

I really cannot believe some of the stupid, childish and ridiculous statements made on this subject from people who have absoloutely no idea what they are talking about.

[swerving]

The Thai Law say 3% !

That is for all who come with a buyer to a piece of property, always 3% !

Even you had not asked for any agents etc.

Thai law does not say 3%. Ridiculous statement. sales commission is not defined by law, if you don't know what you are talking about, better to say nothing.

[swerving]

I very rarely contribute to this forum as i find many contributors to be childish and boring in their views and expressions, but this one has me incensed. Because i am a real estate agent my girlfriend must be a BG? What a ridiculous statement. Because i am a real estate agent i cannot speak Thai?

I have lived here for 16 years, i speak very good Thai, i do not go to bars and would not even consider having a g/f who was ex bar.

Land office does conveyancing? Ridiculous. Lawyers do conveyancing, which in Thailand is know as due diligence. A competent Thai lawyer will complete DD in 48 hours for about 15,000thb.

Because i am an agent i am idle, incompetent and money grabbing?

Some people have absoloutely no idea how others work, or have no interest. I work an average of 12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week trying to sell land for my clients. My income has dropped 90% over the last 4 years due to the GFC, so i have to work harder.

As for commissions, no one would pay a commission up front. That is like going to a restaurant, ordering a meal, paying for it and leaving without eating it.

I really cannot believe some of the stupid, childish and ridiculous statements made on this subject from people who have absoloutely no idea what they are talking about.

[swerving]

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.

No searches done here? I have worked as a real estate agent in Thailand for 16 years and nobody...Thai or Farang would purchase a property or land without a search, known as due diligence. The land office does not do searches/DD, that is the job of a lawyer. If you don't know what you are talking about, better to say nothing, then you won't embarass yourself.

[Rooo]

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

Thais do not need a work permit, work from home is fine, as for tax, perhaps clarify what the threshold is for tax to kick in.

[Rooo]

National real estate office opened here on Samui. 3 years ago commission was 7 % + Vat on that amount plus I had to supply professional pictures, yeah right.

Needless to say, they lasted about 18 months without selling one property of what I understand. now they are back in BKK handling all the sole agency stuff lmao.

[churchill]

most will negotiate...... 3-5% is normal ... look out for VAT ....

some like to ask the price you want and add on a higher % , & I would avoid ..

[taninthai]

I very rarely contribute to this forum as i find many contributors to be childish and boring in their views and expressions, but this one has me incensed. Because i am a real estate agent my girlfriend must be a BG? What a ridiculous statement. Because i am a real estate agent i cannot speak Thai?

I have lived here for 16 years, i speak very good Thai, i do not go to bars and would not even consider having a g/f who was ex bar.

Land office does conveyancing? Ridiculous. Lawyers do conveyancing, which in Thailand is know as due diligence. A competent Thai lawyer will complete DD in 48 hours for about 15,000thb.

Because i am an agent i am idle, incompetent and money grabbing?

Some people have absoloutely no idea how others work, or have no interest. I work an average of 12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week trying to sell land for my clients. My income has dropped 90% over the last 4 years due to the GFC, so i have to work harder.

As for commissions, no one would pay a commission up front. That is like going to a restaurant, ordering a meal, paying for it and leaving without eating it.

I really cannot believe some of the stupid, childish and ridiculous statements made on this subject from people who have absoloutely no idea what they are talking about.

Working that many hours everyday you are either shifting a lot of sales or dealing with a lot of timewasters,I'd guess its the second one.I can't see any Thai using a ferang agent and I don't really think there is actually that many fearing buying properties here so it's a very small Market you have, maybe time to try your hand at a new job if it's getting that tough

[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%.

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

Thais do not need a work permit, work from home is fine, as for tax, perhaps clarify what the threshold is for tax to kick in.

Correct amundo, they also dont need to employ 4 pretties who sit polishing their finger nails and update their face book page every day.

Whats wrong with working from home, or living in a shophouse, downstairs business, upstairs living quarters.

They also dont need to state a minimum income of what 50k (?) per month to justify a WP.

Why should they up the commission to above 3% that would bring them into the tax bracket?

Got to love the terminolgy here, selling dreams to suckers, translated as, selling an investment in a lifestyle.

Take a look at Hua Hin, raped and pillaged that place, now onto the next suckers paradise.

[rgs2001uk]

I very rarely contribute to this forum as i find many contributors to be childish and boring in their views and expressions, but this one has me incensed. Because i am a real estate agent my girlfriend must be a BG? What a ridiculous statement. Because i am a real estate agent i cannot speak Thai?

I have lived here for 16 years, i speak very good Thai, i do not go to bars and would not even consider having a g/f who was ex bar.

Land office does conveyancing? Ridiculous. Lawyers do conveyancing, which in Thailand is know as due diligence. A competent Thai lawyer will complete DD in 48 hours for about 15,000thb.

Because i am an agent i am idle, incompetent and money grabbing?

Some people have absoloutely no idea how others work, or have no interest. I work an average of 12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week trying to sell land for my clients. My income has dropped 90% over the last 4 years due to the GFC, so i have to work harder.

As for commissions, no one would pay a commission up front. That is like going to a restaurant, ordering a meal, paying for it and leaving without eating it.

I really cannot believe some of the stupid, childish and ridiculous statements made on this subject from people who have absoloutely no idea what they are talking about.

My income has dropped 90% over the last 4 years due to the GFC, so i have to work harder.

Where in Thailand is this GFC you mention?

Maybe you are in some farang destination, Pattaya, Phuket, or Samui?

I see Thais looking at, selling and buying properties every week.

By GFC, do you mean the Johnny come lately 90 baht to the pommie peso 2 week millionaires?

The same ones heard uttering the immortal, its only Mickey Mouse money, or, never going home brigade?

The same ones who now come to these forums seeking advice on how to leverage their properties, land rich bank poor?

Lawyers do conveyancing, which in Thailand is know as due diligence.

Oh dear oh dear, no more needs to be said.

[stoli]

This comment has more to do with the OP's question than most answers posted. Just for your info, after being a licensed Realtor in California for many years, comission of sales of land was 10%. It usually took years to sell vacant land.