Unfortunately, the answer is often not the buyer or the seller. The true answer is agents work primarily for themselves. Remember that an agent’s main interest may not be to get the best deal for their client, who may be the buyer or maybe the seller, and get the best deal for themselves. Whichever purchase makes the most money for an agent is the best deal for the agent; this is almost always not the best deal for the buyer.
Always ask the agent how much commission they’ll receive; if this is more than 5%, our advice is to walk away and find another agent. At auction.co.th pay the agent a 3% fee. Developers keen to sell their overpriced properties sometimes offer agents excessively high commission to bring buyers to their properties. Watch out for this if you are a buyer.
Another buyers’ problem is purchasing off-plan; developments that are under construction or not yet broken ground. All too often, buyers lose money from off-plan projects that never get finished. When you buy an off-plan development, the agent who introduced you is usually given a high fee out of the paid deposit. You can ask the agent about the commission fee the developer pays, and you can negotiate the price if the agent is willing to take a cut in the commission.
Suppose an agent only shows you new units sold by specific developers and second-hand units in various developments. In that case, our advice is to find another agent to get a better understanding of what’s available.
Another common issue is where an agent increases the property price to increase their profit (often a group of buyers’ agents). The agent finds out the lowest price the seller will accept. Instead of offering the seller price, the agent sells the property to their buyer at a higher price, pocketing their commission paid by the seller and the price difference. Watch out for unscrupulous agents who claim to be acting for the buyer but, in reality, are acting only in their interests.
At auction.co.uk, we have transparent pricing, which encourages agents to act in the best interests of their clients. We offer agents who submit properties to sell at the auction 3% sales commission and offer agents 3% commission for introducing buyers. It is all paid out of the buyer’s premium, which the buyer pays.
The sellers pay nothing unless the seller wishes to sell the property in our auction at a higher reserve than we recommend, in which case we can charge the seller a fee to enter the property. We encourage sellers to enter a realistic reserve.
In the real world, the interests of buyers and agents are rarely the same. “Buyer beware” is our best advice; always use a site like an auction.co.th to buy your property at a transparent price and get a great deal.
