Curse the property agents #@$%^&......
itunes: Tori Amos, American Doll Posse (2007)
I can never fully feel the effect of the old saying "Knowledge is power" until recently when I was in the midst of selling my 2-year-old apartment. Somehow, I just feel uneasy about the whole transaction cos there are a couple of loopholes that my property agent left behind among our conversations. Well, I cant say that my sixth sense is particularly good, but while exercising some common sense and deductions from some logical thinking, I'm getting a bit suspicious of the agent's may-have hanky-panky behind my back.
We have a prior agreement, should he manage to sell my apartment between S$450k and S$500k, he will be entitled a 2% agent fee from me, otherwise, any amount less than S$450k, he will get 1% instead. Within a week, after 1 night viewing session, he told me that there is an offer from a lady at $400k, which I declined given the fact that he promised me at the start that he is confident of helping me to sell the house at least $450k. A day later, he told me that the lady is willing to up the price to $420k. Again, I rejected the counter offer since it's only a week after the house was put on sale in the market. I can still afford to wait for a while.
The agent seems to be agitated by my tenant for the fact as he tried to arrange as many viewings as possible to close any potential deals, my tenant's timing have not been good cos he is not at home most of the time. This is when the agent showed sign of displeased and I told him even though he is my tenant, he is paying rent and as a landlord I should show respect to his privacy as well. This is when the agent suggested to buy the apartment from me directly instead. In this way, he can chase my tenant out and he can have more flexibility in arranging the viewing sessions. Thinking it was just a joke, I laughed it off nonchalantly.
Another week has passed, the agent told me that the lady is still keen and now she has another unit to consider as well which the buyer only willing to let go at $470. However, if I'm willing to let mine go at S$450k, she would take up the offer straight away. The agent pushed me hard for an immediate reply, and eventually I agreed to sell at this price on the following day.
It seems to me that the lady is an impulsive buyer. How can one decide after just 1 viewing, especially the one and only one is done at night?! I mean if I'm the serious buyer, I would have requested a second or third viewing (daytime viewing maybe?) to find out more about the apartment before making the right decisions. I brought this up to the agent and it seems he is quite aloof in answering it.
I cant prove that there is another unit letting go at $470k since all information comes from the agent himself. My gut feel then was as an agent, he is merely trying hard to close the deal as soon as possible in order to generate the 2% agent fee fast. To me, this is quite normal as agents usually played this kind of tricks to create stories that will cause anxiety in both buyer and seller so that they matched each other's expectation sooner. The fact that I'm getting a bit uncomfortable that this agent seems to be manuplative in his actions and words, particularly when it comes to my agreement and the signing of the option of purchase. Somehow, I sensed that he seems to represent the buyer more than being representing me. I thought I was just being sensitive and cautious about dealing with strangers that's all.
Thereafter, he started pressing me persistently to give him the name of my appointed lawyer. I grew abit agitated over his actions and told him that I need time to find one (in fact, I'm trying to locate a friend who worked in a law firm whom has gone overseas for a holiday to recommend her lawyer to me). The agent suggested if I cant find anyone, he can recommend me one. He even apologised for being pushy and blamed it was the buyer's lawyer who kept pastering him for an answer. This is when I asked myself, why would the buyer's lawyer contact him directly? It should be the buyer herself is not it? When my lawyer asked me to check the name of the buyer's lawyer, the agent asked me why was I asking for. To make sure I'm not thinking otherwise, he even explained he was asking out of curiousity. This added to my suspicion because it is perfectly normal to provide the lawyer's name so that both legal party can communicate to complete the transactions.
Something is terribly amiss here. Once my friend is back in town, I related to her of the events and my suspicions. She helped me to contact the staff of the buyer's lawyer and see if she can fish out any information on the agent and buyer. The end result is devastating. The staff casually mentioned there is a relationship between the buyer and agent, either they are in a relationship or married couple. This was when my lawyer advised me to perform a due diligence check on the martial status of the agent as well as the reality check on the selling price.
True enough, a check with the Registry of Marriage, the buyer was the agent's wife!!! But luckily the market price for my apartment is at S$444psf but I'm selling at S$450psf. At least the agent has been fair to my ignorance. I confronted the agent about this and waited to see how he responded to it. Well well well, words from the saleman's mouth will always be so convincing which seriously I dun really bother to hear all his sale talk. Anyway, I'm prepared to lodge a big complaint to his company, Frank Knight and to the press if nothing came out conclusive from the confrontation. Of cos, this guy was no fool, he was quick and good in his damage control actions. He used the reverse psychology, trying to gain my empathy of his position. As much as I'm a soft-hearted person, my biggest concern now was my money. If I'm selling the house to his wife, there was no way I'm going to give him that 2% agent fee which sumed up to nearly S$10k. There was absolutely no qualms about it.
Well, he was quick to offer me 2 alternatives in which either I can call off the whole deal or he was willing to waive the agent fee to my delight undeniably. He said he has been feeling guilty about getting the 2% agent fee from me right from the start and somehow he find it difficult to tell me the truth, blah blah blah, lame excuses really, he must be thinking that I was born only yesterday. Pardon me for saying this, I really cursed him and his wife to burn in hell eternally, only in my heart of cos, because as a gentleman, I must show civility at all times hehe. Frankly speaking, even after I exposed his dirty tricks, he never sounded apologetic at all. To think I trusted his professionalism and as a human right at the beginning, he is fucking despicable, unscrupulous and shameless.
But hey, this is a big savings for me, which means my selling price is at $460psf instead. As much as my friends showed concerns about this bloody agent 'flipping' the house by selling at a much higher price to a third party, I really dun care since I have gotten what I wanted. The new couple owner can pull or burn the house down for all they want, it does not really bothers me anymore.
Lessons learnt:
1) Never trust agents wholeheartedly. It's important to do simple due diligence. Also it is important must get a couple of agents to act for you, at least there are counter check and references on their words. Check with a lawyer on your legal rights and actions to protect your interests. Dun even think about asking them to recommend lawyers and bankers to you. Find an independent one yourself.
2) Professionals like lawyers, doctors and accoutants are respected for their professionalism and integrity. Well, even if under the scrutiny of their respective governing bodies, there are still black sheeps. Agents are not professionals, even though their image in their advertisements projected them so. They are merely salesmen who are only keen to close deal, shamelessly earn your money and will never act to your interests but themselves. I had bad experience with the agent, who used kickbacks tricks when I bought this house two years ago. Despite of that, I'm sure that there are still some who acted with a clear conscience whom I wish to know should I need to buy a house in the future.
3) Agents are a bunch of rascals who are smart enough to make use the loopholes of the law to their advantages. My lawyer told me that I have no case against this asshole if our confrontation fell through, unless I'm managed to prove that I suffered loss as he bought the house from me below the market value. The fact that the price I sold was around market price, makes it harder to get even with him, which means I'm committed to sell the house to his damn wife and at the same time pay him 2% agent fee. Legally he is right even though morally he is not.
4) Knowledge is really power. If I haven't done that fateful due diligence, I would have paid that 2% agent fee blindly without knowing his dirty tricks. With much information in hand, I can turn the table against him, and switching his gain to become mine. Now I can apply the principle of imperfect market conditions in Economics sense. It's important for one to do enough homework on the market before engaging them. I heard from my lawyer that such cases are very common especially during the property market boom.
I can never fully feel the effect of the old saying "Knowledge is power" until recently when I was in the midst of selling my 2-year-old apartment. Somehow, I just feel uneasy about the whole transaction cos there are a couple of loopholes that my property agent left behind among our conversations. Well, I cant say that my sixth sense is particularly good, but while exercising some common sense and deductions from some logical thinking, I'm getting a bit suspicious of the agent's may-have hanky-panky behind my back.
We have a prior agreement, should he manage to sell my apartment between S$450k and S$500k, he will be entitled a 2% agent fee from me, otherwise, any amount less than S$450k, he will get 1% instead. Within a week, after 1 night viewing session, he told me that there is an offer from a lady at $400k, which I declined given the fact that he promised me at the start that he is confident of helping me to sell the house at least $450k. A day later, he told me that the lady is willing to up the price to $420k. Again, I rejected the counter offer since it's only a week after the house was put on sale in the market. I can still afford to wait for a while.
The agent seems to be agitated by my tenant for the fact as he tried to arrange as many viewings as possible to close any potential deals, my tenant's timing have not been good cos he is not at home most of the time. This is when the agent showed sign of displeased and I told him even though he is my tenant, he is paying rent and as a landlord I should show respect to his privacy as well. This is when the agent suggested to buy the apartment from me directly instead. In this way, he can chase my tenant out and he can have more flexibility in arranging the viewing sessions. Thinking it was just a joke, I laughed it off nonchalantly.
Another week has passed, the agent told me that the lady is still keen and now she has another unit to consider as well which the buyer only willing to let go at $470. However, if I'm willing to let mine go at S$450k, she would take up the offer straight away. The agent pushed me hard for an immediate reply, and eventually I agreed to sell at this price on the following day.
It seems to me that the lady is an impulsive buyer. How can one decide after just 1 viewing, especially the one and only one is done at night?! I mean if I'm the serious buyer, I would have requested a second or third viewing (daytime viewing maybe?) to find out more about the apartment before making the right decisions. I brought this up to the agent and it seems he is quite aloof in answering it.
I cant prove that there is another unit letting go at $470k since all information comes from the agent himself. My gut feel then was as an agent, he is merely trying hard to close the deal as soon as possible in order to generate the 2% agent fee fast. To me, this is quite normal as agents usually played this kind of tricks to create stories that will cause anxiety in both buyer and seller so that they matched each other's expectation sooner. The fact that I'm getting a bit uncomfortable that this agent seems to be manuplative in his actions and words, particularly when it comes to my agreement and the signing of the option of purchase. Somehow, I sensed that he seems to represent the buyer more than being representing me. I thought I was just being sensitive and cautious about dealing with strangers that's all.
Thereafter, he started pressing me persistently to give him the name of my appointed lawyer. I grew abit agitated over his actions and told him that I need time to find one (in fact, I'm trying to locate a friend who worked in a law firm whom has gone overseas for a holiday to recommend her lawyer to me). The agent suggested if I cant find anyone, he can recommend me one. He even apologised for being pushy and blamed it was the buyer's lawyer who kept pastering him for an answer. This is when I asked myself, why would the buyer's lawyer contact him directly? It should be the buyer herself is not it? When my lawyer asked me to check the name of the buyer's lawyer, the agent asked me why was I asking for. To make sure I'm not thinking otherwise, he even explained he was asking out of curiousity. This added to my suspicion because it is perfectly normal to provide the lawyer's name so that both legal party can communicate to complete the transactions.
Something is terribly amiss here. Once my friend is back in town, I related to her of the events and my suspicions. She helped me to contact the staff of the buyer's lawyer and see if she can fish out any information on the agent and buyer. The end result is devastating. The staff casually mentioned there is a relationship between the buyer and agent, either they are in a relationship or married couple. This was when my lawyer advised me to perform a due diligence check on the martial status of the agent as well as the reality check on the selling price.
True enough, a check with the Registry of Marriage, the buyer was the agent's wife!!! But luckily the market price for my apartment is at S$444psf but I'm selling at S$450psf. At least the agent has been fair to my ignorance. I confronted the agent about this and waited to see how he responded to it. Well well well, words from the saleman's mouth will always be so convincing which seriously I dun really bother to hear all his sale talk. Anyway, I'm prepared to lodge a big complaint to his company, Frank Knight and to the press if nothing came out conclusive from the confrontation. Of cos, this guy was no fool, he was quick and good in his damage control actions. He used the reverse psychology, trying to gain my empathy of his position. As much as I'm a soft-hearted person, my biggest concern now was my money. If I'm selling the house to his wife, there was no way I'm going to give him that 2% agent fee which sumed up to nearly S$10k. There was absolutely no qualms about it.
Well, he was quick to offer me 2 alternatives in which either I can call off the whole deal or he was willing to waive the agent fee to my delight undeniably. He said he has been feeling guilty about getting the 2% agent fee from me right from the start and somehow he find it difficult to tell me the truth, blah blah blah, lame excuses really, he must be thinking that I was born only yesterday. Pardon me for saying this, I really cursed him and his wife to burn in hell eternally, only in my heart of cos, because as a gentleman, I must show civility at all times hehe. Frankly speaking, even after I exposed his dirty tricks, he never sounded apologetic at all. To think I trusted his professionalism and as a human right at the beginning, he is fucking despicable, unscrupulous and shameless.
But hey, this is a big savings for me, which means my selling price is at $460psf instead. As much as my friends showed concerns about this bloody agent 'flipping' the house by selling at a much higher price to a third party, I really dun care since I have gotten what I wanted. The new couple owner can pull or burn the house down for all they want, it does not really bothers me anymore.
Lessons learnt:
1) Never trust agents wholeheartedly. It's important to do simple due diligence. Also it is important must get a couple of agents to act for you, at least there are counter check and references on their words. Check with a lawyer on your legal rights and actions to protect your interests. Dun even think about asking them to recommend lawyers and bankers to you. Find an independent one yourself.
2) Professionals like lawyers, doctors and accoutants are respected for their professionalism and integrity. Well, even if under the scrutiny of their respective governing bodies, there are still black sheeps. Agents are not professionals, even though their image in their advertisements projected them so. They are merely salesmen who are only keen to close deal, shamelessly earn your money and will never act to your interests but themselves. I had bad experience with the agent, who used kickbacks tricks when I bought this house two years ago. Despite of that, I'm sure that there are still some who acted with a clear conscience whom I wish to know should I need to buy a house in the future.
3) Agents are a bunch of rascals who are smart enough to make use the loopholes of the law to their advantages. My lawyer told me that I have no case against this asshole if our confrontation fell through, unless I'm managed to prove that I suffered loss as he bought the house from me below the market value. The fact that the price I sold was around market price, makes it harder to get even with him, which means I'm committed to sell the house to his damn wife and at the same time pay him 2% agent fee. Legally he is right even though morally he is not.
4) Knowledge is really power. If I haven't done that fateful due diligence, I would have paid that 2% agent fee blindly without knowing his dirty tricks. With much information in hand, I can turn the table against him, and switching his gain to become mine. Now I can apply the principle of imperfect market conditions in Economics sense. It's important for one to do enough homework on the market before engaging them. I heard from my lawyer that such cases are very common especially during the property market boom.
posted by music-nazi ~ musik mit uns at 19:49
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