Why Flat Buyers Should Approach Sellers Directly

Source : The Straits Times, 28 Aug 2007

I READ with interest the article, ‘Complaints against unethical housing agents on the rise’ (The Sunday Times, Aug 26). Allow me to share my recent experience.

I put up my HDB flat for sale two weeks ago, with the intention of handling the transaction myself.

Since then, I have received tonnes of calls from property agents and some of the tactics they employ are an eye-opener for me.

The most common calls are from agents who ask to co-broke. When they realise that I am the seller, they ask for details of the flat before ending with their most important question - whether I will be paying them a commission should they bring potential buyers for a viewing.

Some never call again when I reply ‘no’, while others will still bring the buyers in.

If a buyer expresses interest in my flat, the agent asks for the final asking price. Say I quote a figure of $300,000. The agent then asks if I will agree to reflect a price of $303,000 in the documents and pay him $3,000, as ‘the buyer needs to show a higher price for loan purposes, and is willing to pay the commission on your behalf’.
Common sense tells me that this is untrue. Chances are the buyer will simply be told that the seller is asking for $303,000 and, if the deal is sealed, the agent ends up with commission from both sides.

Another tactic - an agent even put up an advertisement for the sale of my flat, even though I have not engaged one.

I discovered this when I posed as a buyer and pretended to make a viewing appointment.

It is interesting that PropNex’s CEO called for the Government to step in, as this case involved a PropNex agent.

I strongly urge all buyers to consider bypassing agents and approach owners directly where such an option is available.

Otherwise, their viewings will be limited to properties that the agents have ’shortlisted’, which are likely those where sellers are willing to pay a commission.

Worse, the price that they pay may have been inflated to build in the seller’s commission.

Tan Bee Hong (Ms)