I have been in the market for the past 6 months for an apartment/ house for purchase. My experience says that most brokers will charge 1% as commission. Please do not go with agents who charge 2% from the buyer. If we all collectively boycott them,they will be automatically weeded out from the system.
Btw, for the 1% the broker needs to at least provide the following services:
1. Contact with Owner
2. Help in negotiating price
3. All documentation from owner to buyer
4. Help with Legal and statutory approvals and checks
5. Full documentation and coordination in registration of house
6. Full support in taking loan from financial institution and procurement and movement of documents related to the same.
am strictly against paying 1% only for providing contact number of owner.If all of the above points are met, then I think its ok to pay the 1%.
And this is negotiable. There are agents with whom you need to specify the kind of services required and depending on that you can bargain for less than 1%. But be upfront to avoid confusion later.
And talks of agents who pressurize owners into going with agents, well it depends upon the urgency. Today with internet being widely used as a medium of communication, you are within your rights to specify in the ad that you are not interested in going with brokers. Be firm on the phone as well. In case some agent is confident to get you customers and close the deal, specify to him what would you pay for this. In my opinion, it should be a flat amount not more than 10-15k in my opinion.
For those who are looking for independent houses and have an area identified, do some leg work. Visit these areas personally and ask around. Small kirana shops, paanwalas, local maids, workers will usually know which houses are available for rent or sale. You can contact the owner and if the deal works out, pay a small appreciation amount to the Paanwala or shop-owner..
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