Beware of Real estate brokers
Posted: January 6th, 2014, 2:52 pm
There are so many brokers who make 30 to 40% in brokerages. Both buyers and sellers should be aware of them.
I am writing this after I observed few sellers who were taken for a ride by the brokers.
If you are a seller,
1. Dont take small token advance like rs.5000/ or rs.10,000/ for a property which is worth several lakhs from unknown people. Dont take even one rupee.
2. Dont take advance of few lakhs (5-10% of the value) without any sale agreement. Lot of brokers will fix the sale price and give say 5-6 lakhs for a property worth 60-70 lakhs. Dont take any advance without any proper sale agreement. Brokers give this advance without agreement because they still dont have a buyer and start searching for a buyer after giving few lakhs to the seller. They start advertising all over the place to find the buyer. Seller cannot go back on his oral promise since he/she has already taken some advance without any written document. Brokers will threaten the seller if the sellers wants to return the money taken. Since there is no written agreement, seller will be forced to register the property to whoever the broker finds and whenever the broker finds.
IF broker has agreed for a price of say rs.2800/ per sq ft, he will then start looking for a buyer for a price may be rs.4000/, rs.4500 etc.
Also, since there is no formal agreement, even if the broker takes 1 year to find the buyer, seller does not have a choice. He is stuck with a broker committing to some price and wait for long time to get price agreed upon.
3. Best option for the seller is
- not to take any token advance
- not to make any agreement
- direct registration with 100% white money.
This will ensure that you will get full money on the day you have committed to.
4. If sale registration without sale agreement is not possible because of bank loans etc. make proper agreement with the help of a lawyer and ensure that agreement is valid only for the specific buyer. Buyer specified in the agreement should not have the option to register the property to someone else. Agreement should have proper time limit (30 or 45 days max) and amount of penalty should be specified if any of the party backs out.
It is really sad that some of the educated sellers are also falling trap to these brokers and loosing significant money and peace of mind.
I am writing this after I observed few sellers who were taken for a ride by the brokers.
If you are a seller,
1. Dont take small token advance like rs.5000/ or rs.10,000/ for a property which is worth several lakhs from unknown people. Dont take even one rupee.
2. Dont take advance of few lakhs (5-10% of the value) without any sale agreement. Lot of brokers will fix the sale price and give say 5-6 lakhs for a property worth 60-70 lakhs. Dont take any advance without any proper sale agreement. Brokers give this advance without agreement because they still dont have a buyer and start searching for a buyer after giving few lakhs to the seller. They start advertising all over the place to find the buyer. Seller cannot go back on his oral promise since he/she has already taken some advance without any written document. Brokers will threaten the seller if the sellers wants to return the money taken. Since there is no written agreement, seller will be forced to register the property to whoever the broker finds and whenever the broker finds.
IF broker has agreed for a price of say rs.2800/ per sq ft, he will then start looking for a buyer for a price may be rs.4000/, rs.4500 etc.
Also, since there is no formal agreement, even if the broker takes 1 year to find the buyer, seller does not have a choice. He is stuck with a broker committing to some price and wait for long time to get price agreed upon.
3. Best option for the seller is
- not to take any token advance
- not to make any agreement
- direct registration with 100% white money.
This will ensure that you will get full money on the day you have committed to.
4. If sale registration without sale agreement is not possible because of bank loans etc. make proper agreement with the help of a lawyer and ensure that agreement is valid only for the specific buyer. Buyer specified in the agreement should not have the option to register the property to someone else. Agreement should have proper time limit (30 or 45 days max) and amount of penalty should be specified if any of the party backs out.
It is really sad that some of the educated sellers are also falling trap to these brokers and loosing significant money and peace of mind.