New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
May 24th 2014, 6:29 am
#1
¿uo buıob s,ʇɐɥʍ
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,762
New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
Hi Fred321,
I think this is my post that BB was kindly referring to. It's a bit buried on this site. So here it is again, below.
Good luck with everything MM2H.
JC3
When it comes to a tenancy agreement, almost everything is negotiable. You may of course come across a landlord that won’t negotiate. He’ll be the one with the empty property sticking it out for a higher rent, who hasn’t worked out that continued vacancies can be a lot more costly than a rent reduction.
Before negotiating on price:
1. Assess the market.
If you know what else is out there, comparable to the place you want and what the competition offers that your target doesn’t, you’re almost ready to negotiate. If you can tell the agent / landlord that you like their place, but have seen something similar or ideally better for around the same price or less, you’re in a great position. They don’t want to lose you!
2. Try and find out how long the place you’re interested in has been empty. If it’s listed on a website, when was it listed? If it’s been vacant for more than a month or two that tells you something.
3. Review the draft Tenancy Agreement, decide what you want changed, deleted or added, and do a thorough inspection of the house / apartment.
Do you want the landlord to upgrade old appliances, and/or buy any new ones that don’t exist? Is there a washing machine, dishwasher, microwave? Is there an aircon unit in every room, and a ceiling or wall fan? Astro? Do you want the landlord to remove any furniture? Does the kitchen and bathroom sink have hot and cold running water? Is there a filtered water supply? Does anything need repairing before you move in (check all the door and windows, all the electrics and all the plumbing!)
What maintenance contracts do you want the landlord to pay for – aircon servicing, pest control, gardening….
4. Look at it from the landlord’s perspective.
What it is about you that makes you an attractive tenant? Remember the landlord wants a tenant - and to start earning rent - as soon as possible, for as long as possible. He wants to avoid rental voids, he wants to keep his wear & tear costs to a minimum, and he wants a responsible tenant that will look after the place, so he does not have to check on it every week for plumbing and roof leaks, burglary or whatever.
5. Talk to your prospective landlord and explain what’s in it for him. You may well find that in fact you are the perfect tenant. For example:
• You’re ready to move in next month. Brilliant! That means the rental income starts flowing very soon, ending his current void sooner rather than later.
• You’re willing to commit for a year. Good. That’s much better than 6 months.
• At the end of Year 1 you might want to extend for a second year. Wow! That’s excellent. Maybe he won’t have to find another tenant for two years. No voids = maximum rent. Remember the biggest hassle for a landlord is finding a new tenant, having a rental void in between tenants, and the clean-up after a tenant moves out. If you really like the place and are convinced that you won’t want to move out after a year, then you may be able to lock in to a two-year rate now eliminating the second year increase. Or, if you’re very good at negotiating, get a reduction on Year 1’s rent, and agree a further reduction now for the second year term.
• You’re creditworthy. Re-assure your landlord they’ll be no problems getting the rent every month, it’ll help.
• You don’t have any kids. Good. Kids draw on the walls, spill things on sofas and so on.
• You don’t have any pets. Good. Dogs and cats can damage furniture….
• You’re a Westerner. Good. Westerners tend to look after the homes that they rent in Malaysia, so are often preferred by landlords.
• You’re willing to pay the rent by monthly standing order direct into his bank account, in exchange for a reduction. Good. No chasing you for the rent.
• You’d be happy to give the tired purple bedroom a repaint in a neutral colour at your own cost. Or if it’s a landed property with a garden, that you’ll do the gardening and smarten the place up.
• And so on…
6. Think about what else you could offer. For example:
Can you offer to pay money upfront? If you offer to pay six months rent in advance in return for lower rent, most landlords will say yes.
Can you offer to pay a deductible on repairs? It’s a hassle for the landlord to arrange for small repairs. If you offer to pay, say, the first RM500 of any repair, then the landlord may be willing to drop the rent in exchange. Make sure the property is in good condition first!
With all of this, the point is that the whole tenancy agreement is negotiable. It’s not only about the rent.
To negotiate well, you should trade something for something. What can you give (exchange) in order to get what you want? If you’re not used to negotiating, read up a little about it before you start. Avoid giving concessions without getting something you want in return.
Lastly remember the ‘Asking Price’ is the landlord’s dream price. Unless he’s a fool, he will be expecting to get less.
A 20-40% rent reduction? You won’t know until you try!
Good luck
JC3
I think this is my post that BB was kindly referring to. It's a bit buried on this site. So here it is again, below.
Good luck with everything MM2H.
JC3
When it comes to a tenancy agreement, almost everything is negotiable. You may of course come across a landlord that won’t negotiate. He’ll be the one with the empty property sticking it out for a higher rent, who hasn’t worked out that continued vacancies can be a lot more costly than a rent reduction.
Before negotiating on price:
1. Assess the market.
If you know what else is out there, comparable to the place you want and what the competition offers that your target doesn’t, you’re almost ready to negotiate. If you can tell the agent / landlord that you like their place, but have seen something similar or ideally better for around the same price or less, you’re in a great position. They don’t want to lose you!
2. Try and find out how long the place you’re interested in has been empty. If it’s listed on a website, when was it listed? If it’s been vacant for more than a month or two that tells you something.
3. Review the draft Tenancy Agreement, decide what you want changed, deleted or added, and do a thorough inspection of the house / apartment.
Do you want the landlord to upgrade old appliances, and/or buy any new ones that don’t exist? Is there a washing machine, dishwasher, microwave? Is there an aircon unit in every room, and a ceiling or wall fan? Astro? Do you want the landlord to remove any furniture? Does the kitchen and bathroom sink have hot and cold running water? Is there a filtered water supply? Does anything need repairing before you move in (check all the door and windows, all the electrics and all the plumbing!)
What maintenance contracts do you want the landlord to pay for – aircon servicing, pest control, gardening….
4. Look at it from the landlord’s perspective.
What it is about you that makes you an attractive tenant? Remember the landlord wants a tenant - and to start earning rent - as soon as possible, for as long as possible. He wants to avoid rental voids, he wants to keep his wear & tear costs to a minimum, and he wants a responsible tenant that will look after the place, so he does not have to check on it every week for plumbing and roof leaks, burglary or whatever.
5. Talk to your prospective landlord and explain what’s in it for him. You may well find that in fact you are the perfect tenant. For example:
• You’re ready to move in next month. Brilliant! That means the rental income starts flowing very soon, ending his current void sooner rather than later.
• You’re willing to commit for a year. Good. That’s much better than 6 months.
• At the end of Year 1 you might want to extend for a second year. Wow! That’s excellent. Maybe he won’t have to find another tenant for two years. No voids = maximum rent. Remember the biggest hassle for a landlord is finding a new tenant, having a rental void in between tenants, and the clean-up after a tenant moves out. If you really like the place and are convinced that you won’t want to move out after a year, then you may be able to lock in to a two-year rate now eliminating the second year increase. Or, if you’re very good at negotiating, get a reduction on Year 1’s rent, and agree a further reduction now for the second year term.
• You’re creditworthy. Re-assure your landlord they’ll be no problems getting the rent every month, it’ll help.
• You don’t have any kids. Good. Kids draw on the walls, spill things on sofas and so on.
• You don’t have any pets. Good. Dogs and cats can damage furniture….
• You’re a Westerner. Good. Westerners tend to look after the homes that they rent in Malaysia, so are often preferred by landlords.
• You’re willing to pay the rent by monthly standing order direct into his bank account, in exchange for a reduction. Good. No chasing you for the rent.
• You’d be happy to give the tired purple bedroom a repaint in a neutral colour at your own cost. Or if it’s a landed property with a garden, that you’ll do the gardening and smarten the place up.
• And so on…
6. Think about what else you could offer. For example:
Can you offer to pay money upfront? If you offer to pay six months rent in advance in return for lower rent, most landlords will say yes.
Can you offer to pay a deductible on repairs? It’s a hassle for the landlord to arrange for small repairs. If you offer to pay, say, the first RM500 of any repair, then the landlord may be willing to drop the rent in exchange. Make sure the property is in good condition first!
With all of this, the point is that the whole tenancy agreement is negotiable. It’s not only about the rent.
To negotiate well, you should trade something for something. What can you give (exchange) in order to get what you want? If you’re not used to negotiating, read up a little about it before you start. Avoid giving concessions without getting something you want in return.
Lastly remember the ‘Asking Price’ is the landlord’s dream price. Unless he’s a fool, he will be expecting to get less.
A 20-40% rent reduction? You won’t know until you try!
Good luck
JC3
Last edited by JC3; May 24th 2014 at 6:41 am.
Oct 21st 2014, 9:16 am
#2
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 542
Re: New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
I found this thread while searching the forum, so thought I would use it as the basis for my questions. The posting by JC3 contains a lot of useful tips on negotiating a rental agreement, but I would like to take things back a couple of steps:
1. When I look at the iproperty or propertyguru websites for specific condominium blocks, I see several agents advertising identically-sized units. Often the photographs are the same, being views of the outside rather than the inside of the individual unit on offer. Indeed, many of the descriptions make it known that the agent has on offer several units in the block.
The question is; which agent should I contact? Should I just pick one or more than one? If they are all handling the same units there would seem to be no point contacting more than one, but perhaps doing so would increase my choice of unit. Could it become messy though if I am talking to two or more agents handling the same unit?
Anyone familiar with the UK system will be familiar with the terms "sole agency" and "multiple agency". Sole agency is the more straightforward, but in Malaysia I suspect the basis is always multiple agency.
2. Following on from 1., many of these "identical" units have quite a marked difference in their asking price. Of course I understand that some owners are asking unrealistically high prices, and therefore I should offer no more than the lowest priced unit. Equally, some units may be on a higher floor, have a better view or better furnishings, so I would need to take those factors into consideration when making an offer.
The question is; should I be straight with the agent right from the start as regards my budget, or should I view higher-priced properties and then, if I wish to proceed, start to negotiate by referencing the lower-priced units?
I don't want to appear deceitful to the agent, but having dealt with agents in Singapore, I know that often agents are themselves prone to be somewhat economical with the truth.
It seems there is an abundant supply of vacant units in any given condominium block, so I am not too concerned about losing out.
Perhaps I should initially contact one agent only, see how things go, and if necessary, drop the first one and contact a second. At least this would mean dealing with only one agent at a time.
I would welcome any comments from those who have been through the process of selecting an agent.
1. When I look at the iproperty or propertyguru websites for specific condominium blocks, I see several agents advertising identically-sized units. Often the photographs are the same, being views of the outside rather than the inside of the individual unit on offer. Indeed, many of the descriptions make it known that the agent has on offer several units in the block.
The question is; which agent should I contact? Should I just pick one or more than one? If they are all handling the same units there would seem to be no point contacting more than one, but perhaps doing so would increase my choice of unit. Could it become messy though if I am talking to two or more agents handling the same unit?
Anyone familiar with the UK system will be familiar with the terms "sole agency" and "multiple agency". Sole agency is the more straightforward, but in Malaysia I suspect the basis is always multiple agency.
2. Following on from 1., many of these "identical" units have quite a marked difference in their asking price. Of course I understand that some owners are asking unrealistically high prices, and therefore I should offer no more than the lowest priced unit. Equally, some units may be on a higher floor, have a better view or better furnishings, so I would need to take those factors into consideration when making an offer.
The question is; should I be straight with the agent right from the start as regards my budget, or should I view higher-priced properties and then, if I wish to proceed, start to negotiate by referencing the lower-priced units?
I don't want to appear deceitful to the agent, but having dealt with agents in Singapore, I know that often agents are themselves prone to be somewhat economical with the truth.
It seems there is an abundant supply of vacant units in any given condominium block, so I am not too concerned about losing out.
Perhaps I should initially contact one agent only, see how things go, and if necessary, drop the first one and contact a second. At least this would mean dealing with only one agent at a time.
I would welcome any comments from those who have been through the process of selecting an agent.
Oct 21st 2014, 10:25 am
#3
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Joined: Sep 2014
Location: Penang
Posts: 516
Re: New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
Hi TeeJayDee, like you I find the marketing of property in MY to be pretty hopeless and confusing. It put us off applying for MM2H for quite a few months but at least we had some nice holidays looking at alternative countries 
.
I recall some threads in the now defunct forum on this topic that explained that the agents fee will get split between the selling agent and the finding agent. There was some debate about paying someone to look through the ads for you but also about the pitfalls when the agent is both selling for the current owner and acting for you as the 'finder'.
The upshot, and the way we are choosing to go, is that you should seek out an honest and reliable agent and negotiate for them to act as your finder. If you have an understanding from the outset that they are working for you they should be able to use their local knowledge to negotiate the best rate for you and will earn their commission in what they save you. Make it clear that you are new to the program and looking to rent initially but longer term may wish to purchase and will use them again if they do you a good job.
. I recall some threads in the now defunct forum on this topic that explained that the agents fee will get split between the selling agent and the finding agent. There was some debate about paying someone to look through the ads for you but also about the pitfalls when the agent is both selling for the current owner and acting for you as the 'finder'.
The upshot, and the way we are choosing to go, is that you should seek out an honest and reliable agent and negotiate for them to act as your finder. If you have an understanding from the outset that they are working for you they should be able to use their local knowledge to negotiate the best rate for you and will earn their commission in what they save you. Make it clear that you are new to the program and looking to rent initially but longer term may wish to purchase and will use them again if they do you a good job.
Oct 21st 2014, 11:19 am
#4
¿uo buıob s,ʇɐɥʍ
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,762
Re: New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
When I look at the iproperty or propertyguru websites for specific condominium blocks, I see several agents advertising identically-sized units. Often the photographs are the same, being views of the outside rather than the inside of the individual unit on offer. Indeed, many of the descriptions make it known that the agent has on offer several units in the block.
Hi TJD,
There are a few reasons for this:
1) It’s hard for agents to find lessor clients. They are scared to show any detail in the advertisement that would allow another agent to identify the property and get the same client. They don't want any competition.
2) Agents create fake ads and/or copy each others’ ads to fool potential tenants/clients into believing they do a lot of business. These extra ads are used to 'hook' potential tenants. You see the ad and call. "That one gone, lah. How about this one" It gets boring, fast.
3) Agents leave up their advertisements for months, even years, after the property has been let to fool potential tenants/clients into….well, you get the picture. You call. "That one gone, lah. How about this one?"
The question is; which agent should I contact? Should I just pick one or more than one?
I suggest you don’t contact any agents yourself. That's unless you have endless patience and lots of time to waste. They represent the Landlord not you, and their number one interest is number one. They want to flog you something, anything, at the maximum rental they can in order to maximise their commission from the seller. AND they will almost invariably try to charge you commission too if they think they can get away with it.
Find yourself your own agent, paid by you, to find you a property. Your own property agent should:
• Take a brief from you specifying what you’re looking for.
• Call the Landlords' agents, filter out the nonsense for you, and arrange the appointments for you to view
• Drive you around in their car to view the properties, and tell you the pros and cons
• Help you negotiate the rental agreement
• Do the inventory check at the beginning and end of the tenancy
• Help you set up utilities etc (Electric, Water, Phone/ Internet, Astro TV, etc)
• Only get paid by you once they find you a property and the rental agreement is signed and stamped by the LHDN (Tax Office)
Of course you can tell your agent you’d like to see xyz property that you’ve seen advertised. But don’t call the landlord’s agent yourself, because if you do the landlord’s agent will try to claim that you are their client and that you owe them commission if you rent ‘their’ property. It gets messy fast.
So you need a good, decent, honest agent, who will listen to your needs, will respond promptly to your emails, will turn up at the time you agreed, won’t show you inappropriate properties, won’t waste your time…
I suggest you post again, asking if anyone can recommend a good agent to help you find property in Penang, KL or wherever, and if so to kindly send you a PM. Gold dust is hard to find, but the same names are likely to crop up for this very reason.
One last thing - The Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia Code of Conduct and Ethics clearly states:
“A registered estate agent shall not accept fees from more than one client in any one transaction”
Crikey. Another essay.
Good luck!
JC3
Hi TJD,
There are a few reasons for this:
1) It’s hard for agents to find lessor clients. They are scared to show any detail in the advertisement that would allow another agent to identify the property and get the same client. They don't want any competition.
2) Agents create fake ads and/or copy each others’ ads to fool potential tenants/clients into believing they do a lot of business. These extra ads are used to 'hook' potential tenants. You see the ad and call. "That one gone, lah. How about this one" It gets boring, fast.
3) Agents leave up their advertisements for months, even years, after the property has been let to fool potential tenants/clients into….well, you get the picture. You call. "That one gone, lah. How about this one?"
The question is; which agent should I contact? Should I just pick one or more than one?
I suggest you don’t contact any agents yourself. That's unless you have endless patience and lots of time to waste. They represent the Landlord not you, and their number one interest is number one. They want to flog you something, anything, at the maximum rental they can in order to maximise their commission from the seller. AND they will almost invariably try to charge you commission too if they think they can get away with it.
Find yourself your own agent, paid by you, to find you a property. Your own property agent should:
• Take a brief from you specifying what you’re looking for.
• Call the Landlords' agents, filter out the nonsense for you, and arrange the appointments for you to view
• Drive you around in their car to view the properties, and tell you the pros and cons
• Help you negotiate the rental agreement
• Do the inventory check at the beginning and end of the tenancy
• Help you set up utilities etc (Electric, Water, Phone/ Internet, Astro TV, etc)
• Only get paid by you once they find you a property and the rental agreement is signed and stamped by the LHDN (Tax Office)
Of course you can tell your agent you’d like to see xyz property that you’ve seen advertised. But don’t call the landlord’s agent yourself, because if you do the landlord’s agent will try to claim that you are their client and that you owe them commission if you rent ‘their’ property. It gets messy fast.
So you need a good, decent, honest agent, who will listen to your needs, will respond promptly to your emails, will turn up at the time you agreed, won’t show you inappropriate properties, won’t waste your time…
I suggest you post again, asking if anyone can recommend a good agent to help you find property in Penang, KL or wherever, and if so to kindly send you a PM. Gold dust is hard to find, but the same names are likely to crop up for this very reason.
One last thing - The Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia Code of Conduct and Ethics clearly states:
“A registered estate agent shall not accept fees from more than one client in any one transaction”
Crikey. Another essay.
Good luck!
JC3
Last edited by JC3; Oct 21st 2014 at 1:05 pm. Reason: can't stop myself
Oct 21st 2014, 1:50 pm
#5
...............
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: Far North Queensland
Posts: 17,625
Re: New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
Oct 22nd 2014, 4:01 am
#6
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 104
Re: New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
Hi
Getting a good agent can be a real pain in Penang, we had several discussions about the subject on the old forum. Although the outcome seemed to be that all agents are useless I have a different experience and happy to recommend the agent we used to buy/sell/find rentals in Penang over the years. I have recommended her to several members on the old forum, among them BakedBean, and all were as far as I know happy with her service.
If anybody is interested in her contact details just send me a message.
BTW I have no business connections with this agent. I only think good work should get rewarded by more clients especially in an environment where a lot of her colleges are only interested in the commission and not in the client.
Getting a good agent can be a real pain in Penang, we had several discussions about the subject on the old forum. Although the outcome seemed to be that all agents are useless I have a different experience and happy to recommend the agent we used to buy/sell/find rentals in Penang over the years. I have recommended her to several members on the old forum, among them BakedBean, and all were as far as I know happy with her service.
If anybody is interested in her contact details just send me a message.
BTW I have no business connections with this agent. I only think good work should get rewarded by more clients especially in an environment where a lot of her colleges are only interested in the commission and not in the client.
Last edited by Stuurman; Oct 22nd 2014 at 4:05 am.
Oct 22nd 2014, 9:14 am
#7
...............
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: Far North Queensland
Posts: 17,625
Re: New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
Oct 24th 2014, 3:42 am
#8
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 542
Re: New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
I suggest you don’t contact any agents yourself. That's unless you have endless patience and lots of time to waste. They represent the Landlord not you, and their number one interest is number one. They want to flog you something, anything, at the maximum rental they can in order to maximise their commission from the seller. AND they will almost invariably try to charge you commission too if they think they can get away with it.
.......
Of course you can tell your agent you’d like to see xyz property that you’ve seen advertised. But don’t call the landlord’s agent yourself, because if you do the landlord’s agent will try to claim that you are their client and that you owe them commission if you rent ‘their’ property. It gets messy fast.
JC3
.......
Of course you can tell your agent you’d like to see xyz property that you’ve seen advertised. But don’t call the landlord’s agent yourself, because if you do the landlord’s agent will try to claim that you are their client and that you owe them commission if you rent ‘their’ property. It gets messy fast.
JC3
Many thanks for the very comprehensive reply to my request for help. I understand the benefits of employing a finder agent, but does this not mean that I will end up paying commission that I would otherwise not have to? My understanding is that for renting, the owner always pays the commission.
Having said that, I don't mind paying a finder agent if I am getting a good service (and hopefully a rental price lower than I could negotiate for myself).
Having thought about it, that is what I did in Singapore. My employer recommended an agent. The agent showed me a few apartments and I chose one. I paid him a month's commission and I believe the owner paid her agent a similar amount. The difference was that no reduction in the asking price was made, because apartments were in short supply.
Last edited by teejaydee; Oct 24th 2014 at 4:14 am. Reason: Added the last paragraph
Oct 24th 2014, 4:07 am
#9
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 542
Re: New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
Hi TeeJayDee, like you I find the marketing of property in MY to be pretty hopeless and confusing. It put us off applying for MM2H for quite a few months but at least we had some nice holidays looking at alternative countries .
I recall some threads in the now defunct forum on this topic that explained that the agents fee will get split between the selling agent and the finding agent. There was some debate about paying someone to look through the ads for you but also about the pitfalls when the agent is both selling for the current owner and acting for you as the 'finder'.
The upshot, and the way we are choosing to go, is that you should seek out an honest and reliable agent and negotiate for them to act as your finder. If you have an understanding from the outset that they are working for you they should be able to use their local knowledge to negotiate the best rate for you and will earn their commission in what they save you. Make it clear that you are new to the program and looking to rent initially but longer term may wish to purchase and will use them again if they do you a good job.
. I recall some threads in the now defunct forum on this topic that explained that the agents fee will get split between the selling agent and the finding agent. There was some debate about paying someone to look through the ads for you but also about the pitfalls when the agent is both selling for the current owner and acting for you as the 'finder'.
The upshot, and the way we are choosing to go, is that you should seek out an honest and reliable agent and negotiate for them to act as your finder. If you have an understanding from the outset that they are working for you they should be able to use their local knowledge to negotiate the best rate for you and will earn their commission in what they save you. Make it clear that you are new to the program and looking to rent initially but longer term may wish to purchase and will use them again if they do you a good job.
As for the commission, I have looked at the iproperty and propertyguru websites, and they say for renting, it is the owner who pays the commission. Of course, when a finder agent is involved, the renter will pay him/her.
I too remember threads on the old forum, where it seems Penang has a different rule to the rest of Malaysia, but I cannot remember the details. However, the following Penang website appears to suggest the commission is payable by the renter:
Guide and information on renting leasing of property in Malaysia Penang
On another thread in this forum just last week:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/malay...ing-kl-845350/
an agent named sendomike stated "I may be able to help to find you a good apartment, depending on your requirements.
(You won't be charged, since my commission comes from the apartment owner)"
This was with regards to KL. Maybe things are different in Penang.
I am happy to use (and pay for) a finding agent, especially if they could negotiate a lower rental price for me. However, there seems to be no incentive for the finding agent to do that, as this would mean a lower commission for them.
Oct 24th 2014, 6:50 am
#10
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Joined: Sep 2014
Location: Penang
Posts: 516
Re: New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
Like teejaydee I can't remember the exact details as I was reading so many threads to get my head around emigration from the UK and immigration to MY they started to merge into one. But as I recall the general view was that it is illegal for the agent to charge the renter, all fees being paid by the owner. But there was also clear evidence from a number of posters that payment from the renter is expected in Penang. If I were going to an agent through an advertised route on iProperty I might fight this as they have done nothing for me. But I have now seen three posters all highly rate the lady that teejaydee refers to and if she is prepared to take the time to drive us around, introduce us to the various areas and find and negotiate a good rent I feel she will have earned her fee.
Oct 24th 2014, 8:09 am
#11
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Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,762
Re: New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
Hello JC3,
Many thanks for the very comprehensive reply to my request for help. I understand the benefits of employing a finder agent, but does this not mean that I will end up paying commission that I would otherwise not have to? My understanding is that for renting, the owner always pays the commission.
Many thanks for the very comprehensive reply to my request for help. I understand the benefits of employing a finder agent, but does this not mean that I will end up paying commission that I would otherwise not have to? My understanding is that for renting, the owner always pays the commission.
You're welcome.
Yes you will pay your own 'finder' agent commission, however a good one will do more than earn it and save you a lot of trouble, help make sure you don't get ripped off over deposits (very common), point out missing or unfair clauses in the draft tenancy agreement, know what the market rate is, help you negotiate a reasonable rent and so on. That said, if you are good at negotiating, do it yourself, many agents aren't so hot at this, or don't like doing it.
Just be sure to make it clear to everyone involved that the only person you will ever pay commission to is your own agent who represents your interests, with whom you have a written agreement. No written agreement = no commission. Sorry. This advice on commission applies to rentals only.
When it comes to property purchase who pays what commission (the buyer, the seller, or both) varies from one state to another and the law is not always followed. So in KL for example the Seller will pay his agent say 2% (I think the maximum allowed is 3%) and the Buyer will pay no commission. Whereas in Penang Sellers typically refuse to pay their agent more than 1%, and therefore the Seller's agent will look to also get paid another 1% commission from the Buyer. Whilst this is unethical, it is the norm in Penang and widely practiced. Provided you understand the game before you start (ask the property lawyer you intend to use how it works), and always state upfront who you will and won't pay, it's OK.
Remember, any commission you won't pay will probably be built back into the Selling Price so it will be there, you just won't see it.
JC3
Last edited by JC3; Oct 24th 2014 at 8:12 am.
Oct 25th 2014, 12:23 am
#12
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 542
Re: New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
Many thanks to JC3 and NeonHippy. Forewarned is forearmed.
Nov 13th 2014, 4:51 am
#13
Just Joined
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3
Re: New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
Hi - looking for a good rental agent in Penang, would be grateful for PM with contact numbers. I would have sent a PM to Sturrman but am not allowed until have posted at least 3 times!
Maybe now I can.
all best,
Ellesters
Maybe now I can.
all best,
Ellesters
Nov 13th 2014, 7:58 am
#14
...............
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: Far North Queensland
Posts: 17,625
Nov 15th 2014, 4:43 am
#15
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 542
Re: New Mm2H'er - Negotiating a Rental Agreement
Can I ask for some "hand-holding" advice please? For the sake of any easy example, let's say I see rents for a particular apartment block being advertised at RM1000. If I believe those rents could be negotiated down by 25%, at what stage should I raise this with an agent? The first question an agent asks is "what is your budget". Should I say RM750, or RM1000?
1. If employing a buyer's agent, I think it would be fairer to tell the agent at the start that my limit was RM750, but I'm not sure if he/she would then be unwilling to show me any apartments being advertised at RM1000.
2. If I go direct to the seller's agent, I think it more sensible (although somewhat devious) to say RM1000, then try to negotiate down to RM750 after I had been shown the apartment.
Any advice from those who have gone through this process would be very welcome.
1. If employing a buyer's agent, I think it would be fairer to tell the agent at the start that my limit was RM750, but I'm not sure if he/she would then be unwilling to show me any apartments being advertised at RM1000.
2. If I go direct to the seller's agent, I think it more sensible (although somewhat devious) to say RM1000, then try to negotiate down to RM750 after I had been shown the apartment.
Any advice from those who have gone through this process would be very welcome.