Real Estate Contract details

[jcb2001]

My wife and I want to sell our property here in Ubon.

We have been approached by some in-laws that state they can locate and find interested buyers for us.

Is there a specified percent or amount the seller pays the finder (in-law) after the sale has been made?

I have heard 3% of the sales price, but have also heard that the finder makes anything over the seller's asking price. Or 3% plus anything over the seller's asking price.

I want the finder to get a reasonable amount, but I'm unsure of any standards for finder's commission that apply here in Thailand.

Thanks in advance for any assistance

[Nuddy]

There is no standard in Thailand and I think this is a question for Ask the Lawyer mate.

My experience is that even any one who was standing by wants a cut of the deal.

As for using family I ask you not to.

I ask you to slide gracefully out of that.

Put up a sign in Thai...get some help if need be..and slip away.

If its priced properly it will sell despite all the opposition you get to that price.

As far as I can see or experienced pure dicks will phone you offer absurd numbers for it and never be seen or heard of again.

Its just a crazy game they like to play.

How to solve it? Yeah put up aa thai language sign and await the consequences. Do not pay or offer commission to any one and stick to your price (if its right)

If you overprice you are done. Best to underprice and ignore anything thats below it

Regards

[jcb2001]

Thanks, good advice. I agree that pricing the property is the key. Darn in-laws can turn this sale bad in a heart beat.

[fang37]

My experience has been that, in order to warrant a 3% commission, the agent must -

draw up the contract

calculate Land Office fees & charges

attend the Land Office @ date of settlement

[Isan Farang]

Thanks, good advice. I agree that pricing the property is the key. Darn in-laws can turn this sale bad in a heart beat.

Observed this company but have never used them.

http://www.ubonhomes.com/property_type/for-sale/

[Farma]

I suppose it all depends on how much you know and trust the in-laws.

On the flip side my wife has had success buying property using family members. They knew our requirements and found a number of suitable places then weeded out the ones with issues like outstanding debt, seller family squabbles, exhorbitant asking prices and land title issues. Local knowledge comes in handy and it keeps the Farang out of the equation.

They did all the checking with the land office and banks. They also negotiated the deals down from original asking prices.

One property had an outstanding loan and they sorted out the details on clearing the loan for transfer time. There were also agreements made on how the transfer fees would be made. On another property they stopped a possible gazumping.

They were all handshake deals with transfer and money exchange at the land office.

I heard figures of 1% and 1.5% that they received from the seller in our deals.

Placing a for sale sign with phone number is good. We found all of our places through local jungle drums. You would be suprised how many places are for sale but not advertised. The wife has a couple of vacant highway frontage in-town land plots. We get regular random offers to buy or lease them even though they're not for sale.

[jcb2001]

Several years ago, we contacted John, from Ubon Homes. He was not interested in trying to sell our land at that time.

We have some For Sale signs up with our phone number on it. I don't have a lot of faith in the in-laws finding a buyer, but believe the posted signs will draw some attention and phone calls about the property.

We are headed back to the states for Christmas, so will have to depend on the in-law to contact us to potential buyers. If the buyer is serious and wants a contract to buy, we will come back to facilitate the sale.

Thanks for all your insight and help.

[Nuddy]

Somehow I have found myself back at this site. I have to tell you my unique experience.

My wife and I (her of course) owned and lived in a property we bought from her family.

When We then built a new house we placed that old property on the market. Wife insisted on over pricing. I said no.

We put a real price and stick to it. One year a barber rented it, but it was on the market for two years.

First we had a phone number for them to phone. We gave up on that when so many dh's phoned. It seemed they would go to the 7/11 nearby and phone for fun. Then the agents came. They say Give me 100k and I'll sell it. They looked crooked and I thought they were as well. Then individually others came offering ridicules low amounts.

It kept up for two years. Then one day She turned up with 20% deposit and paid the full price on contract. We did the final at the land office.

I went to the party where they are celebrating the buy, and lo and behold all those people who had hasseled me for two years were there. They were the relatives.

What can you say!

[Martyjustice]

Same boat as you. 3% is the standard fee. Lots of people saying they can sell it but few can. Have met John Depree at Ubon homes. Good fellow working for the same fees. He's trying to run a US / English real estate office, the thai's just need to catch up.

[cvs04]

Thanks for the kind comments Marty only just seen this thread.

We're happy to market your house we just need a sales contract which is exclusive to Ubon Homes. I seem to remember your wife wanted the opportunity to sell herself which is fair enough but from our point of view it can create problems. Many buyers wish to circumvent the agent as they are aware most agents here add on to the price agreed with the owner, see below, so the problem occurs when the potential buyer finds the property and goes direct to the owner, the owner may not be aware it was first viewed via our marketing and proceeds to make the sale without us and therefore we don't get paid.

The commission in Ubon is 3% but often this is not enough for Thai agents who often dream about making fortunes from one deal and therefore add on. It is the job of the agent to get the maximum value possible for the owner hence why it can only work on a percentage, adding on to the price is nothing short of theft from the owner. i.e if I think I can sell your property for more than you are asking for it then I have a duty to do so not add on and keep the difference for myself. The more I sell for, working on a percentage, the more I get for commission. However the agent needs to be able to balance and make sure the property is not over priced otherwise they will not sell and get zero commission. This often doesn't bother the local agents as many don't spend any money marketing so have nothing to lose other than their time.

You would be amazed at some of the calls we get from other agents saying they want to sell one of the properties we have listed but want to add on to the extent they want 2 or 3 times the value of the property for themselves. Sometimes as much as 50-100 million they want to mark up the price on a big piece of land. Not sure how they come to the conclusion they are entitled to get more than the actual owner would get or who they intend to sell to at such astronomical prices. The reality is that these people seldom sell anything.

Any property needs to be priced correctly, valuing is important but difficult as no official gov figures are available and the whole industry is based on gossip. For a house like yours you need to look what the developers are selling similar sized houses and come well under what they are asking as they set the benchmark but offer a new product which is under warranty and have fancy show homes to draw in buyers. The advantage of a house like yours however is that the buyer can put the furnishing cost on a 30 year loan rather than have to buy then spend a great deal more kitting the house out.

Hope this helps!

John