Commission real estate agent

[trogers]

11 minutes ago, steven100 said:

which is wrong because the agent is altering the sale price that the seller considers fair to entice a possible buyer. 

And that is the difference between a trader and an agent.

[smutcakes]

3 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

 

I think Kittenkong means that the overpriced part goes integrally to the agent, and the seller only get the price he originally listed it for minus the commission.

In practical terms can you outline how this works? In theory it means both the buyer and seller sign a Sales Contract aware that the amount inside it is incorrect, they also go to the lands department to register a transfer of the incorrect amount?

[janclaes47]

38 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

In practical terms can you outline how this works? In theory it means both the buyer and seller sign a Sales Contract aware that the amount inside it is incorrect, they also go to the lands department to register a transfer of the incorrect amount?

First of all, it wasn't me who claimed that, so i don't have to explain anything in that regard.

 

Secondly, when was the last time, or should I say first time, that at the land office a property was registered at the actual sales price?

[smutcakes]

22 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

First of all, it wasn't me who claimed that, so i don't have to explain anything in that regard.

 

Secondly, when was the last time, or should I say first time, that at the land office a property was registered at the actual sales price?

Well certainly any transfer i have done, i have always declared the transaction price. I cannot speak for anyone else. But certainly anyone who looks to mitigate transfer fees etc but under declaring the transfer value, has no leg to stand on when criticizing unscrupulous agents.

[KittenKong]

2 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Well certainly any transfer i have done, i have always declared the transaction price. I cannot speak for anyone else. But certainly anyone who looks to mitigate transfer fees etc but under declaring the transfer value, has no leg to stand on when criticizing unscrupulous agents.

 

Where I am real prices are rarely declared, usually at the insistence of vendors.

[cvs04]

On 5/31/2017 at 5:29 PM, Peterw42 said:

OP, Agents dont just sell here , they act as agent for a buyer as well and add a margin to the asking price. Something you may wish to consider given that you didnt have the property listed and the agent found you.

There are some weird and wonderful deals that go on here, there is sometimes a difference between what you accept and what the agent is selling it for, a bit extra for the agent on top of the commission.  The key word being "accept". Its not considered illegal or even unethical by the agents as they are getting you the price you accepted and the buyer is happy with what they are paying.

 

My wife sells realestate and I have seen agent represent a buyer to her, they agree on a price, she sells the property for her seller, gets her commission etc, but the (buyers) agent is adding 100k to the selling price. I have seen my wife return from the land office with a bank cheque for the seller and no idea what the buyer paid. 

 

As lawyers are not always involved and the agents do the land office dealings, its an easy exercise for them.

The role of an agent is to get maximum value for the seller.  If the agent thinks they can achieve more then it is their duty to tell them so.  If the agent overprices the property it will not sell and the agent earns nothing.  This is why commissions can only be based on a percentage, agents should be the ones to keep the balance in pricing and not to be stealing from the owner.

 

On 6/11/2017 at 8:36 PM, KittenKong said:

 

If property was sensibly priced here it would sell quickly to an early viewer. This is why agents in the UK manage perfectly well on 1 or 2%.

 

The only reason that property hangs around forever here is because prices are much too high and quality is often low, and one of the main reasons that prices are much too high is because agents bump the prices up either in order to cream off the top or to have some extra margin for negotiation, or some other devious reason.

Just another example of bad Thai economics as far as I'm concerned.

I think you will find it is often not the agent (if honest) who is listing for too much.  In Western countries when you call an estate agent the first thing is to get them to value the property and advise how much they think it is worth.  In Thailand however most Thais call an agent and tell them I want XXXX amount of baht for their property.  The figure they want is usually based on gossip, how much they owe the bank or which new car they want to buy.  We have had sellers say their house must be worth 500,000 baht more than a brand new house which is exactly the same because they have paid 500,000 baht off their mortgage.  Logic or facts seldom prevail when a Thai sells a property; we walk away from 9 out of 10 property listings we look at due to them being wildly overpriced by the owner.

Edited July 21, 2017 by cvs04

[cvs04]

Quote

An Agent will get you what you "want" for the property, any margin on top is considered normal and ethical. Often a chain of agents will all add a margin. Agents in Thailand dont just sell, they also buy and sell as part of the supply chain.

 

I watch my wife do it all the time, she has a seller who "wants" 1m baht for a condo, my wife will list the condo for 1.1m, another agent will find a buyer willing to spend 1.2m, and represent the buyer to my wife. The sale goes through, the seller gets his price and people in the supply chain also make money. 

Peterw42  It is dishonest to add on to the price and market a property for more without the permission of the owner.  Just because it often occurs in Thailand doesn't make it legal or acceptable.  I'm fairly sure it's still considered fraud and deception under Thai law as it would be anywhere else.  It is unfortunate the industry isn't regulated and people are not prosecuted.

 

The upshot of this behaviour is that many buyers will circumvent the agent and go directly to the seller as they believe the agent will be adding on to the price and therefore they can get the property at a significantly reduced rate, and who can blame them, sometimes agents are trying to add on a great deal extra. So for the honest agents who don't add on to the price agreed with their customers it is very bad to have this sort of thing in the industry. It is costly and damaging for other agents; as is having everyone who has a telephone and a Facebook account think they are an agent.

[baansgr]

You simply get what you pay for. If an agent can make 500k rather than 300k ask yourself which property they will push.

[funandsuninbangkok]

Sorry but In 10 years in Bangkok I've never met a decent real estate agent. No training in sales, no ethics, no understanding of real estate or finance. Can't answer the simplest of questions, often lie straight to your face.

 

Frequently try to flog properties listed for YEARS. Why bother? If they have not sold in five years , who with a Brain would think the junk will sell in 5 years one month. 

 

If Thailand wanted to, they could force license on them and training.  Also a central property listing database and exclusive agent agreements would help everyone. 

 

Not it sure why it is such a mess.  

 

Another good reson to rent , not buy. 

 

[KittenKong]

8 hours ago, funandsuninbangkok said:

Frequently try to flog properties listed for YEARS. Why bother? If they have not sold in five years , who with a Brain would think the junk will sell in 5 years one month. 

 

I think that many agents just like to try it on with anyone they might perceive as being fresh off the banana boat. Some idiot may take the bait one day.

[funandsuninbangkok]

7 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

 

I think that many agents just like to try it on with anyone they might perceive as being fresh off the banana boat. Some idiot may take the bait one day.

Agreed buy that is more of scamming someone than actually helping them.

 

if you have delt with agents in the US, they understand how to sell. They make sure the property is priced right, presented well and then they go find buyers. 

 

I've never seen photos worse than Thai property photos. People don't even clean up ghier homes!  Unusually look like pigsties!

 

i can't imagine a Bangkok resident staging a property which is very common practice in the US. 

 

Anyway, agents in Thailand are clueless. Lots of people wasting other people's time.  

 

Rent in Thailand. Invest elsewhere 

Edited July 25, 2017 by funandsuninbangkok

[Mysterion]

I do agree that most real estate agents in Thailand, and also elsewhere in the western "developed" world, are fairly useless and are not geniune in their interest for the success of a buyer/seller. They mostly care about making the quickest commission regardless of clients needs.

 

Lazy/uninformed buyers & sellers are common, and they often get burned.

 

If you do your own research, investing the time and effort, you can be a successful buyer/seller in Thailand or anywhere.

 

Edited July 25, 2017 by Mysterion

[up-country_sinclair]

A couple of questions from a novice in Thai real estate:

 

Generally speaking, who pays the real estate agent's commission in Thailand, the buyer or seller?  How about on a rental property?

 

Also, if I'm a buyer, what's to stop me from saying to  the owner/seller, "So, you're asking 8.5 million baht, can you do 8?".  If the agent has tacked on a few extra hundred thousand, I think the owner would say, "8.5?  I'm only asking 8.3!".

 

 

[KittenKong]

1 hour ago, up-country_sinclair said:

A couple of questions from a novice in Thai real estate:

 

Generally speaking, who pays the real estate agent's commission in Thailand, the buyer or seller?  How about on a rental property?

 

Also, if I'm a buyer, what's to stop me from saying to  the owner/seller, "So, you're asking 8.5 million baht, can you do 8?".  If the agent has tacked on a few extra hundred thousand, I think the owner would say, "8.5?  I'm only asking 8.3!".

 

The contract is between the vendor/landlord and the agent so the vendor/landlord pays the agent's fees, and all such fees should be included in the negotiated price be it rental or purchase. For purchases, taxes and transfer fees are normally extra and the way these are divided is also entirely negotiable.

 

Asking prices in Thailand are frequently 30% or more higher than any likely selling price, so dont hesitate to start with low offers. There is usually another identical place for sale nearby and vendors outnumber buyers by many times. Rental prices are also highly negotiable.

 

Do not believe a single word that any agent or vendor says to you.

[up-country_sinclair]

Thanks very much for your informative reply!  

 

One more question, if you don't mind.    Again generally speaking, would a buyer paying all cash be more likely to receive a bigger reduction from the initial offer price?

[KittenKong]

2 hours ago, up-country_sinclair said:

Again generally speaking, would a buyer paying all cash be more likely to receive a bigger reduction from the initial offer price?

 

I doubt that it would make much difference to most vendors. Foreigners in particular would almost invariably be paying cash anyway.

[anto]

On 6/11/2017 at 8:48 PM, KarenBravo said:

There's an agent here in Phuket who charges 3% from the buyer and nothing from the seller.

Thats a twist .Up here in Chiang mai its 3% charge to the seller.As i am currently trying to sell my house (B 2,450,000 ) i have asked around and they all charge the same .If the property was under B1m they would charge 5% . They dont top up the price .My property is currently with 3 agents and they all have my stated price on their web sites .

  One French agent contacted me from Phuket on Facebook .He was going to charge 3% from me and the buyer .First time i heard of such a practise .Anyway as he was not her in C.M i declined .

Edited August 2, 2017 by anto

[chrisandsu]

The only bonus a realtor offers is unlocking the door if your not in the country . But that's the same everywhere right ?i sold my house no problems by myself , was priced right and well maintained , clean and didn't have grandma or dirty nappies in the pictures ! By the way it would be quite easy to scam the final price . (especially if no mortgage is involved) When declaring the sales price at the tax office most people declare the sales price as a lot lower so as to avoid paying extra tax. Hence no written record of the final price and agreement 

[JaiLai]

It's a mystery to me why agents here think they deserve commission at all, especially as many of them cheat and steal by adding extra amounts onto the purchase price as described.
 
For the minimal effort they put into anything they deserve a small flat fee, no more.
 

Totally agree, the do absolutely Jack s**t.

I recently sold a house, all the did for their commission was act as a taxi service for the buyers.

My missus went to land dept to find out what paperwork was required and what the transfer fees would be etc so there would be no hassle on day of transfer.
When I advertised my house they were not even interested to come and take photos, I was asked to bring them into their office on a flash drive...

It's shocking they get 5%, it really is.

Out of interest what does the agent get off the commission? Ie sales price 10m, commission to company 500k, agent xx

Thanks