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Hi I rented out my whole unit in 2021.The agreement is for 2 yrs.I had a agent.She got me tenants .My unit is a 5 rm HDB and newly renovated and fully furnished.I did not get the amount I requested for.According to my agent that's the best rate.The tenants are Philippines and they are working in a nursing home.Its the corporate which also had a agent. I was hew in renting out my whole unit due to some financial difficulties and need cash for my husband treatment. He us a Malaysian and had stroke. My agent took from me solid 2ths rental excluding gst.I paid about close to 6k which I think it's too much.The worst part is she did not give proper service.The tenants only stayed 1yr and 3 mths then the corporate terminate the contract and requested for 1 mth deposit back.I lost 9 mths rental plus must must pay back 1 mth deposit and lost about 6k agent commission.Then I had to find new tenants.So if tenants wants to renew the extension we must pay the commission. But if tenant give up without full filling the 2 yr contract the agent who took 2 mths commission for 2 yrs get away with the 2 mths is it.To be fair the agent must return me 1 mth.After she took 2 mths rental as commission I found out from other agents that mostly they charge half mth for 1 yr and 1 mth for 2 yrs.I felt that I got cheated.I have to take another agent to find for me tenants .Again I had to pay her 1 mth commission for 2 yrs rent's. I hope property guru can step in to standardise the commission and must make tighter laws,like if the tenants they recommend did not full fill they should prorate the commission and return back the landlord. In my case can I ask the agent for a refund for 1 mth commission back.pls advise .Thank you
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3 Answers

Dear madam,

I am sorry to hear about the incident. Unfortunately, commission paid is non-refundable, and any refunds you get will have to be out of goodwill by the agent as well as agency. Sad to say, there are still quite a number of unethical practising agents around and it will not be easy to eliminate these agents.

In a typical 2 year lease where tenants exercises their diplomatic clause, they will need to reimburse you the commission paid to your agent on a pro-rated basis for the period that they did not consume, so in this way, you should not lose out on the commission payable. Issue here is if you have such a clause inserted into your tenancy agreement then.

I have been in the real estate business for more than 14 years now and have regular landlords as my clients who have continuously engaged me to rent out their properties over the years. If you have any question or require someone reliable to takeover your rental assignments, I will be more than happy to assist further.

Rental commission payable is not standardised as it should be agreed between both the agent and the client, therefore in future cases, if it is best for you to agree to the commission rate first before you confirm the appointment of agent to market your property for rent or sale.

I have been in the real estate business since 2009, with more than 13 years of experience serving the Singapore real estate market.

I am very active in the residential segment of Singapore real estate market, having transacted hundreds of deals from HDBs to private condominiums and landed properties in Singapore, and have handled many unique cases in sales and purchases as well as rental deals.

Over the years, I have also established a network reaching out to more than 9,400 expatriates, bringing my market presence to both in and outside of Singapore. This has created an additional exposure when I manage my client's portfolios, on top of the conventional on and offline platforms, where other estate agents are relying on. This has allowed me to consistently convert leads into results.

With an evolving market, where change is the only constant, I have also been investing in upgrading of my knowledge and skills sets to improve myself and meet the demands of current and future market.

We are offering our clients a complimentary first consultation without obligations (Absolutely FREE!). Schedule for your FREE session today!

Warmest regards,
Geryl Lim
Associate Group Director
Salesperson Registration No. R014783H
Email: geryl.lim@orangetee.com / geryl7772@gmail.com
OrangeTee & Tie Pte Ltd 430 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #01-01 OrangeTee Building Singapore 319402
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  • Geryl Lim
    as i mentioned, any commission refund should be claimed from the tenant instead of the agent since it is not within the agent control on tenant behaviour, thus the law cannot control this aspect. I feel for you that the agent whom you had engaged earlier have charged you higher than what an agent charges usually, but then again, if this amount is agreeable between landlord and agent, then there is nothing wrong. This is why some landlords will compare between agents in terms of charges as well as also sizing up the agents whether the vibes are good or not. If you look into the responsibilities of an agent as per what is required by the authorities, the agent's role will end once the property is handed over to the unit. any additional services provided will be considered out of goodwill and not a requirement. i fully understand how you feel on the receiving end, but as I have explained earlier, from description of what happened, the agent has not done anything against the regulations except for a relatively higher commission amount being charged for this assignment.
  • AM
    Hi Gary,
    Sorry to say that I disagree your explanation. If the law allow this commission issues then there will be more agents who will just ignore doing their job.its becomes a easy money making job.Base on my experience I feel that I have been victimised by the agent. She never even bother to contact or ask how things are. She just close the case once she received the commission.The commission of near 6 k with gst was charged just for 1 yr and 3 mths.If you are in my shoes suffering and of the agent did this to you ,you will just let go is it.I had to engage another agent and pay her 2 k commission for two yrs contract. The present agent is a wonderful lady.She truly help me alot.I share with her my problem and ask her for help whether I can delay her commission and she said can.She also charge me less for her commission after hearing my story about the 1st agent. So you see the difference between the 2 agents.iIf the government don't do something about this type of issues to put a stop then the people are being cheated.
Hi Sir/Mdm,

If the lease is terminated earlier, you have the right to claim the pro rated commission from the tenant. As for commission agreement, most agents charge the standard market rate commission and it is up to you to negotiate with your agent if he or she is asking for a higher than market rate.

Please feel free to contact me so that I can understand your situation better and assist you further!

Regards,
Nick Tan
(M) +65 9644 4854 
B.Eng(Chemical)(Hons)(NUS) / Cert-in-REA
(E) nick96444854@gmail.com
SEAA Salespersons Achievement Platinum Award 2020 / 2022

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“I would like to recommend Nick Tan from SRI. Before we engaged Nick, we were working with another agent from a very popular property agency in February 2017. We decided to terminate the contract after 5 weeks of zero viewings and no paper advertisements. Basically he was just waiting for phone calls. We engaged Nick on 20th April and by 10th of May, our unit was sold off. Why Nick? 1. He has good marketing strategies 2. He always kept us posted on what he did (communications!) 3. He made sure we understand the current market situation but he will consistently reassure us that the unit can be sold off 4. He is not greedy and trusting 5. He walks the talk”
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“Nick provides a delightful customer experience from day one when I engage him as my agent to look for a flat of my choice to the completion of the deal. He is competent, resourceful and has a pleasant manner to work with. He is the Agent of my choice in dealing with properties and I would highly recommend him to others who would appreciate an agent that takes care and can give the customer a peaceful mind.”
Susana (Buyer) Read More
0
Hi,

I would be most glad to assist you further and please feel free to let me know if you need any assistance. Have a good day ahead. By the way, I am sorry to hear about the sad plight and incident you been thru and in fact, if the corporate tenant will to terminate before the 2 years lease is up, then you should have forfeited the 2 months of security deposit, isn’t it?

Regards
Aaron Chong
 9730 8455 
aaronchong2774@yahoo.com.sg Read More
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