Pattaya Estate Agents, money for old rope, Time to start Owners Co-Ops

[BruceMangosteen]

Percentage commissions would naturally be a bit higher where the selling price is so low.

Would be hard to make a living on 3percent commission when the selling price is 2million baht or even less.

I am sure if you have more expensive properties 10m baht up then the commission might be more negotiable.

Two points of perhaps interest on this:

1. Using your 2,000,000.baht selling price, that would be at the 3 percent, 60,000.baht. As was mentioned, the Thai staff is paid apx 9000.baht a month. So, combining that with what all know are inexpensive office expenses and rents, and the actual wages in Thailand, 60,000.baht isn't that "low" for doing very little if anything at all. It's just a sale, no different than one in a 7/11 or for internet services. It's a living in Thailand and Pattaya/Bangkok, not England or the U.S.A..

2. Sometimes the "agent" will ask or demand the buyer pay a commission as well as the seller. Remember, switching the focus to the commission is the key, not the value of the property and satisfaction of the buyer and seller.

[1FinickyOne]

Yes, these "co-ops" are otherwise known as "classified advs" - where you sell by owner... the reason the co-op idea does not hold water is that unlike farmers, it is not an ongoing life choice for the seller - one shot and out hopefully.

But real estate agents, back in USA, well it was pretty rare to get a good experience. When looking, I remeber my wife and I refusing to go in the car with them and listen to the same tired sales pitches [ lies ] - - and as soon as I heard the too tired, "someone else is about to make an offer" - I would reply "then I don't want it. I would hate for those other people to be disappointed" - so, maybe be happy they don't talk too much...

but sure, at 5% they could at least open the door and say "This is the bedroom"

[Hunter88]

I agree with most of what was said. The agent brings the client and I do the rest. Often it's the 5% that kills a deal. There seems to be a complete lack of how a deal is struck between seller and buyer. The negotiation process is unheard of. And, little or no advertising by the agent.

[raybarrell]

I agree with your comments re estate agents. They are a complete joke I have experienced exactly the same service which is nil.. even when they come with a client they stand there like stuffed dummies not knowing what to say then expect 5% commission for putting it on their website. If someone had the initiative to start up a Estate Agents business and serviced their clients efficiently, they would knock all these cowboys out of business!! One stands a 1% chance of selling your property through an agent.:-((

[BigSkip]

Another agent bashing thread...OK....go rent an office in the high street for location...rent in the region of 20,000 a month. Set up a good website with a reputable company, 40,000 plus 8,000 a year, Thai staff 2 x 9,000 salary each per month plus com for their listings. Work permit and visa costs for each foreigner, monthly taxes and social security, utilities, purchase car and daily/monthly running costs, yearly tax bill. Now you try and do that on 1%...sell a condo at Nirun for 600,000 that's a massive 6,000 com for you. Get real, do the maths. If you want your property marketed well 5% is reasonable. While we are at it...why are owners so stupid these days, I remember when you would visit a property and value it, nowadays so many owners think they know best and want xxxx amount regardless of the agents experience of knowing the market. As for any agent that expects you to send photos, give them a miss, an agent needs to view and value a property in order to market it correctly.

Beautiful. I guess that settles it. Pattaya could not survive without Real Estate Agents. As for fair and decent apprasials, where does one actually get one in Thailand? Not available except of course from the one selling said property(and his/her agent) with the commission incentive.

I think the bank would give a fair appraisal.

Not true.............. scb Pattaya sent a rep to do appraisal in Jomtien, 19yrs. old, still wet behind the ears, 8.2m invested, 6 yrs old, est: 4.3m lol what a joke

[oneday]

Another agent bashing thread...OK....go rent an office in the high street for location...rent in the region of 20,000 a month. Set up a good website with a reputable company, 40,000 plus 8,000 a year, Thai staff 2 x 9,000 salary each per month plus com for their listings. Work permit and visa costs for each foreigner, monthly taxes and social security, utilities, purchase car and daily/monthly running costs, yearly tax bill. Now you try and do that on 1%...sell a condo at Nirun for 600,000 that's a massive 6,000 com for you. Get real, do the maths. If you want your property marketed well 5% is reasonable. While we are at it...why are owners so stupid these days, I remember when you would visit a property and value it, nowadays so many owners think they know best and want xxxx amount regardless of the agents experience of knowing the market. As for any agent that expects you to send photos, give them a miss, an agent needs to view and value a property in order to market it correctly.

I think the OP does go a little overboard on his complaints. Commissions in the US are 6%. I don't see how anyone could live on 2-1 1/2%. I say you haven't met the right real estate agent yet. I met one when recently looking for a home in Pattaya. His name is Steve and he works for Coastal Real Estate out of their Soi Diana office. He worked as hard as any agent I have ever used in the US.

On the other hand PattayaPhom above has gone too far on the other side. There ARE real estate sites/companies that don't answer their emails which is unthinkable. Or companies that answer their email days later. Are you joking? I had an appointment with an agent on one site and the day I called to confirm he had forgotten our appointment and wanted to set up another time the next day. Did this idiot have an appointment book; I think not? Totally unprofessional and I'd never use them again. Many real estate sites don't have a clue how to setup a good site with large clear pictures on a good slideshow. The OP is correct, it is the real estate agents job to take the pictures, however, I'd never let an agent take pictures of my home as I can do way better. They take pictures with bad framing, bad lighting and many forget the kitchen and bathrooms. I can't believe how many sites leave out the square meters for internal living area. They'll often put the land area and forget the living area. The first things I use to assess a home are pictures (how it looks), size of living area and size of land. If those are good then I schedule a visit and not before.

Heck, many owners are ridiculous with their lack of cooperation with agents in showing their homes. It took two months for me to see one townhouse recently. When I asked the renter how many others had been by to see this property she said I was the first. Yeah, I wonder why. When I wanted to see another house, the word came back from the buyer that he had renters in there and he didn't want to bother them so if I wanted the house I'd have to buy it unseen. Are these sellers insane or what? Another seller was in Issan and wouldn't be back for some time so I couldn't see it until he returned. Without the LOCKBOX system we use in the US it's impossible to show a home if the owner is away and more complicated with all the homes for sale that have renters in them.

On the whole, working with agents and some companies in this town is much more difficult and frustrating than in my country, until I met Steve at Coastal.

If you have a good company with a good website and good agents then there should be no complaints. The commission is what it is and it's set by the industry. That's not the real estate company's fault. And unfortunately, the agents can not control the owners and how they respond when someone wants to see their home.

Edited June 16, 2013 by oneday

[SSSlongtime]

its 17% in France ,thats the buyers costs ,but the agents are good ,so your lucky to be in thailand

[oneday]

Another agent bashing thread...OK....go rent an office in the high street for location...rent in the region of 20,000 a month. Set up a good website with a reputable company, 40,000 plus 8,000 a year, Thai staff 2 x 9,000 salary each per month plus com for their listings. Work permit and visa costs for each foreigner, monthly taxes and social security, utilities, purchase car and daily/monthly running costs, yearly tax bill. Now you try and do that on 1%...sell a condo at Nirun for 600,000 that's a massive 6,000 com for you. Get real, do the maths. If you want your property marketed well 5% is reasonable. While we are at it...why are owners so stupid these days, I remember when you would visit a property and value it, nowadays so many owners think they know best and want xxxx amount regardless of the agents experience of knowing the market. As for any agent that expects you to send photos, give them a miss, an agent needs to view and value a property in order to market it correctly.

Beautiful. I guess that settles it. Pattaya could not survive without Real Estate Agents. As for fair and decent apprasials, where does one actually get one in Thailand? Not available except of course from the one selling said property(and his/her agent) with the commission incentive.

After looking at many, many homes on many, many sites for some time, you start to get a very good idea, which homes are over-valued, which homes are valued about right and even sometimes under-valued. I never decide to buy until I've got enough homes looked at under by belt. When I bought my last home I offered almost 10% lower than their asking price. They asked, through my agent, why I offered so low and I simply said it's not worth that much given the current market. They countered $1000 above where I wanted them to counter and a deal was done.

[julemanden]

The "wasters" you refer to are obviously the "window shopping, time wasting so called purchasers", who have nothing better to be doing than swanning around, property gazing, to kill an afternoon......that problem has nothing to do with the complaints owners are talking about here...that is YOUR problem...and at the other end of the scale. Please don't try to involve us in it. Perhaps a small fee or something similar towards the expense of commuting them between properties might separate the men from the boys. We too have to put up with the time wasters. Now....when a person asks me over the phone before even coming to view the property "what's the lowest I'll take for it?".... I reply by telling them that after they have viewed the property, decided they like it and want to buy it, have enough money in their pocket to put down an initial small deposit (even 1,000 Bt) then I'll begin the "haggling" with them, guaranteeing them a fair price and hopefully a fair one for myself too. I can tell in a matter of seconds the genuine ones from the time wasters....so I no longer sit around with them after the viewing, having cups of tea and talking about the merits and de-merits of living in Thailand....I presume you can tell them apart too but I do realize you cannot turn them away on those grounds alone for fear you may be wrong.

PS, I knew an antique dealer at home who used to charge 5 Euro just to go into his shop....he too was probably sick and tired of the browsing tourists...he may have cut down the footfall into his shop drastically but at least he knew whoever came in were certainly genuine customers......sometimes I'm reminded of him and consider doing the same thing myself...just waiting a little longer to let the tolerance run out completely. Anyway, let's not take ourselves too seriously, As the man said ...."Don't bother taking off your coat....you won't be staying very long" ...Meaning....It's a short life for those who didn't get my drift.

One of the biggest problems for the 'wasters' is the absurd prices asked on some properties. You look at a house which is probably 'worth' 5 million baht but the agent has it priced at 7.5 million. Who is the 'waster' the potential buyer who wants to pay a fair price, the vendor who is just plain greedy or the agent who should tried the get a more reasonable price before accepting the property on his books? It's bad enough trying the haggle prices down in the markets for a t-shirt without going through the same palaver with a serious purchase like a house.

Now reading all this, i wonder how do you know the real price on the property up for sale, do you have better knowledge than the estate agent or?

[robertson468]

Another agent bashing thread...OK....go rent an office in the high street for location...rent in the region of 20,000 a month. Set up a good website with a reputable company, 40,000 plus 8,000 a year, Thai staff 2 x 9,000 salary each per month plus com for their listings. Work permit and visa costs for each foreigner, monthly taxes and social security, utilities, purchase car and daily/monthly running costs, yearly tax bill. Now you try and do that on 1%...sell a condo at Nirun for 600,000 that's a massive 6,000 com for you. Get real, do the maths. If you want your property marketed well 5% is reasonable. While we are at it...why are owners so stupid these days, I remember when you would visit a property and value it, nowadays so many owners think they know best and want xxxx amount regardless of the agents experience of knowing the market. As for any agent that expects you to send photos, give them a miss, an agent needs to view and value a property in order to market it correctly.

I don't see the article as particularly "Agent Bashing" as you put it. I have dealt with several Agents here, neither who have come to take photographs and attempts to make appointments with the Agent Representative discuss the potential sale have failed. From my experience it has been minimum effort for maximum result and yes I believe 5% commission is far too high. If I sell property at 20M baht, you believe it is perfectly in order for pay an Agent ONE MILLION baht - for what!? You then conclude by saying Agents should take their own photos, view the property and make a valuation, which I totally agree with, but the point being made, which you fail to grasp is THEY DON'T in many cases. Are you an Estate Agent by any chance?

[TommyDee]

Been renting out houses here for a few years and at onetime had a listing with one, but got no viewings. probably a mix of my fault and the fact that they have a million empties houses to rent.

having said that, until May I always did Ok renting, 35K a month, with private adverts and word of mouth.. but the market does seem to be dry now, not one enquiry in 2 months on a lovely private home..

I wouldnt want to be an estate agent, the moans from the buyers, renters, landlords and sellers.. but we all set out our stalls to suit ourselves. If I KNEW there was an ACTIVe not passive selling agency here, I would list like a flash. the problem is that most do seem to sit and wait for the phone to ring.

[Spoonman]

PM me some details on your house for rent TommyDee, am in the market for a new rental.

[TRicher]

Co-ops? Do you really think they would work? The idea is good, but when you really look into it, who is going to get paid? Also what are the fees? Do you want to adveritise? Who's property will sell first, there will be properties that the individual will show more often and others that will be moved to the bottom of the list. When your property is sold you will no longer be part of the co-op.

As a realtor in Pattaya, I go out and take photos. This allows me to actually see the property, a great bonus to you and my buyers. We also start are rates at 3%. You do have a 4% and a 5 % option that allows us to use paid advertising and other agencies to show your home. These are expained to you as a seller. The option is yours.

As for selling property it is up to the home seller to make sure the property is clean and nice to look at. I've seen missed sales on great values due to the fact that the owner's house had dishes pilled up in the sink, clothes on the floor and it was just a mess. We actually show homes, walk them through point out nice features. We also qualify them for your home prior to showing it. How do we do this? By asking questions.

Please don't throw sand in the face of all realtors in Pattaya. You may have been to a real estate office that did not fit your needs, maybe 2 or 3, but there are plenty of good ones in Pattaya; including ours.

Edited June 16, 2013 by TRicher

[thaikahuna]

The whole problem as I see it is that John Q. Falang comes to Thailand and buys from the first unscrupulous bastard that comes down the pike without doing any research. Then Mr. Falang drops a million on what amounts to little more than a hotel room because that's what passes for a condo in Thailand.

Mr. Falang then drops another million or possibly two to make it homey and suits his lifestyle. Then his little hotel room becomes too crowded for him and needs more room to spread out as it were. Now Mr. Falang wants to move and puts a 3 million price tag on his POS hotel room (condo). It's on the market for 2 years with no interest. WHY? SIMPLE! The owner has a POS he wants 3 million for in a location where a million is over-price. The real estate folks do damn little to move it because it is a POS and also he doesn't have to.

There are too many people out there with more money than brains buying like there is no tomorrow. Traffic sucks, the infrastructure is totally inadequate to support what already exists and still they continue to build like there is no tomorrow. You are looking at potential water shortages (that already exist), blackouts and brown outs, rolling blackouts, worsening traffic (as if that can happen) and why? Because everyone wants to live in the worlds largest whorehouse.

WAKE UP, smell the coffee and realize A)Owners, you may not recover all you invested in your POS hotel room (condo) because you did not research. It is not a great place to buy regardless of what the agents tell you. C)Agents, quit acting like you are the know all, you aren't. Granted you have a big leg up on the rookie buyer but you don't know it all. D) Try doing a bit more for your money and quit thinking you have to drink B200 beer every night.

Thailand is a good place to live but it is not a good place to buy...not anymore.

[jbrain]

Co-ops.

Another description for, I also want to start a real estate agency.

[lovetotravel]

Was in Real Estate for 12 years in California. At least there the agents have to attend courses and be licensed by the state after taking day long tests, which they do not do here. Amazing that anyone here can sell real estate without having a clue on what it legal and appropriate. What is important to remember anywhere in the world, is that charged real estate commissions are ALWAYS negotiable. 4% should be reasonable, unless it is a buyers market. The agent will show the 5% listings first.

Were you an agent during both the boom and the bust? Must have been interesting times.

I had a house I really wanted to sell. 5% was agreed on as opposed to the normal 6%. It was a normal market, not bad, but not great. After about a month, I started getting anxious. I was moving across country and just wouldn't have time to deal with the sale. So, per the agents suggestion, put in a sweetener. Round trip tickets for 2 to Hawaii for the agent who sold the house. Cost to me was only $700 or so. Value of the house was $400k. Guess what. I got a buyer in 2 weeks. Closed the deal just before I had to move.

I just sold another house in the US. Market is horrible. I met several agents. Most were doom and gloom. But one said she had a buyer, guaranteed. I signed up and she had the house sold and money in my hand in 5 weeks. Had to baby sit the buyer the whole time as he was a bit hesitant and not a very focused individual. Great job on the part of the agent. 5.5%. Money well spent as I also had limited time as I was coming back to Thailand and didn't really want to have to fly back to deal with it.

Like every profession, there are good ones and bad ones.

[Cuban]

9 years I know of 5%, some do/did charge 3% but as you said....

When you have marketing costs that include, local publications, company magazine, song teaws, international websites such as Rightmove any many more 5% is justified.

I think the issue is that some companies will put the effort in that is required and expected of a realtor in terms of photographs, preparing a sales-pitch and then promotion via local and international media outlets, however.....

There are very many people trading as realtors that simply copy the look and feel of more professional companies by mimicking the style of shop outlet and go through the motions of selling without any idea about what is the difference between "listing for sale" and getting leads and then converting viewers to buyers.

It is the Thai way to copy others both in look and price when seeking to piggy back on a good business idea.

In this case I think the failing is the seller has failed to explore different realtors to find a good one.

When looking for someone to sell "my house" I would first attempt to buy one to see what effort and sales force skills are like.

As for the 5% - I think in today's market place there is room to maneuver, however there must still be benefits on both sides to do so. For the realtor there is cost upfront that will only get repaid with a sale, addressing that might make a percentage cut more interesting.

[Emdog]

Should read chapter in Freakanomics about does you real estate agent really work for you? "If it was the 'seller' of the property ... they'd need a work permit." Does this mean if I want to sell my car, I need a work permit, as I am taking that potential job away from a Thai? This also brought to mind the explanation at one bar as to why they raised their prices: "No customers. Have raise price to make more money". Econ 101 not studied here.....

[mogo51]

Have read these posts, I am indeed fortunate. When I was seeking a property I was fortunate to meet a husband/wife team, husband an Expat.

They were helpful, honesty, caring and trustworthy. We are now good friends and meet regularly for meals, coffee etc. Thai wife attend to my company report each year, often when I am back home, pays the fee herself and I repay her on my return.

I cannot speak highly enough of their professionalism, I seek advice from them regularly and they never push the barrow that is best for them, but rather what is

best for me.

As far as the 5% fee goes, that is excessive and have never paid more than 3% - the fact that values are less here is irrelevant, as it reflects the living and business costs respectively to where we are. In current climate, their fees should be going down not up and I am not agent bashing, merely conveying the state of the market.

But of course, that rarely plays any part in Thai philosophy so far as business is concerned.

[Cuban]

Should read chapter in Freakanomics about does you real estate agent really work for you? "If it was the 'seller' of the property ... they'd need a work permit." Does this mean if I want to sell my car, I need a work permit....

I believe the WP comment was in connection to running a Co-Op type shop, which would be described on the WP as a Real Estate store etc.

So the WP would not be for selling but the usual "farang relations" type job description.

[ThaiBob]

Another agent bashing thread...OK....go rent an office in the high street for location...rent in the region of 20,000 a month. Set up a good website with a reputable company, 40,000 plus 8,000 a year, Thai staff 2 x 9,000 salary each per month plus com for their listings. Work permit and visa costs for each foreigner, monthly taxes and social security, utilities, purchase car and daily/monthly running costs, yearly tax bill. Now you try and do that on 1%...sell a condo at Nirun for 600,000 that's a massive 6,000 com for you. Get real, do the maths. If you want your property marketed well 5% is reasonable. While we are at it...why are owners so stupid these days, I remember when you would visit a property and value it, nowadays so many owners think they know best and want xxxx amount regardless of the agents experience of knowing the market. As for any agent that expects you to send photos, give them a miss, an agent needs to view and value a property in order to market it correctly.

Beautiful. I guess that settles it. Pattaya could not survive without Real Estate Agents. As for fair and decent apprasials, where does one actually get one in Thailand? Not available except of course from the one selling said property(and his/her agent) with the commission incentive.

I think the bank would give a fair appraisal.

Not true.............. scb Pattaya sent a rep to do appraisal in Jomtien, 19yrs. old, still wet behind the ears, 8.2m invested, 6 yrs old, est: 4.3m lol what a joke

Was that the appraised value or the amount the bank would loan to a prospective buyers? And of course what was the final selling price?

[rkbauer]

Well, why would anyone even want to use an agent in Thailand? With no MLS, or requirements to have a realtor, I don't see the point. All the agent would be capable of doing is pitching it, putting it on a website and driving it around.. things you can do yourself.

None of my Thai friends have ever seemed to use an agent and neither have I. Do what the locals do: use prakard. Do some market research and if you need a translator or some legal advice, get a translator or a lawyer. Not a realtor.

[lucjoker]

5% is cheap compared to the amount of wasters agents have to put up with.

If the agent asks the right questions,he will not lose his time on wasters.

i did send an e-mail with foto's and details to "50" realestate agents in Pattaya,4 of them replied, 1 came with a probable buyer.

When i asked if the client was married ,how many children ,the time frame for the bying,if he had cash money,or did he have to sell a property in england first,.........

The answer was : i dont know?

When the client finaly came and saw my house ,the client said :" wow ,this is a big house,i dont need 4 bedrooms because i'm single,and my budget is only half of

what you ask...."

Since the realestate-man did not find my house ,and lost his way for more than 30 minutes,the client found it also "too faar from Pattaya" when i told the client that it is only 10 min to (ex) Carrefour.....he did not believe me .

I lost my time ,the realestate-man lost his time and the client lost his time BECAUSE the realestate-man did not know his job .

It's that simple.

[ThaiBob]

Well, why would anyone even want to use an agent in Thailand? With no MLS, or requirements to have a realtor, I don't see the point. All the agent would be capable of doing is pitching it, putting it on a website and driving it around.. things you can do yourself.

None of my Thai friends have ever seemed to use an agent and neither have I. Do what the locals do: use prakard. Do some market research and if you need a translator or some legal advice, get a translator or a lawyer. Not a realtor.

We all share your concerns about realtors here but there are more reasons to use a good realtor than not. Many Thais don't use realtors as many transactions are done between family and friends or word of mouth. But for the majority of transactions involving foreigners, realtors provide a needed service. People have a certain comfort level and many feel comfortable dealing with a foreigner who they can identify with, when performing a seemingly complicated transaction in a foreign land. Do you really think a Russian is going to use Prakard and/or consult with a Thai lawyer and they makeup 30 or 40% or so of your potential buyers.

[i claudius]

I was an agent in the UK for many years ,always the same whinges as from the op ,sell it yourself i say ,do the advertizing ,,legal work ,everything yourself if you do not like it . just stop complaining or as someone else said ,get a work permit ,hire a shop ,pay staff ,pay adertizing ,air con ,cars, petrol and work 70 hours a week . and get paid nothing for the 90% of houses you offer but never sell .

[rbrooks]

The "wasters" you refer to are obviously the "window shopping, time wasting so called purchasers", who have nothing better to be doing than swanning around, property gazing, to kill an afternoon......that problem has nothing to do with the complaints owners are talking about here...that is YOUR problem...and at the other end of the scale. Please don't try to involve us in it. Perhaps a small fee or something similar towards the expense of commuting them between properties might separate the men from the boys. We too have to put up with the time wasters. Now....when a person asks me over the phone before even coming to view the property "what's the lowest I'll take for it?".... I reply by telling them that after they have viewed the property, decided they like it and want to buy it, have enough money in their pocket to put down an initial small deposit (even 1,000 Bt) then I'll begin the "haggling" with them, guaranteeing them a fair price and hopefully a fair one for myself too. I can tell in a matter of seconds the genuine ones from the time wasters....so I no longer sit around with them after the viewing, having cups of tea and talking about the merits and de-merits of living in Thailand....I presume you can tell them apart too but I do realize you cannot turn them away on those grounds alone for fear you may be wrong.

PS, I knew an antique dealer at home who used to charge 5 Euro just to go into his shop....he too was probably sick and tired of the browsing tourists...he may have cut down the footfall into his shop drastically but at least he knew whoever came in were certainly genuine customers......sometimes I'm reminded of him and consider doing the same thing myself...just waiting a little longer to let the tolerance run out completely. Anyway, let's not take ourselves too seriously, As the man said ...."Don't bother taking off your coat....you won't be staying very long" ...Meaning....It's a short life for those who didn't get my drift.

Welcome to the world of sales, seems like most people in this post have never been in sales. Everyone is a potential client and should not be turned away. Window shoppers, browsers, etc., are all a part of the sales game and should not be taken lightly. The key is to sell them when they are in your store before they leave and if you are sure they are going to leave, let them go with a positive view of your abilities and your product whether it be houses, cars, widgets, etc. Piss them off and they will spread the word losing more potential clients. Just my opinion I could be wrong but always seemed to work for me and in my opinion this philosophy is universal.

[RabC]

I was an agent in the UK for many years ,always the same whinges as from the op ,sell it yourself i say ,do the advertizing ,,legal work ,everything yourself if you do not like it . just stop complaining or as someone else said ,get a work permit ,hire a shop ,pay staff ,pay adertizing ,air con ,cars, petrol and work 70 hours a week . and get paid nothing for the 90% of houses you offer but never sell .

Sell secondhand cars and insurance as well if you need to boost your income. The OP is talking about Estate Agents here, having been a renter and property buyer here, I found the majority of the agents to be no more than Oxygen thieves, with one major exception. My last rental and the purchase of my present house were both done without the hindrance or 5% of a Chav salesman.

By the way I have to ask what legal work an estate agent does in the UK? I always hired a solicitor once the property had been advertised by the agents.

Edited June 16, 2013 by RabC

[malcoml]

I think a big problem is that many agents are really not interested in selling particular private property. I mean I wouldn't waste my time selling a 2 million baht property if I was only going to be paid 60,000 baht to do it.

My friend was telling me many private sellers were a huge waste of time. They come into the office wanting some outrageous price for their house and don't want to pay anything to market it. Many dont want to accept that they paid way over the top when they first bought their house.

His opinion was that it was much easier to see condos off the plan where property developers were giving great incentives and people were genuinely interested in buying them.

[monkfish]

Agents arn't the reason!

Developers offer commisions from 5-12% to shift property as quick possible.

Thats the reason!

What many buyers don't realise is that on new projects is they can often get a better deals through Agents

than going direct esspecially the smaller agenencies can share comission to close a deal.

On resale houses most owners slap 20-30% on the resale value anyways which makes them dificult to shiftl,

plus they don't take care.

[rosst]

Another agent bashing thread...OK....go rent an office in the high street for location...rent in the region of 20,000 a month. Set up a good website with a reputable company, 40,000 plus 8,000 a year, Thai staff 2 x 9,000 salary each per month plus com for their listings. Work permit and visa costs for each foreigner, monthly taxes and social security, utilities, purchase car and daily/monthly running costs, yearly tax bill. Now you try and do that on 1%...sell a condo at Nirun for 600,000 that's a massive 6,000 com for you. Get real, do the maths. If you want your property marketed well 5% is reasonable. While we are at it...why are owners so stupid these days, I remember when you would visit a property and value it, nowadays so many owners think they know best and want xxxx amount regardless of the agents experience of knowing the market. As for any agent that expects you to send photos, give them a miss, an agent needs to view and value a property in order to market it correctly.

Bang on, well said. Caveat Emptor, if your agent is no bloody good, get a different one? I have met some really excellent and professional outfits.

The reallity is that most people in the market place are researching on the net. If they cannot, they have a tech savvy friend or rellie doing it for them.