1. The report is good for those who do not have the time to do some research. The content of the report can be obtained from various property websites.
2. This is an isolated case. I guess it's bad luck for the owner to get only 1 buyer who pressed down the price. The buyer has insider news.
3. There are situations where desperate sellers who wants to get rid of the property fastest at a discount in order to tie over a crisis. Perhaps the price this agent brought in was the ONLY offer for the period they market. The sale took place at a time of transition when property market was about to take off.
4. Flipping a property for a fast gain is common practice, but hiding information/providing misleading information/not giving a seller a "best" deal is sinful of a property agent.
5. in all industries, there will be black sheeps. there should be some systems of control to weed them out. the housing agents industry is one desperately in need now.
6. Willing buyers vs willing sellers. Do ur homework. DON'T BLAME ANYONE. BE SMART!
7. Middle men are dangerous.
8. All property agents should be regulated. There are simply too many fly-by-night agents in Singapore.
9. Better engage an agent (pay him a fee and transfer the accountability risk to him) to do it.
10. Invite prospective buyers (not agents) to send in their quotations with a description of the properties listed in the newspaper.
Having a middle man is dangerous because it is the middle man who will play plum pudding. If one can buy direct that would be better but you need to do your due diligence.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand having a good and honest middleman can remove all the guess works and hassles. Honest and competent middle men are hard to come by these days. Greed and dishonest seem to be their guiding principles. This is the risk you have to take. To avoid problems engage a referred agent by friend.
All the above applies to insurance agents and all salesmen.
how to ensure friends do not get referals commission from agents?
ReplyDeleteIt's a business transaction so for the parties with closest interest, the sellers & buyers, please do a bit more reseach.
Dishonesty and unethical practices are subjective, a buyer who gotten a great price/ extra accessories whether it is a car purchase, piece of jewellery or a house will not comment on the salesperson unethical. The business owner or the seller sets a price and the salesmen/ middlemen tries close deal on that price.
Sure if there is full disclosure and the interest of the seller by the agent is at the forefront.
ReplyDeleteIf one sells directly anyhting going awry is one's fault. but if there is a middleman , the middleman is hired to give best advice.
But then, there are unscrupulous errant agents who will do sub, sub sales. The original seller is unaware that his property has gone thru 2 buyers till day of settlement! The case reported about ERA agents is only the tip of the iceberg. I'm an ERA victim of such transactions. Since a precedent has been set, hope to see more agents are charged in court. It's now hard for me to trust any housing agent. Just loathe them!
ReplyDeleteall i can say is one has to do his homework properly in order not to be short changed by the agents. it is very difficult to get truly honest agents, you do not know which side he is on.
ReplyDelete