Apartment Price Up $140K In 5 mins

Source : The Straits Times, Forum, Aug 30, 2007

I WOULD like to share my experience with a dishonest housing agent, in the hope that future sellers will not be fooled by unscrupulous 'I will try my best to get you the best price' agents.

Two years ago, I appointed an agent to sell my apartment for $940,000.

It took a while to sell it because market conditions at that time were not too good. Eventually, she called and said she had received an offer of $800,000 for the unit.

Desperate I might have been but I refused to sell because the price was too low. I told her that I would not sell for less than $900,000.

Playing the good, honest agent, she asked me if I would split the difference with her if she could get the buyer to pay more than $900,000.

Thinking that no buyer would agree to pay an additional sum of more than $100,000 after having offered such a low price, I agreed to split the difference with her.

Less than five minutes later, she called and said she managed to convince the buyer to pay $940,000, which was the price I wanted to sell my apartment for originally.

It was only then that I realised that I had been duped. I learnt an expensive lesson.

Goh Leng Choon