Dear all,
When selling your property, please please remember to check with the agents or the buyer first and pre-qualify them before making appointments.
This is as we have lots of bros here and in one case i was helping out with, i was a bit surprised and i share some of their disappointments. Agents also don't
seem to be asking the right questions to avoid wasting everyones time. Best to check if they do have the minimum amount to cover for a 80% and also to
see if they are not just asking for fun.
Also ask agents upfront how much commissions they expect as some may do a bait and switch to go to 2% or even more later.
Feedback from bros here:
1. Potential buyer (MY) brought 1k RM as downpayment and expected to buy a Nusa Idaman place at 200k. Potential buyer expressed shock that houses here
cost more than 200k.
2. Potential buyer (MY) went to Nusa Duta, my relatives place and offered him his cluster for 500k, 34k cheaper than the price he bought it.
3. Potential buyer (SG) wanted to buy 2 of my neighbours unit but he only has 200k, asked my neighbour to see if he can do under table.
4. Potential buyer (from India) came and thought he could buy at 90% loan (no SG/MY spouse so foreigner normally only 50% loan unless one puts in FD)
Wanted to see the house on the spot even though he had no prior appointment and he himself said he has no money. Agent (from SG) didn't even
know about the loan requirements or 500k limitation on properties for foreign buyers.
5. Potential buyer (SG) wanted to first buy 1 house, then another, finally asked to skip the agent, my good bro insisted on keeping the agent as agreed, in the
end buyer bought other places and taunted my friend.
6. Potential buyer (SG) wanted to buy his Nusa Duta place, in the end, all loans not approved, also asked to skip the agent.
Didn't even pay deposit but asked my friend to wait 1 month for him for nothing. Not good to play an elderly man out like that. Wasted his time to send them back and
meet them twice. They even asked to push down prices 10k more after agreeing on it.
6. Potential buyer (PR/SG) wanted to buy my neighbours place, want to set up company first, then claim he has a lot of money but can't decide which one to buy. Then
asked for bank loan but since his documents not good enough, banks refused to give him even 30% loan. Then my friend gave him advice to set up company,
etc and gave him contacts of banks, lawyers as well as company secretary. Later, potential buyer gave a lowball offer, 50k less than what he was asking for.
In the end, banks laughed at my friend for even suggesting this loan. Banks said buyer must put in a FD to get the loan he wants but suddenly no sound from
the buyer anymore, all this while he was insisted on 90% loan or he will not buy, even though he claimed to have 500k SGD inside his bank account. Claimed he will have
to buy through a company now and to get 90% else again no deal. This is after numerous calls and emails and asking lots of irrelevant questions and making my friend and
his tenants wait over an hour for him to show up.
7. Potential buyer (SG/China) wanted to buy my friends place, then first put deposit for a smaller unit, then switched to a bigger one midway. Placed deposit but did not
increase the deposit difference for the bigger one until later. Then asked for 90% loan else they not buying and asked for more time. So in the end, Option
paper put down 1 month. Then switched to the bigger unit, then asked for 10k discount after agreeing on the price as they balked at the legal fees.
Then after getting large discount, asked if can look for lawyer for them. He managed to find them a lawyer who was cheaper than the one they found themselves.
Then after that, they asked him to under declare the price. Worse, then asked to split the legal cost. All this my friend took it into his stride as all this while they
were also looking at other houses. Then finally they remembered to give him the difference for the deposit and made him wait more than an hour as they went to
another development, though he was pretty sick, he still waited. The guards did not let him in as he had no pass and the office chaps were out.
He waited until his boss called him and he had to rush back to our office, again he called and again she said she is coming out. Finally, just as he was giving up, they
came.
I guess they treated him like that as they thought his house is not selling well or something. He even gave advice out of his own time and phone bills to call the
buyers friends and family who wanted advice. Some of the replies had my inputs as he asked to put some of the stuff in.
Last straw came (his exact words), when they quibbled over some small sum for differential. All this while he had better offers outside and even had argument
with his wife about it as he thought its best to keep to the agreement. I heard that he has 30k better offer more at least.
Then after all this, he told them he will refund them in full though most of them time, S&P should be signed within 2 weeks of the option being signed but he gave
them a month. He wanted to pass them the cheque on Wednesday but they wanted it on Thursday so in the end he said on Monday.
So everyone agreed, full refund on Monday. Then they messaged him halfway to say they wanted to meet on Friday as they were concerned he may not refund them
given that the Monday was the last day of their agreement. He said to them, he can meet them on Friday to pass them the cheque. Suddenly after that, they said they
cannot make it on Friday anymore and apologised and said they will meet as agreed, on Monday instead.
Seriously made my blood boil when i heard about them. He is just too chin chai so that people take advantage of him. He told me he proceeded to reopen it to other
buyers only after he told the ex buyer and offered him another opportunity to buy which they didn't.
He said they really disappointed him, so much so that the rest of the houses he sold, he asked agents to handle everything, now its standard, 2 weeks or no refund,
i think he really lost faith in people. Now, another buyer has came in who is buying at higher price but he may not sell it anymore.
