Blacklisted Agents

[dmon]

Hope others can share bad experiences with property agents

A buddy of mine was totally disappointed in his recent search for a place to rent
Ads advertised but agents asked abt his profile instead and ended no viewing at all.

These agents in my view are depressing the rent prices as they attract by advertising low rent

Tenants ended up giving profile n not a single viewing....

Buddy told me ...lesson learnt..ignore agents who advertised with NO INTERIOR PHOTOS

[august]

Onviously the tenant profile is the problem, not the agent.

[Arcachon]

99.co

[irisng]

Hope others can share bad experiences with property agents

A buddy of mine was totally disappointed in his recent search for a place to rent
Ads advertised but agents asked abt his profile instead and ended no viewing at all.

These agents in my view are depressing the rent prices as they attract by advertising low rent

Tenants ended up giving profile n not a single viewing....

Buddy told me ...lesson learnt..ignore agents who advertised with NO INTERIOR PHOTOS

Owners sometimes also face this problem. Get a few agents to help, but in the end, 3 months already still no viewing from most of them.

Just to share, I have come across a disappointed agent too, from one of the forums. From the way he answered to the queries in the forum, he seems to be professional but when I called him, he sound a bit rude when I told him about my required rented price. At least he should give me advice and not give me such a tone. Worst is, he doesn't seem want to talk further. Later, I found my current agent, he is good and advise me on my current market price. I handed the key to him for his convenience to bring tenants to view my unit.

[dmon]

Onviously the tenant profile is the problem, not the agent.

Not really....my buddy managed to rent a place ...he's a working professsional.

He managed to get a genuine agent who really has units to show.

He said those agents who post general areas of condo - are not genuine. Gathered his profile and start to call owners

[dmon]

Owners sometimes also face this problem. Get a few agents to help, but in the end, 3 months already still no viewing from most of them.

Just to share, I have come across a disappointed agent too, from one of the forums. From the way he answered to the queries in the forum, he seems to be professional but when I called him, he sound a bit rude when I told him about my required rented price. At least he should give me advice and not give me such a tone. Worst is, he doesn't seem want to talk further. Later, I found my current agent, he is good and advise me on my current market price. I handed the key to him for his convenience to bring tenants to view my unit.

For tenants and owners, it is difficult to find good agents nowadays

These bunch of agents who are going around gathering profiles and later show up empty handed - should be Blacklisted

[dmon]

I have another lady friend who got 1 agent to rent out her place.

2 months and quite a number of viewings. My lady friend's place is neatly done up.
but agent kept asking her to do touch up n white wash.

At the advice of her friend she didnt and the unit was vacant for 2 months+

Later she changed agent n within a week the unit was rented out at a good price.
My lady friend was upset for giving exclusivity to earlier agent

Advices given by earlier agent were all wrong. The 2nd agent managed to rent out without any touch up or white wash

I think the earlier agent trying to make money out from my lady friend

[Newbie1]

called an agent regarding an advertised unit regarding facing, layout etc

He said could not provide details as owner was out of country and no viewing during the period

was surprised because the condo has yet to be completed!

when he was reminded of that, he exclaimed, oh he forgot!

[proud owner]

over the years, I have Bought, sold, leased out and rented condo/landed myself.

I have made many agent friends.

what you or your friends experienced are not necessarily the fault of agents.


It is the OWNER who wants to know the profile of the tenants, cos they have a list of 'races' that they do not wish to rent their unit to.

As an agent serving the landlord, he has to ask.

And if your friend did not get a reply, chances are landlord didn't want that profile.

CEA forbids advertisements that state preference for ANY race.

Agents become the victim. They have to ask, cos landlord wants to know and choose.

To tell you they don't want you, sure kana scolding from you. You wont scold landlord right ? cos you don't talk to landlord.

So to prevent being scolded for no fault of his, Or worst, being reported to, to CEA, agent will be in trouble.



some agents get Exclusive say for 3 mths from Mar to Jun ... try and try .. no luck.

Pass to another agent in July, straight away rented out within 2 weeks..

is it agent lousy ?


NO ...

July/ Dec always see a lot of expats coming and going ...

the agent with the exclusive is simply bad luck ... timing was wrong...


We should also start to black list owners ...

example .. I kana once, advertise 930k ... changed price 3 times to 1.1 mio within 1wk ..

whos fault ? blacklist the agent ? Nah its the seller ..


so ... don't be too quick to judge ... very often it is the Seller/ landlord that is the nasty one

[irisng]

I have another lady friend who got 1 agent to rent out her place.

2 months and quite a number of viewings. My lady friend's place is neatly done up.
but agent kept asking her to do touch up n white wash.

At the advice of her friend she didnt and the unit was vacant for 2 months+

Later she changed agent n within a week the unit was rented out at a good price.
My lady friend was upset for giving exclusivity to earlier agent

Advices given by earlier agent were all wrong. The 2nd agent managed to rent out without any touch up or white wash

I think the earlier agent trying to make money out from my lady friend

I wonder is it sometimes is the luck. Previously I engaged an agent who was a wife of my spouse's colleague to sell my 5 room HDB flat in Bishan (near MRT, shopping centre, CC and good school). Ours was her 1st deal because she was new and someone whom we know, so we gave her a chance and gave her an exclusive right. She brought lots of buyers to my place to view, I think have more than 20 people within >2 months. It caused lots of convenience to us because everytime we had to make ourselves available during weekdays and weekends. Some even came 2 or 3 times to view but she still cannot close the deal. Because her exclusive right was going to expire, so she kept asking us to reduce the price until we told her that we could not reduce any further. In the end, she joined with another agent from other agency and at last closed the deal.

[dmon]

called an agent regarding an advertised unit regarding facing, layout etc

He said could not provide details as owner was out of country and no viewing during the period

was surprised because the condo has yet to be completed!

when he was reminded of that, he exclaimed, oh he forgot!

Have 3 colleagues who are looking to rent.
Same excuse given to them - owner out of country.

Ain't it odd - if I'm the owner I pass the keys to agent.

Should blacklist these agents. Part timers or moonlighting

[dmon]

Aren't agents paid to settle owners demand
Their job is middle man
A bit ridiculous to blacklist owners. Most important is professionalism. Courtesy to call instead of total ignorance

Newbie1 post - read and you can laugh over it. Agent advertised rental unit for a yet to be competed project. Recalled my buddy told me - KAP ..

over the years, I have Bought, sold, leased out and rented condo/landed myself.

I have made many agent friends.

what you or your friends experienced are not necessarily the fault of agents.


It is the OWNER who wants to know the profile of the tenants, cos they have a list of 'races' that they do not wish to rent their unit to.

As an agent serving the landlord, he has to ask.

And if your friend did not get a reply, chances are landlord didn't want that profile.

CEA forbids advertisements that state preference for ANY race.

Agents become the victim. They have to ask, cos landlord wants to know and choose.

To tell you they don't want you, sure kana scolding from you. You wont scold landlord right ? cos you don't talk to landlord.

So to prevent being scolded for no fault of his, Or worst, being reported to, to CEA, agent will be in trouble.



some agents get Exclusive say for 3 mths from Mar to Jun ... try and try .. no luck.

Pass to another agent in July, straight away rented out within 2 weeks..

is it agent lousy ?


NO ...

July/ Dec always see a lot of expats coming and going ...

the agent with the exclusive is simply bad luck ... timing was wrong...


We should also start to black list owners ...

example .. I kana once, advertise 930k ... changed price 3 times to 1.1 mio within 1wk ..

whos fault ? blacklist the agent ? Nah its the seller ..


so ... don't be too quick to judge ... very often it is the Seller/ landlord that is the nasty one

[jeaprp]

over the years, I have Bought, sold, leased out and rented condo/landed myself.

I have made many agent friends.

what you or your friends experienced are not necessarily the fault of agents.


It is the OWNER who wants to know the profile of the tenants, cos they have a list of 'races' that they do not wish to rent their unit to.

As an agent serving the landlord, he has to ask.

And if your friend did not get a reply, chances are landlord didn't want that profile.

CEA forbids advertisements that state preference for ANY race.

Agents become the victim. They have to ask, cos landlord wants to know and choose.

To tell you they don't want you, sure kana scolding from you. You wont scold landlord right ? cos you don't talk to landlord.

So to prevent being scolded for no fault of his, Or worst, being reported to, to CEA, agent will be in trouble.



some agents get Exclusive say for 3 mths from Mar to Jun ... try and try .. no luck.

Pass to another agent in July, straight away rented out within 2 weeks..

is it agent lousy ?


NO ...

July/ Dec always see a lot of expats coming and going ...

the agent with the exclusive is simply bad luck ... timing was wrong...


We should also start to black list owners ...

example .. I kana once, advertise 930k ... changed price 3 times to 1.1 mio within 1wk ..

whos fault ? blacklist the agent ? Nah its the seller ..


so ... don't be too quick to judge ... very often it is the Seller/ landlord that is the nasty one

gentle reminder, don't forget who is paying the commission

[DC33_2008]

I prefer to engage the same few agents that I am familiar to market my units. Exclusivity does not work well in this kind of market. Over the years, I have managed to gather a trusted team of Electrician, Air-conditioning Contractor, handyman group which can do minor work, plumbing, etc. It is really helpful to challenge those fly-by-night contractors who have approached my tenants in the past and told them to replace things in the condo and overcharge them.

I wonder is it sometimes is the luck. Previously I engaged an agent who was a wife of my spouse's colleague to sell my 5 room HDB flat in Bishan (near MRT, shopping centre, CC and good school). Ours was her 1st deal because she was new and someone whom we know, so we gave her a chance and gave her an exclusive right. She brought lots of buyers to my place to view, I think have more than 20 people within >2 months. It caused lots of convenience to us because everytime we had to make ourselves available during weekdays and weekends. Some even came 2 or 3 times to view but she still cannot close the deal. Because her exclusive right was going to expire, so she kept asking us to reduce the price until we told her that we could not reduce any further. In the end, she joined with another agent from other agency and at last closed the deal.

[irisng]

I prefer to engage the same few agents that I am familiar to market my units. Exclusivity does not work well in this kind of market. Over the years, I have managed to gather a trusted team of Electrician, Air-conditioning Contractor, handyman group which can do minor work, plumbing, etc. It is really helpful to challenge those fly-by-night contractors who have approached my tenants in the past and told them to replace things in the condo and overcharge them.

That was my 1st experience and was not aware that there is such a good forum here to get valuable advises from all of you. Now I know, if possible, don't give exclusive right.

[dmon]

There are some agents who intentionally advertised below market prices.

Attract buyers or tenants but such agents no credibility

[dmon]

There are some agents who intentionally advertised below market prices.

Attract buyers or tenants but such agents no credibility

Or agents work in groups....ponder me why such tactics

Bad publicity for Singapore. Others will find lack of professionalism in Singapore

[proud owner]

There are some agents who intentionally advertised below market prices.

Attract buyers or tenants but such agents no credibility

do you personally have bad experience ? so far it seems all YOUR friends, or your friend's sister etc

if you have personally experience ... share it here ... we discuss ...

yes owner pays agent to do the job ... but often .. like the dirty job of "rejecting' certain race...

or when there are 'many viewings' owner raise the price ...


You mentioned Professionalism .... lets be real , there are many Owners that are not professional too ... so why cant black list them ?



Have you engaged an agent to rent out your condo before ?

when you go on holiday, you said you would pass the key to agent.

IF it is a brand new empty unit, yes most will pass key to agent.

If it is owner occupied, almost all owners wont hand keys over , unless the agent is a relative or very very very close friend.

So if an owner goes on holiday and NOT pass key to agent, should we blacklist owner ?


JEAPRP said :
gentle reminder, don't forget who is paying the commission


precisely people has the above mentality, they demand agents to do all the dirty jobs, those that they wouldn't dare do it themselves, like telling potential tenant " I don't want you because you are from XXX, YYY, ZZZ country"



all I am saying is ...

a lot of time , it is not the fault of the agents. They are put in that situation that made them the culprit.

don't forget ... there is CEA ..

CEA forbids any advertisements that haven't gotten approval from owners ( price included)

But CEA wont fine owners who agree to sell /rent at certain price but later change it when there is a taker ...

but the taker who fails to get the price as advertised will blame the agent ... not the owner... so how ?

[Newbie1]

do you personally have bad experience ? so far it seems all YOUR friends, or your friend's sister etc

if you have personally experience ... share it here ... we discuss ...

yes owner pays agent to do the job ... but often .. like the dirty job of "rejecting' certain race...

or when there are 'many viewings' owner raise the price ...


You mentioned Professionalism .... lets be real , there are many Owners that are not professional too ... so why cant black list them ?



Have you engaged an agent to rent out your condo before ?

when you go on holiday, you said you would pass the key to agent.

IF it is a brand new empty unit, yes most will pass key to agent.

If it is owner occupied, almost all owners wont hand keys over , unless the agent is a relative or very very very close friend.

So if an owner goes on holiday and NOT pass key to agent, should we blacklist owner ?


JEAPRP said :
gentle reminder, don't forget who is paying the commission


precisely people has the above mentality, they demand agents to do all the dirty jobs, those that they wouldn't dare do it themselves, like telling potential tenant " I don't want you because you are from XXX, YYY, ZZZ country"



all I am saying is ...

a lot of time , it is not the fault of the agents. They are put in that situation that made them the culprit.

don't forget ... there is CEA ..

CEA forbids any advertisements that haven't gotten approval from owners ( price included)

But CEA wont fine owners who agree to sell /rent at certain price but later change it when there is a taker ...

but the taker who fails to get the price as advertised will blame the agent ... not the owner... so how ?

Fully agree with your points that it is not always the agents' faults. Many honest agents work very hard and get richly rewarded.

Landlords complain about tenants here but in websites for tenants, they complain about unreasonable landlords

Probably what TS wanted was for people to share their bad experiences so that others can learn from them. Think that can be very useful

I have also experienced agents advertising incredible low prices, and when they were contacted claimed the unit has been sold but then asked whether there is any interest in other units. later on, couldn't find the actual transactions on URA

Think most agents are responsible but in any profession there are bound to have some not so good ones.

[dmon]

You sound like an agent.

I'm not making a sweeping statement..here is to highlight the bad experiences and blacklisted agents

Owners or landlords definitely want higher rent and better selling prices.

Who knows market better? Who is able to share market prices?
Who is able to act as the balance the demand and supply?

Obviously professionalism comes in. I m sure you as an agent at times get upset with other agents who use dirty tactics

I have bought and sold condos before..so far have not rented
Agents more into sale rather than rent because commission lesser for rent
so when subsale market is quiet, agents fovus on rental market...I think

Anyway what you said is correct...agents rather go against their conscience instead of telling off the owners or landlords
lets not talk about renting to people from what countries...keeping the unit vacant for months to choose tenants profile that they like - not investors mentality.

This thread is to share bad experiences and those agents you want to avoid.

do you personally have bad experience ? so far it seems all YOUR friends, or your friend's sister etc

if you have personally experience ... share it here ... we discuss ...

yes owner pays agent to do the job ... but often .. like the dirty job of "rejecting' certain race...

or when there are 'many viewings' owner raise the price ...


You mentioned Professionalism .... lets be real , there are many Owners that are not professional too ... so why cant black list them ?



Have you engaged an agent to rent out your condo before ?

when you go on holiday, you said you would pass the key to agent.

IF it is a brand new empty unit, yes most will pass key to agent.

If it is owner occupied, almost all owners wont hand keys over , unless the agent is a relative or very very very close friend.

So if an owner goes on holiday and NOT pass key to agent, should we blacklist owner ?


JEAPRP said :
gentle reminder, don't forget who is paying the commission


precisely people has the above mentality, they demand agents to do all the dirty jobs, those that they wouldn't dare do it themselves, like telling potential tenant " I don't want you because you are from XXX, YYY, ZZZ country"



all I am saying is ...

a lot of time , it is not the fault of the agents. They are put in that situation that made them the culprit.

don't forget ... there is CEA ..

CEA forbids any advertisements that haven't gotten approval from owners ( price included)

But CEA wont fine owners who agree to sell /rent at certain price but later change it when there is a taker ...

but the taker who fails to get the price as advertised will blame the agent ... not the owner... so how ?

[dmon]

Newbie1...you are spot on. To share n learn fm others.

I m sure those unethical agents will not last long in the industry...

To all..blacklist those agents that advertised cheap cheap and those who advertised rental units for yet to be completed projects..laughing stock. One e.g. king albert park KAP..I could not help laughing when I pass by the site each time

Fully agree with your points that it is not always the agents' faults. Many honest agents work very hard and get richly rewarded.

Landlords complain about tenants here but in websites for tenants, they complain about unreasonable landlords

Probably what TS wanted was for people to share their bad experiences so that others can learn from them. Think that can be very useful

I have also experienced agents advertising incredible low prices, and when they were contacted claimed the unit has been sold but then asked whether there is any interest in other units. later on, couldn't find the actual transactions on URA

Think most agents are responsible but in any profession there are bound to have some not so good ones.

[irisng]

Newbie1...you are spot on. To share n learn fm others.

I m sure those unethical agents will not last long in the industry...

To all..blacklist those agents that advertised cheap cheap and those who advertised rental units for yet to be completed projects..laughing stock. One e.g. king albert park KAP..I could not help laughing when I pass by the site each time

There are always good and bad agents. IMHO, some agents advertised yet to complete project hoping that the tenants are able to wait for the project to complete but if it takes years to complete, then that is too ridiculous but if it will be ready in a couple of months time, maybe still possible. When my unit had just TOP, all defaults were not rectified yet, an agent approached me saying that there was a tenant who was willing to wait for 4 months for the unit but I rejected it because I prefer to get all the defaults rectified (those defaults that I know) before letting out. I do not want to keep disturbing the tenant on and off for default rectification.

There are also some agents who advertised some units, posting those photos that are not meant for that project.

Owners sometime do go overseas but like what was mentioned by proud owner earlier, if it is a completely unit, is possible to let the agent has the key but if it is not, then most likely, as an owner, myself, I will not let the agent has my key, even relatives (unless very trusted one), I might also think twice, to avoid any complication later on. Recently I have encountered a case (involve money) with one of my very close relative, it makes me feel very disappointed that sometimes very close relatives also cannot be trusted. I didn't pursue the case because of the close relationship.

[dmon]

There are always good and bad agents. IMHO, some agents advertised yet to complete project hoping that the tenants are able to wait for the project to complete but if it takes years to complete, then that is too ridiculous but if it will be ready in a couple of months time, maybe still possible. When my unit had just TOP, all defaults were not rectified yet, an agent approached me saying that there was a tenant who was willing to wait for 4 months for the unit but I rejected it because I prefer to get all the defaults rectified (those defaults that I know) before letting out. I do not want to keep disturbing the tenant on and off for default rectification.
.

Then you are one good and considerate landlord

Agree that landlord should not bother tenant with the defects rectification

[dmon]

There are also some agents who advertised some units, posting those photos that are not meant for that project.

Will it not be considered misrepresentation?
Bad reputation for the country if there are such agents

i guess potential tenants can only complain to CEA
but tenants will just let it go.

[zeamybro]

Recently I have met up with this husband-and-wife team agent. They brought with them a few bags of props (flowers, ornaments, magazines, cushions, kitchen wares and other decos) to doll up my place and take photos for marketing purposes. Kinda interesting as I havent met any agents like them before

For me, i dont go for exclusivity and adopt the whoever-can-give-me-the-best-deal-will-get-the-deal strategy.... I dont really pin high hopes on agents that they will follow up well on the subsequent tenancy issues. If they do, its a bonus, and if they dont, there is nothing much I could do (commissions already paid) and I can only suck thumb. No need to put too much emotions or get angry with the agents cos most of the time is deal onz and fo....

[Kelonguni]

I had a relative agent help secure tenant. Commission paid but follow up on complaints was poor - was told to put up with minor issues as long as they paid the rent on time.

Took over the job myself after the tenancy. Upped the rent over 10% over the next two renewals to compensate for issues.

Actually not too difficult to do most of the follow up work myself. But I will still engage agent and pay for their services in securing tenants for consideration.

It's tough being an agent in current market condition. No need to blacklist but just be aware of the patterns that some of them shows. I also called to buy a property several years back but was told landlord overseas for months on end. In the end also never got back to me. But there are many possible reasons, must give others the benefit of the doubt and chance. Who knows if we need that chance someday?

[dmon]

Professionalism regardless of relationship

Upfront to all on expectations and be reasonable

I had a relative agent help secure tenant. Commission paid but follow up on complaints was poor - was told to put up with minor issues as long as they paid the rent on time.

Took over the job myself after the tenancy. Upped the rent over 10% over the next two renewals to compensate for issues.

Actually not too difficult to do most of the follow up work myself. But I will still engage agent and pay for their services in securing tenants for consideration.

It's tough being an agent in current market condition. No need to blacklist but just be aware of the patterns that some of them shows. I also called to buy a property several years back but was told landlord overseas for months on end. In the end also never got back to me. But there are many possible reasons, must give others the benefit of the doubt and chance. Who knows if we need that chance someday?

[irisng]

Will it not be considered misrepresentation?
Bad reputation for the country if there are such agents

i guess potential tenants can only complain to CEA
but tenants will just let it go.

IMHO, this is the "strategy" of the sales. Tenants don't just base on the photos to decide the unit, they will go down personally to have a look. If I know that this agent has used other project photos, I will not use this agent because of the "trustworthiness".

I think it is quite common for the agents or any sales personnel to get profiles from their customers for future usage. Blacklisted them seems to be a bit harsh.

[DC33_2008]

Not only view once but at least twice. Some actually do a thorough check on the cleaniless and condition of appliances. Got one case where the wife opens every drawer and cupboard in my apt. Just like sergant checking recruits at standby bed. Will never want to rent to them.

IMHO, this is the "strategy" of the sales. Tenants don't just base on the photos to decide the unit, they will go down personally to have a look. If I know that this agent has used other project photos, I will not use this agent because of the "trustworthiness".

I think it is quite common for the agents or any sales personnel to get profiles from their customers for future usage. Blacklisted them seems to be a bit harsh.

[DMCK]

do you still engage agent to do the legal paper works if a close friend of yours want to rent your apartment?