Do property agents in Thailand make money?

[Johannes]

Seen so many real estate agencies renting and selling condos. Do they really make any money? And the ones that dont have web presence or are ranked low, how can they get customers?

[jandajoy]

they all do it for free. It's a charity.

[DJ Pat]

They make a pittance of some sort I'm sure

[Professorfart]

Most of the "estate agents" I meet in BKK are really TEFLers in disguise. They'll tell you anything rather than admit to the fact they are TEFling.

I'm sure some agencies do OK but I'll wager most of the agencies you see in Pattaya won't be there too long or the letting is only a side project off from the main business.

The Thai estate agent who found me my house had a day job as well and could only show me around places after she'd knocked off for the day, as did the lady who fixed me up with my flat near the airport recently.

[Bangyai]

Seen so many real estate agencies renting and selling condos. Do they really make any money? And the ones that dont have web presence or are ranked low, how can they get customers?

Don't know about new builds but around Bangyai , the standard fee an agent takes for selling your home is 3.3%.

A total waste of money as they do not offer any service you can't arrange for yourself , i.e internet advertising and notices stuck to lamposts etc.

[Marmite the Dog]

I think by charging double the value of the land, property or rent, they should make a little.

[Khun Custard]

Few in jail, one skipped the country with a suit case fully of clients rental money....
other than that... the real estate business in Thailand seems the same, same as anywhere else me thinks!

[DJ Pat]

I have never and would never deal with any farang in Thailand peddling any kind of real estate, I found them to mostly be patronising know it all pricks wearing il-fitting suits, especially in Pattaya.

Use Thai connections and usually you won't go wrong.

[taxexile]

they are for the most part the lowest of the low, occupying the same stratum of society as the knuckle dragging overweight beery slobs that infest these shores, naturally most of them are british, remember, to sell land or property requires no skill or intelligence, greed being the only qualification needed.

they connive with their bling encrusted thai wives, local thai sleazoids and lowlife foreign builders and developers, again mostly british, to sell jerry built dwellings at inflated prices, often by misleading their customers in matters regarding legal title.

buzzing around in big wheeled pick up trucks and suvs, appearing endlessly in the self promoting news sheets they litter the towns with, they are indeed a poxy lot.

as the above poster said, they cannot be trusted and you are better off avoiding any outfit fronted by a falang. same goes for lawyers, another bunch of thieves.

sadly, a lot of them do make money, but on the bright side, the economic downturn has made business increasingly difficult for them and many have had to close shop.

[forreachingme]

Hey Johannes, yep they ALL make a fortune and quick!

If you want to invest, just drop some capital to any of them

[withnallstoke]

and could only show me around places after she'd been knocked off for the day

Nothing like a quick shag before meeting a customer.

[FailSafe]

I think by charging double the value of the land, property or rent, they should make a little.

Correct- that's why they try their hardest to make sure buyers and sellers never meet (except briefly when the title transfer is done at the land office).

A seller wants 5mil for some land- the 'agent' might offer it at 5.5mil or more, get lucky and find a trusting sucker to pay over the asking price (which won't have been advertised anywhere) direct to the agent who then transfers it (less profit) to the seller, and pocket the difference (as well as a 3% commission)- happens all the time in Phuket and Samui.

Always, ALWAYS find the owner and deal direct (or at least get the proper asking price)- the agent will screw you if possible.

[Professorfart]

Originally Posted by Professorfart
and could only show me around places after she'd been knocked off for the day

Nothing like a quick shag before meeting a customer

Well the agent who found me the flat had me thinking about her "day job" due to the lion tattoo on her shoulder but she was tidy as...

[The Ghost Of The Moog]

Even the top agencies find it tough. CB Richard Ellis can go for months without selling a single apartment.

With the smaller agents, the problem I find is that they are just too greedy. They are congenitally incapable of just taking a commission, if they find a piece of cheaply priced land, they want to acquire it themselves and sell it on to their clients immediately - a back-to-back deal.

I recall a guy, name Alexander, who had no money but was trying to get on his feet as an agent, and I told him if he found a nice piece of seafront land, i'd pay him a modest commission (which as a buyer in Thailand, one wouldn't typically do - the seller pays the agent). He found something and then dropped the bombshell....."Well if you buy this land, you would actually be buying from me.".....and it certainly was market-priced (or higher), so much then for a 'finders fee' to secure something economical.

I never spoke to him again. And you know, more broadly, this is something I find in Thailand (it might just be me)!, that no farang ever wants to do anything for you for free, everything has to be incentivised, and even if a deal is struck, getting payment is a trial. I realise this might be because everyone is subsisting on relatively limited income sources, but in the end its counter-productive, as no business progress is really accomplished as a result. People will sacrifice friends over a piddling sum of money - a few hundred dollars..

[Butterfly]

I don't think agents are greedy, they are just lazy, that is they won't work much for that kind of commissions, they want the easy deals, that's it, and will ignore the deals where they have to work harder

[FailSafe]

^

That depends on the size of the deal- if you're at a level where you're involved in million+ dollar (30mil+ baht) deals, 3% (or even 1% if you work with a team) is a nice piece of change- my wife does some arranging of real estate deals once in a while (mostly through family recommendations) and she's gotten some real winners- she doesn't pull scams with prices, but she will work with the land owner on a consignment deal where she can keep a very high percentage of whatever she can get over a minimum asking price.

I agree that 3% of some flat-land in the middle of nowhere isn't worth much effort.

[khun Per]

Normally an agent will get 3% paid by the seller (sometimes 5%). On rent/lease they may have a commission, based on the rent for a number of month, or an agreed fixed commission. However, some "real estate agents" do step in as seller and charge an overprice - typically 10%, some more. Anyone can settle as "real estate agent" and some do make good money. Sometime an agent may be a sub-agent, and the agents have a split on the commission paid be the seller - may still make (good) money on a few deals per year, if they are into the multi-million-baht area, as on Phuket and Samui. This set-up may often work between a Thai real estate agent and an expat agent, as an Western (foreign) buyer may have more trust to a Westerner, than a Thai. Even an agent is paid by the seller, he may work for the benefits and in the interest of the buyer.
Thailand is in general based on small commissions for bringing buying customers or just customers in to all kind of business.

[pickel]

I thought farangs were barred from being real estate agents in Thailand.

[khun Per]

I thought farangs were barred from being real estate agents in Thailand.

Ups - sorry - I did reply to that two days ago, but my answer seems to be lost in Cyperspace.

Not my knowledge. I know a few farangs working as (successul) Real Estate Agents. They operate through a limited company. I do not know, if there are some special issues to take care of, however, Philip Wylie writes in his book "How to Establish a Successful Business in Thailand" (for farangs) on page 137-138 about how to start up a real estate agency.

[Professorfart]

however, Philip Wylie writes in his book "How to Establish a Successful Business in Thailand" (for farangs) on page 137-138 about how to start up a real estate agency.

Who?

2 pages!? LOL! No wonder there are so many cowboys around.

Stick with the Thais on this one...

[benbaaa]

I always enjoy a bit of estate agent baiting. You know those stalls in shopping malls where they have the little model houses and glossy brochures. I have a look around, pick up some brochures, slide the little drawers open and shut to look at the interior layout. When the girl comes over and asks if I'd like any help, I say Yes, I want to buy this one and I want to pay cash. Her eyes light up at the thought of the commission and she takes me through some spiel about how many other farang there will be, how nice the swimming pool will be when it's built and asks about my job, savings, etc. Then when I'm 90% of the way through filling in some form, I turn to her and say, Just one question. The house will be exclusively in my name, won't it? She starts mumbling about 49%, companies, control, wives names, leases and so on, as I stand up and walk away without saying goodbye.

[Gerbil]

slide the little drawers open and shut to look at the interior layout.

I like remodelling the bathrooms:

[DrAndy]

Just one question. The house will be exclusively in my name, won't it? She starts mumbling

I presume that would be the ugly ones

what about the cute ones, do you let them take you out for a drink?

[jack swelters]

I think it's a tough job, there are good ones. But it is hard to get them interested in a listing, perhaps because the Thai hate to pay commissions and tend to deal with prospects through the back door, cutting the agent out of the deal. In other words, there are no good contracts to protect the agents.

[jack swelters]

I used to dis agents a lot, I can't remember why. When in the middle of a divorce my wife insisted on our getting an agent who was also a friend of hers I was hostile to the whole idea. At the end, I went along with it. The agent whipped up competition among several buyers and we ended up getting about 30 percent more for the house than I ever imagined. Six percent well spent, I think.