Duty of a property agent

[madfysh]

Particularly in the rental market, when would you consider your agent’s duties are done?

For e.g., after a tenancy agreement is signed between tenant and landlord, does the agent’s duties end thereafter? Or does it end after a month’s of ‘warranty’ period that all things are fine? Or end only after the entire tenancy is fulfilled?

[Saint]

Whether you've paid the agent commission or not, his duties are for the period of the TA

[madfysh]

that's what I believe so too...either i am unfortunate or the level of professionalism in these agents are non-existent...

I have paid my agent commission. on hindsight, I should have paid in parts throughout the TA period....or is this practice illegal?

[Saint]

that's what I believe so too...either i am unfortunate or the level of professionalism in these agents are non-existent...

I have paid my agent commission. on hindsight, I should have paid in parts throughout the TA period....or is this practice illegal?

Just remind the agent that his/her service will not be required when renewal of lease comes up.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of agent don't know the meaning of professionalism and duty of care etc etc.

[macaroonie]

Sad but true! we engage an agent thinking they are working for our best interests, but it's clear they do not .. some are even colluding with the other agents representing the landlord so the price of rental stays high or certain terms can never be negotiated...who's side are they on? Really sick of all this.

If i am not wrong, aren't expats the majority who rent here? Are our voices heard with all the new changes in the rental market coming dec?

[woozel]

I wrote this on another post, but will repeat here as what you say is so true.

We recently found out that our agent took an undisclosed extra half a month's rent in commission from the landlord. When questioned on this (a year after the fact) they stated that "The reason why Landlord was willing to pay external/co-broke agent separately & above market norm was because he expected higher rental than the market value".

This extra payment was not disclosed either verbally or in our TA (which showed the standard 1 months commission for a two year lease, instead of the nearly two months agents commission that was actually paid).

Silly us thought that our agent was working on our behalf, not negotiating on the side with the landlord to keep the rent high. It would have been nice of them to give us full disclosure, and actually work on our behalf instead of on behalf of the landlord.....

Live and learn!

We know now the second time around.

PS Anyone can pm me if they want to know who not to use!

[madfysh]

You are voicing your frustrations from tenant's point of view.... but me, as a landlord for first time, also face similar frustrations.

The fact that he doesn't bother to understand/look at the unit first before he runs the advertisements in papers/web already pissed me off, after we signed agreement and when tenant complains about certain things that are not working well, it took him ages (I found out sometimes in matter of days) to report the complaint to me and expects me to revert within 24 hours. Never mind that...but when I try to understand where the problem lies so that I can get the right handy man down, he says I was trying to be difficult (?!?). I need to get him to arrange with tenant for my handy man to go down to repair, but yet he doesn't revert in time for me to arrange with my handy man. and whether the problem is rectified or not, he doesn't bother to follow up with the tenant.

If I am the tenant, I will be pissed that I have to live through the faulty appliances and thinking why the landlord is taking their own sweet time to revert... and you see, I am trying to resolve as fast as I could, but unless i remove the agent as a middleman, this will always be a problem.

[beppi]

In almost all cases, you're better off without an agent.
The search would be a bit harder (not too bad, though), but afterwards everything is easier (and, of course, a lot cheaper)!

[drakka]

fully agree with last posting.

If you are keen on the project you want, get the agent to show you the landlord. Say you want to do a sniff test to sense if the landlord will be a good or bad landlord... if you get to meet the landlord, give him your namecard.

I've had several expat friends who have been duped by agents. It's an ongoing phenomenon. Remember - money talks. If it is not you paying the agent his fees and it's the landlord paying him his fees, whose interests would an agent be taking care of?