was i robbed by my agent ?

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    28

    was i robbed by my agent ?

    Hello,
    I have had a really bad feeling about what happened to me whilst signing for a flat recently and id like the opinion of the people on this board.
    I instruced my agent to put an offer in on a property at x amount. So i went down to the office to give a deposit. whilst i was there my agent told me that the seller was not willing to sell for this price but another agent was going to call her and help me get a better price. I was then told that the agent was about to call and would i be willing to give some extra bonus if they secured a good deal. At this point i was in a dilema as i didnt want to say no and annoy the agent who was about to do my negotiation. SO i asked how much to which the reply was 8k i was very annoyed at being asked this at such a criticle point in the negotiation process but didnt want to annoy the agent about to negotiate on my behalf, so i agreed. the agent then told me that they had secured a price close to what i had
    told her to offer in the first place. which pleased me. i was then told that she would call back again and try to gat a bit more off the pirce - and if she suceeded would i be prepared to give an extra 1% commision instead of the 8 k again i agreed (stupidly) because i wanted her to negotiate the lowest price and signed a piece of paper saying so.
    anyway i now left feeling like i have been robbed and cheated - and its keeping me up at night. I feel that it the agents responsibility to negotiate the best price anyway and i really resent being asked for more money at such a critical stage in the negotiations. Sure i was foolish to agree and sign . i was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience and how they handled it . Or what action i should take if any ?
    Thanks in advance


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Apr 2003
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    12,383

    Robbed is the wrong answer... because you agreed and did not walk away.

    However, what they have done is against the several codes.

    I'd start by calling the EAA and reporting the agent(s) and agencies concerned with as much documentation possible.

    http://www.eaa.org.hk/complaints/How_will.htm


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Apr 2003
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    12,383

    I would also consider talking to the ICAC, as you were essentially approached for a bribe, although I'm not too sure about the technical definitions.

    http://www.icac.org.hk


  4. #4

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    Mar 2006
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    Thanks KIA


  5. #5

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    Mar 2006
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    Mate, you really do know your stuff(both links are very helpful)
    ps i agree, in hind sight i definatly should have walked away ! but at the time i didnt want to jepardise my signing the property.


  6. #6

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    37

    Oh dear!

    The Agent's commission fee can be negotiable. I actually had it work in my favour where 2 of them bartered the property price down for me AND give me a reduction in their commision fee by about 4K.


  7. #7

    Join Date
    Apr 2003
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    FlashAha -- negotiable yes, but bait and switch is common and is generally unethical and against the code of ethics that that EAA claims its agents should abide by.


  8. #8

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    37

    Well, I hope they're reported and action taken.

    Mine didn't even tell me about the agent's fee reduction until after I made an offer and it was accepted by the owner.

    Did I have the only decent agent in the whole of HK?


  9. #9

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    820

    FlashAha, so you actually went to two different agents and negotiated about the same place? Recently my wife and I have been looking for a new place, and the agent will try to get us to sign a paper that states we will pay both agents commission if we see the apartment with one agent and sign the deal with another.


  10. #10

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    37

    Actually, no.

    I approached several agents and they said they had no properties in the price range I was looking at ( a bit curt, I must admit, so I didn't bother following up with them.) Except for this woman who narrowed it down and took me to 6 properties in one day.


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