I just want to say that having the "big name" property agent(s) to represent my interest was my biggest mistake in my home purchase. They are shady, slimy, full of air, and your interest is never their interest. Their interest is to NOT represent your interest.
I am relating this from a perspective of a buyer. If you are looking for property agent, my advice is to check their profile and transaction activities on CEA website, https://www.cea.gov.sg/public-register. Remember to check their "View HDB Resale Transaction Records" if you are buying an HDB apartment. This record will show their experience. Avoid those agents who don't have any or few experiences. They really don't know what they are doing and will give you wrong advice that will lead you to make wrong decisions.
Choose a person who is closer to your age because they will be able to relate to you better. This is especially true for millennial buyers. Please don't engage anyone who is more than 10 years older than you. They are usually not tech-savvy - can't even work an Excel spreadsheet properly, condescending when they talk to you, and the worst of all, a seasoned money-grubber who don't care about your interest!
Look at the area that they are active in. The public register list is extensive, but you have to do this to avoid disappointment later. Select two to three agents and interview them! Yes, interview them like a job interview. You are hiring them so it should be treated like a job interview. Make sure you feel comfortable with them.
The minute your gut tells you something felt wrong, be it the agent or the negotiation, walk away. Just like how you buy clothes at Chatuchak market. And never look back. The minute you returned after walking away, this is your downfall as both agents (your own and the seller's) will start thinking that you are a loser.
When you negotiate for the commission, propose a lower percentage and if they do a good job, you can always increase it or give them a big "angpow".
Remember to document as many written requests as possible via WhatsApp, sms or email. Document everything, including your first meeting. Make sure that you explicitly say if it is "a meet", "a viewing" or "a decision". Be careful when they ask you to decide on something. Not sure - say "not sure". No harm done. If every decision has to be "not sure" so be it. You have the right to have some time to think. This is not $10 decision and shouldn't be treated as such.
If you change your mind about your buying criteria, document it and explicitly ask your agent to acknowledge it. Make sure that your agent knows that your buying criteria has changed, and they should work on the new criteria. Let them groan and moan about you. And if they moan, drop them like hot potatoes, they are not worth it.
Have the agent send you documents via email and not WhatsApp. If they refuse, just walk away and forget about them. They are probably too busy servicing their own interest somewhere or too lazy or too much of age-gap to learn how to email.
Ask them to send you all documents before you meet to sign anything. No matter what document, be it "standard document" or not. Have them send it to you. Don't sign anything before you have time to read them. If HDB can give me two weeks to read a document, so can the agents. Make sure you understand what is written on the paper, "standard" or not. Again, those moan, drop them or whip them into shape. Many agents like to rush you and you shouldn't be. Again, this is not $10 decision.
Forget about big name property agents. They don't care about you. If there is any problem with their agent, they will bring their legal team to talk to you. And their legal team definitely has NONE of your interests. If you don't have enough "written" proof, CEA also cannot help you. Attending mediation also cannot help you. My lesson was an expensive one especially in COVID-19 times.
After my ordeal, I met several competent agents with a middle-sized company. I am foreseeing that I will be doing business with these agents, but I am not letting my guard down with anyone like I did before.
