Property agent under probe for soliciting commission from seller who was not his client
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 06 Nov 2024
Author: Isabelle Liew
Regulations state that property agents are not allowed to solicit payments from people who have not engaged their services.
A property agent is being investigated after he allegedly tried to solicit a commission from the seller of a Housing Board resale flat whom he was not representing.
The seller, freelance marketing consultant Ashley Lim, had been trying to help her parents sell their five-room Choa Chu Kang flat on her own by listing it on online marketplace Carousell, Ohmyhome and Facebook.
But more than 40, or the vast majority, of the inquiries she received were requests from property agents to market her flat on PropertyGuru and 99.co – popular property platforms that allow listings only from agents.
They promised not to collect a commission from her.
Some agents said they would collect this instead from buyers they introduced to her, while others asked Ms Lim to hike her asking price so they could pocket the difference.
Regulations state that agents are not allowed to solicit payments from people who have not engaged their services. They are also allowed to represent only one party in a transaction (either the buyer or seller).
But Ms Lim’s situation reflects how stiff competition in the property market is driving some agents to navigate ethical minefields in order to snap up property listings and commissions.
Ms Lim eventually agreed to allow an agent from Huttons Asia to market the flat on PropertyGuru and 99.co. He had told her that he would collect his commission from the eventual flat buyer.
But when a potential buyer refused to pay him any commission, the agent turned to Ms Lim instead.
Ms Lim, 40, refused, and the agent withdrew from the deal, causing the transaction to fall through.
“It’s frustrating because we were in the process of negotiating the selling price with the buyer, and I thought we were about to close the deal,” she said, adding that she had initially agreed to the agent’s request because she thought it would be a “win-win situation”.
She went on to lodge a complaint with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA).
The Huttons Asia agent declined to comment when contacted by ST.
Huttons Asia chief executive Mark Yip said the firm does not condone actions of salespeople that are not in line with rules and regulations, and would not hesitate to take action against those who breach rules.
When asked by The Straits Times, a spokeswoman for CEA said it was “looking into a complaint by a property seller against a property agent in relation to the marketing of an HDB resale flat”.
“Despite not representing the seller, the agent allegedly tried to solicit commission from the seller in return for introducing a potential buyer to the seller. CEA is investigating the agent’s conduct,” she said.
She added that CEA takes a serious view of property agencies or agents who do not act responsibly and professionally, and enforcement action will be taken against those who breach the rules.
For minor breaches of the Estate Agents Act, CEA may issue a warning letter or impose financial penalties of up to $5,000 on the errant property agent.
Serious cases will be referred to a disciplinary committee, and the property agent and agency may have their registration or licence revoked or suspended. Property agents may face a fine of up to $100,000 per case, and property agencies up to $200,000.
Singapore Realtors Inc chief executive Thomas Tan, who trained aspiring agents on the Real Estate Salesperson (RES) course from 2011 to 2021, said Ms Lim’s case showed how important it is for agents to be transparent and upfront about who they are representing.
“The agent and the client need to agree on representation before they proceed – this is covered in the RES course,” he said. “Each party has to lay down their boundaries transparently – the agent wants to be paid a commission, and the seller doesn’t want to pay fees. It was a mismatch of expectations from the beginning.”
Professor Sing Tien Foo, provost’s chair professor of real estate at NUS Business School, said agents should act in the best interests of their clients, be it the buyer or seller.
Pointing to HDB’s own resale listing portal, which allows flat sellers and buyers to transact directly with each other without agents, he said the service could minimise conflicts like this and “serve as an alternative channel for matching buyers and sellers”.
ST reported in June that HDB had warned property agents against approaching flat sellers though the resale listing portal to offer their services.
Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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