Propery Agent Fee

lanes SG

Hi, recently am looking for a new house and has been approached by many property agents.

One of the agent said "if you sign one year contract you will have to pay only 1/2 month rental fee for agent commission, for two years contract would be 1 month".

That one i think should be fine since if i sign 2 years straight contract, then i should reward agent for 1 month rental fee.

But there is one agent told that even though i sign contract for 1 year and pay that agent for 1/2 month rental fee, but if in the future i renew the contract, i still need to pay that agent again for another 1/2 month rental fee.

Is that correct??..

I am a bit confuse here, how come we should bound to that agent for the rest of the contract!!

If I, let say sign for long term contract for 5 years (for example) then the agent will get 1/2 month rental fee every year!!

Can someone shed some light here?

Thanks,

Lanes

the Bear SG

it's a contract which is between you and the agent...

it can be anything you guys want it to be...

each time there is a new place or the lease is over, and if the agent does the negotiation or whatever again, it's a new contract and you will have to pay him again...

if you want to renew the contract and negotiate directly with the landlord, you can do away with the "renewal fee"

βέτά SG

If you sign 2 years contract, means at the end of 2nd year, you renew the same tenancy for 3rd year, you would need to pay 1/2 month's rental to agent.

If you sign 1 year contract, means at the end of 1st year, you renew the same tenancy for 2nd year, you pay 1/2 month's rental to agent.

βέτά SG

Got something else to add.

There are some agencies that charge 1/4 month if you renew tenancy agreement after first year.

lanes SG

thanks the Bear and βέτά

So, in other words, the agent will always get money from us every time we renew the contract??..

I thought initially it just one time payment, and subsequent renewal is between me and the owner.

Arapahoe SG

actually why sign 1 yr contract the renewal contract you sign directly with the owner....NO Commission leh.

lanes SG

hi Arapahoe , that's what i thought initially !!

Why every time i renew, i must pay agent?

It is not fair to me & owner, because owner also need to pay another 1/2 month.

So in this case, agent will ALWAYS get FREE money yearly from both me & owner.

gasband SG

In Singapore, commissions for property agents have only guidelines but no rules. If you are talking rental properties, usually for a one year contract, they can collect 1/2 month's commission. But both parties can negotiate for higher or lower. Sometimes if the agent manage to help you get a lower rental, he might ask for more commission or sometimes he is desperate or you are a very easy client, he might agree to a lower commission.

In renewal again, there is not hard and fast rules. But the reason why they would want to collect one more time commission from you is a matter of saying they took the effort to find the place for you and if every client just take one year every time and deal directly after that with owner, all agents will eat grass. However, this is still negotiable, what I feel is that if the agent has been very good, why not negotiate at point of renewal to give him a token sum to just rewards hardowrking agents. If he is like shit, then you can refuse to pay him anyway,.

lanes SG

thanks gasband

Sableko SG

My agent charged me 1 month for getting the tenant, and every renewal will still need to give her 1 mth! She said it is a practise for renting out a condo...;(

βέτά SG

You got conned.

βέτά SG

hi Arapahoe , that's what i thought initially !!

Why every time i renew, i must pay agent?

It is not fair to me & owner, because owner also need to pay another 1/2 month.

So in this case, agent will ALWAYS get FREE money yearly from both me & owner.

After you conclude the contract, the agent will give you a form to sign, the form states that you agree to give 1/2 or 1/4 month's rental if the tenancy is renewed.

Usually the agent will look up the landlord to get commission for renewal, they hardly look up the tenant.

Sableko SG

It seemed that during the 1st time when the agent find you a tenant, they will ask u the sign an agreement. The agreement will state that you need to pay them for every renewal each year. If we dont pay them , will we get sue?

Sableko SG

Hi,

I need some advise for the commission payable to property agent.
Additional info:
One year rental = 0.5mth commission pay out
Two year rental = 1 mth commission pay out

1. What is the meaning of 1 +1 year rental?
Do we pay the agent base on 1 year commission or 2 years com?

2. If tenant sign a 2 yrs lease and break the contract within a year, is the responsibility for the agent to look for another tenant for me FOC since I already paid him the commission ?

3. How much is the standard practice for the tenant to put down the deposit for 2 yrs lease?

4. What is the best lease tenture ? 1 yr? 1 +1 ? 2yrs? 2 + 1?

5. Must tenant pay the agent commission as well?

All inputs are greatly appreciated.

Thanks! :)

gasband SG

Ok the first thing you must always remember is that in Singapore, COMMISSION payable to agents are NOT COMPULSORY. How much to pay in each transaction is pretty much a negotiation between the 2 parties. One year rental = 0.5mth commission pay out
Two year rental = 1 mth commission pay out - These are guidelines but no hard and fast law. If you want to bargain, you can tell him, I like this apartment, I can sign LOI immediately but I only willing to pay 0.75 mths of commission for 2 yrs lease. If agent accepts, then its an agreement.

Whatever agreement the agent made you sign is a result of any negotiation between you and him. For example, the agent tells you that if he is able to lower the rental for you by a certain amount, but you may want to reward him with another $1000 in commission on top of the agreed amount earlier, and if you agree to that, he can put that into an agreement and let you sign. So its similar to any renewal commission, you can agree to or disagree to (I have put in a reply on that above). Hope that is clear.

1. What is the meaning of 1 +1 year rental?
Do we pay the agent base on 1 year commission or 2 years com?

This I am not so sure whether you are referring to a ONE year rental with an option to renew for another year or the Diplomatic Clause. If your rental is 1 year, you pay for 1 year commission even if there is an option for renewal. Again, remember, COMMISSIONS are negotiable as with RENEWAL commissions.

2. If tenant sign a 2 yrs lease and break the contract within a year, is the responsibility for the agent to look for another tenant for me FOC since I already paid him the commission ?

Under the tenancy agreement, the tenant must compensate the Landlord for the commissions paid. In the TA, there is usually a reimbursement policy saying that the LANDLORD has already paid 1 month commission (or whatever amount agreed) for a 2 years agreement but if the TENANT for whatever reason cancels the agreement before the contract is up, the LANDLORD has the right to demand reimbursement from the TENANT for the pro-rated commission. The agent usually is not liable in this case as they would never know whether the TENANT will break the contract or not and they will usually let u sign a waiver of reimbursement to protect themselves. I think this is fair as it is the TENANT who breaks not the agent who breaks it.

3. How much is the standard practice for the tenant to put down the deposit for 2 yrs lease?

Usually there is the Booking Deposit which is one month's rental and once you paid this and LOI, the LANDLORD cannot rent the place to another party. This Booking desposit can be used as an advanced rental after your TA is signed. There is also the Security deposit which is usually one month for every year you lease. So 2 yrs 2 months. This is only payable when the TA is signed. This will be returned to you once the TA expires but Landlord can deduct whatever spoilages that occurred during your stay.

4. What is the best lease tenture ? 1 yr? 1 +1 ? 2yrs? 2 + 1?

No such thing as best tenure. Of cos, LANDLORDS AND AGENTS always wished for 2 years while TENANTS want to minimise their risk to 1 year.

5. Must tenant pay the agent commission as well?

If the tenant engaged an agent to help him look for an unit, of cos he should. But if he is a walk in tenant, meaning the LANDLORD's agent advertised on newspaper and the TENANT called up without the help of any agent, he can refuse to pay the LANDLORD's agent any commission. The LANDLORD's agent will ask for commission but the TENANT can refuse. However, we have seen cases of UNETHICAL agents who give priority to TENANTS who are willing to pay commissions although in my opinion, they do not deserve it in this case.

ALL IN ALL, agents in Singapore are fine but to me there are many unethical ones too. But as TENANTS and LANDLORDS, lets be also reasonable and give the honest man what he deserves. I have seen many LANDLORDS and TENANTS bargaining and taking advantage of agents who are desperate to close the deal. At the end of the day, most agents just want to earn a living so lets be fair and pay what is due.

Sableko SG

Hi Gasband, Thanks for the info!

Just one more doubt as below:

Tia!

Ajay sg groups SG

Sableko - wanted to know what your final experience was on this? Did you finally pay or not pay? Also I wanted to know what amounts to a contract renewal. if the same tenant continues to stay, si that still renewal, even if there's no contract?

Also, if the earlier tenancy was in the name of Tenant (Company A) with occupier B. Now if the new tenancy contract is directly in the name of Tenant B(old occupier)...is this seen as a renewal?