Experience With Real Estate Agents.

[timpanister 0]

Hi, being the first time owner of a property and planning to rent out the unit, I have encountered a few pushy housing agents. I would like to share my experience.

1. Decide how much your apartment is worth renting for

2. Decide about the type of furnishing that the tenant will get

3. Get tenant to sign on Letter of Intent and Tenancy Agreement before meeting Landlord to reach an agreement on the clauses provided within the 2 documents. Then the agent will say he/she went through all the trouble to get booking deposit cheque, to meet the tenant to sign this and that, and then Landlord wants to change some of the terms and conditions.

4. Moreover, I notice different agencies have different "styles" for the Letter of Intent. For Knight Frank, it is apparently not stated in the LOI that the tenancy agreement must be signed within XXXX days. For another agency, a decision has to be reached within XXXX days after signing of the LOI.

5. Make sure the pre-termination clause is stated explicitly. Coz the agent will say for a 1 year lease and if the tenant is Singaporean, there is no need to have the pre-termination/diplomatic clause coz he is a Singaporean, and it is implicit or "standard practice" that there is no such thing as pre-termination. After arguing with the agent for some time to include it explicitly in the TA, he relented.

It is very interesting how they will exploit "standard" clauses. One moment they say, no they can't add or amend the clause to your liking. Then next moment, they would say, by right, the tenant need to give 2 months notice of termination but here the tenant requested 1 month's notice instead.

6. Before the TA is signed, never proceed to get the requested stuff by the potential tenant for the house. I have a case where the agent says the couple is desperate to move in because their current lease is running out and so I need to get my curttains and light fixtures done. But then 2 days later, agent called to say another potential tenant wants to view the unit. IN other words, the desperate couple has "poofed". To make things worse, the agent recommended some company for the light fixtures and the quotation was $100 more expensive than others and also that company did not follow up with a proper written quotation. Luckily I did not get the lights done.

Meanwhile anyway, this particular agent has found another tenant for me who has signed the TA but before I agreed on the terms and conditions. So I am keeping an eye on the situation and see if the deal pulls through or not. If it doesn't I will remove my unit for his sale listing.

[Plastic3 0]

Clauses in the TA can be amended as long as both Landlord and Tenant are agreeable, currently different real estate agencies have their own TAs..clauses may vary across agencies, I believe TAs may be standardized in future by regulation.

To play it safe, do not proceed with any purchase/renovation/installation before the TA is signed....

I have had Tenants change their minds the very morning that we are supposed to sign the TA.

Hope you can find a good Tenant

Edited July 5, 2010 by Plastic3

[sreinfo 0]

Hi, being the first time owner of a property and planning to rent out the unit, I have encountered a few pushy housing agents. I would like to share my experience.

1. Decide how much your apartment is worth renting for

2. Decide about the type of furnishing that the tenant will get

3. Get tenant to sign on Letter of Intent and Tenancy Agreement before meeting Landlord to reach an agreement on the clauses provided within the 2 documents. Then the agent will say he/she went through all the trouble to get booking deposit cheque, to meet the tenant to sign this and that, and then Landlord wants to change some of the terms and conditions.

4. Moreover, I notice different agencies have different "styles" for the Letter of Intent. For Knight Frank, it is apparently not stated in the LOI that the tenancy agreement must be signed within XXXX days. For another agency, a decision has to be reached within XXXX days after signing of the LOI.

5. Make sure the pre-termination clause is stated explicitly. Coz the agent will say for a 1 year lease and if the tenant is Singaporean, there is no need to have the pre-termination/diplomatic clause coz he is a Singaporean, and it is implicit or "standard practice" that there is no such thing as pre-termination. After arguing with the agent for some time to include it explicitly in the TA, he relented.

It is very interesting how they will exploit "standard" clauses. One moment they say, no they can't add or amend the clause to your liking. Then next moment, they would say, by right, the tenant need to give 2 months notice of termination but here the tenant requested 1 month's notice instead.

6. Before the TA is signed, never proceed to get the requested stuff by the potential tenant for the house. I have a case where the agent says the couple is desperate to move in because their current lease is running out and so I need to get my curttains and light fixtures done. But then 2 days later, agent called to say another potential tenant wants to view the unit. IN other words, the desperate couple has "poofed". To make things worse, the agent recommended some company for the light fixtures and the quotation was $100 more expensive than others and also that company did not follow up with a proper written quotation. Luckily I did not get the lights done.

Meanwhile anyway, this particular agent has found another tenant for me who has signed the TA but before I agreed on the terms and conditions. So I am keeping an eye on the situation and see if the deal pulls through or not. If it doesn't I will remove my unit for his sale listing.

1. agents shouldn't be pushy. job is to advice the client properly

2. let the tenants decide and offer .. part of negotiation. don't buy before there's any commitment from tenant

3. LOI should be signed first and TA is usually quite standard. minor changes may occur but as long as it's just difference in wording and not meaning, then it's fine

4. LOI must have "TA signed by XXX days"

5. there usually is no such thing as a pre-termination clause. the formal term is diplomatic clause and it only applies to foreigners (because if they are not allowed to work here, they are not allowed to stay here). early termination may sometimes be used for cases such as purchase of property by tenant

6. yes, don't rush, agent should explain the situation to both parties about the difficulty in timing .. and both sides be more accomodating ... such as just settle for the really necessary stuff (light, bed, appliances) and the rest goes in a week later

[AnnaLibert 0]

This answer is going to focus on the selling/listing side, as opposed to the purchase side of the transaction. As a professional real estate investor, I'm typically more focused on using agents to sell investment property, but the list is nearly the same as agents I use for selling my personal residences.

[Bernis 0]

In my case, it was difficult for me to find a suitable apartment. I wanted a budget option and a good location. But still I found what I was looking for and have already finished the repairs. Ensure the safety of your family by finding out about new neighbors or previous owners through real estate directory . There are more details at rehold.com.