0522Singapore real estate, condo or house for an expatriate
educational stories for asiahomes.com realtors.  xcerpts from "The Internet Realtors, Singapore", sponsored by  AsiaHomes Internet. Last updated: 22 May 2001


One third of a loaf is better than no bread.


Saturday, May 19, 2001

Two days ago, I showed a European couple, referred by his boss, various condos.  He wanted a  3-bedroom condo, 1,500 sq. ft for around $4,000 in an area like Holland Village, Orchard Road or Balmoral Road.   Rentals had gone up in the past months and it was a tough mission.  Today, we searched for more condos together with another couple whom I had shown condos last month.  Both couples wanted to live in the same condo seen today.

The co-broking agent Homer of this favoured new condo did not have the keys to the units the expatriates wanted. We arranged for him to show us a fully furnished unit and any others he had on Monday at 11 a.m.  He did have several keys to various units.

The couple wanted me to find out whether there were similar units in the same block so that the wives could see them on Monday.  I contacted all realtors marketing this new condo.  Appointments were made with Agents Annie, Richard and Terence.

Monday, May 21, 2001, 10 a.m.

Agent Homer said his car "broke down" and therefore he cancelled the 11 a.m appointment on Monday morning at 10.30 a.m when I was picking up the expatriate wives.    He would not consider taking a taxi to show the units. He gave some excuses that he had to attend to his car problems.  I saw him at the condo at around 11.30 am though.

Agent Richard did not turn up at 11.30 a.m. When contacted, he said he had waited at 11 a.m and left.  He had not phoned at all, an unusual practice for an agent who told my expatriate clients that he "controlled this condo", meaning he had all the owners.

Agents Annie and Terence showed the units they had.  One unit shown by Annie was favoured by one expatriate wife.


Monday, May 21, 2001  9 p.m.

At 9 p.m, the expatriate couples phoned me on my mobile.  They were meeting Agent Richard.  One couple had seen a unit with Agent Richard on Sunday and would be taking that unit.  No problem with me as I was not involved and the Agent Homer had not shown that unit.

The second couple, actually the expatriate wife who had seen the unit with Agent Annie and me today wanted the unit.  The husband wanted Agent Richard to close the deal for this unit as he was convinced that Richard could do the job but he wanted fair play.   He did not want me to be cut off but he wanted Richard to do two deals for both couples.  Agent Richard did not want Agent Annie to be involved. I presumed he meant that Agent Annie would cause a ruckus with the Owner and jeopardized the negotiations.

Agent Homer was present at this meeting which excluded me. He said that he would have shown the  unit Agent Annie had shown, if he had been given more time. 

Reading between the lines, Agent Homer would have "co-broked" with Agent Richard if Agent Annie had not shown the unit to the wife.  The expatriate couples were at the condo on Sunday without my knowledge.

Leaving a gap on Sunday has always been very risky to any agent serving expatriate tenants as the expatriates can contact other agents once they are introduced to a condo they liked.

In this case, Agent Annie had come into the picture as the wife liked the condo she showed.  Agent Homer did show some units but he had not shown the actual unit.   He might have done so if he was given time.  Agent Homer was focusing on the condo and had many units. 

How to resolve the problem of co-broking Annie's unit?

Did Richard want the commission for the 2nd unit as well since he would be dealing directly with the Landlord?  He said no.  Would his company be taking 10% of the commission as he was an associate of the company? He said no.  He said he had an offer for Annie's unit but now he had to close on two units as the two expatriate couples wanted to live in the same condo and there were no more units available.

Should Agent Annie be cut off then?  This was not the right thing to do.
Yet Agent Richard could not work with Agent Annie, from my impressions.

If I insisted that we had to deal through Annie, there was no guarantee of success.   There would be very unhappy expatriates if the deal fell through as the expatriate had certain budget restraints.

There was already an offer from Agent Richard for her unit.  Agent Annie had said there were two offers, so I presume that the offers were not from Agent Annie as she had not claimed that the two offers were from her.

How to resolve this problem amicably and within the next 10 minutes? What's the solution? Is there really a solution to all problems in life?  The May humidity was unbearable as sweat trickled down my back.

What is your solution, reader?

BE KIND TO PETS
is an educational project using the internet to promote the welfare of companion animals, is sponsored by  AsiaHomes Internet.



TICK BITE ALLERGY?
7-year old poodle female cross. Initially, she had a lower right eyelid lump and was given a "freezing" treatment by a veterinary surgeon. It was brought in for a second opinion.  Another lump appeared on upper eyelid.  Later, a third lump appeared on the upper eyelid of the left eye.  What was the cause of these exuberant growth?


There were numerous small ticks around the area of the eyelid even after de-ticking and clipping the whole body 3 weeks ago.  Could it be tick bite allergy?

The lump on the left eyelid had shrunk. It had not continued its growth after an injection to reduce the inflammation.  Nothing was done for the bigger growth as it was infected and wet at that time.  The owner was told to clean it but could not cope with the continual eye discharge.  Two small tcks were found lurking in this right eyelid area and removed.

Veterinary costs will be high as the problem is protracted and cannot be resolved easily.   No surgical excision could be done around the eyelids and it was distressful for the owners and the dog.  

Keeping the dog tick free is important especially if the dog is older and may have a lower immune resistance to many insect attackes and bites. 
  

Tips for new asiahomes.com Realtors.

In the above situation, the expatriates wanted Agent Richard to do both deals together.   Agent Richard could negotiate Annie's unit directly with the Landlord, presumably via Agent Homer and cut Agents Annie and me off easily.

But this was not possible as the Europeans wanted fair play as I had put in time to show them around.

I could think of only one solution.  The second unit's commission would be shared by Agents Annie, Homer and myself equally.  This would be in writing and witnessed by Agent Homer and the two expatriates. The  realty firm involved in this second unit would be my company and the commission would be payable to my company.

The solution was acceptable to those present.  As for Annie, I would have to tell her later. She might get 50% of the commission if I had been stubborn but she might get nothing as Agent Alan had an offer for her unit too.

I prefer a straight forward co-broking deal.  But would I take the risk? And lose all? Agent Annie did not have exclusive marketing rights to that unit.

"One third of a loaf is better than no bread" may be a new idiom in Singapore co-broking language.  The management gurus would call this a "win-win" situation.