Although today there are many opportunities to find an apartment suitable for purchase on your own, many prefer to turn to realtors in the hope that professionals will find the most profitable and reliable options. But the realtor on whom such hopes are pinned may himself be the source of problems. How do realtors deceive and how to avoid fraud, deception and deceit when buying an apartment? We tell you in this article.
Deceiving realtors when selling an apartment (that is, buying for you as a client) is possible in many ways. Let's list the main ones.
"Assigning" an ad
Many apartment sellers prefer to act independently and do not turn to intermediaries, but place advertisements themselves on one of the Internet sites. Access to this kind of information is, of course, open to everyone. Unscrupulous realtors copy all the data and place a duplicate ad, which they try to actively promote. As a result, a potential buyer may stumble upon it. Thinking that he will communicate with the owner, the buyer finds himself in the turn of the intermediary, and the latter will try his best not to lose the client in the hope that after the sale he will still receive his commission. If you present the situation in such a way that the owner of the apartment himself gave the realtor the authority to find a client, it does not work; the realtor will try to impose other offers, citing the fact that the original apartment in the ad has already been sold. This not only deprives the buyer of the opportunity to see the housing that suits him, but also entails additional expenses. It goes without saying that such behavior is an outright deception.
Another deception from the same category is stories that the realtor is supposedly a relative or acquaintance of the owner who was asked to help with the sale. And although initially they will promise that they will not take any commission, in the end the buyer (if he is satisfied with the apartment) will be in for a very unpleasant surprise. Many will be embarrassed to decisively refuse an arrogant realtor, because a certain amount of “work” has been done, time has been spent, and the intermediary has invested some effort into this transaction.
How to deal with such deception?
It is quite difficult to immediately find out that the advertisement is from the owner, and not from someone pretending to be him. How to understand that a realtor is a scammer? If he immediately introduces himself as a relative, friend or neighbor, ask for the owner’s phone number and conduct all negotiations with him personally. If you resolutely refuse to provide contact information, also refuse the deal: it is likely that they want to deceive you.
If your communication reaches the point of viewing the apartment, set a condition: the owner must be present. You can check whether this is a dummy person using documents confirming ownership of the apartment. All agreements must be made only with the owner, so that later “unexpected” commissions from “relatives”, intermediaries, “neighbors” do not arise. The owner, for his part, is interested in communicating directly with the buyer, so your main task is to contact him and make sure that this is really the person who makes the final decision and has the right to sell the apartment you like.
Why Internet services do not replace a realtor
Why is a professional realtor valued and why is he not completely replaced by online services? According to Mikhail Kulikov, director of the secondary market department at INCOM-Real Estate, a realtor can create complex chains of sellers and buyers in alternative transactions, of which about 80-90% of the total are currently concluded.
One of the people in the chain may suddenly throw out the trick and even abandon the deal on the eve of the agreed date. Kulikov emphasizes that a realtor must also be a good psychologist who is able to reassure such participants in the transaction and find a way out of almost any situation. The expert adds that online databases are still not able to cope with the human factor and are unlikely to ever be able to.
A separate issue is checking the legal purity of secondary real estate. As experts say, no one will give an ironclad guarantee that there will be no troubles with the apartment in the future. However, by using the services of the legal service of a real estate agency, the buyer will significantly reduce the risks. Marina Piatrovich says that the owner can hide important facts about the apartment: for example, that people are still registered in the living space or there are nuances with title documents, issues related to inheritance of real estate, debts for utilities and others.
In addition, a realtor knows how to bargain and can save the client money, notes Piatrovich. The intermediary's services may be less than the negotiated discount.
According to Oksana Vrazhnova, everything said above is typical for the real estate purchase and sale market - the Internet is used more actively in the rental market. Tenants often find an apartment without the help of a realtor - through friends, using social networks. But this applies to housing in the mass segment. When it comes to renting more expensive lots, employers and owners still prefer to use the services of real estate agencies.
Sale of non-existent apartments
Realtors can use this trick: place an advertisement for the sale of an apartment that no one is going to sell. The price is set below the market price. Buyers see such an offer, call the specified number (thinking that they are contacting the owner), and then they are bombarded with a stream of offers for completely different properties, because “this apartment has already been sold, but there are still attractive options.” As a result, the realtor sells what he needs to sell, having caught the buyer, often so cunningly that he does not even understand where he was deceived.
How to deal with such deception?
If you call the “owner” from an ad and they start telling you that this apartment has already been sold, but there are others, do not enter into further conversations and hang up. It is better to make such calls not from your personal number and certainly not from a landline phone. Get a separate SIM card, which you won’t mind blocking if they start attacking you with “lucrative offers”.
The essence of the concept
What does commission mean when renting an apartment? A commission is a reward for the intermediary's assistance in renting housing. In fact, this is payment for services actually provided to the citizen. What does a citizen who contacts a realtor pay? When concluding contracts with agencies, the following services are paid:
- Selection of options that meet the stated conditions.
- Presentation of the filmed object with on-site visit.
- Conducting negotiations with the owner.
- Drawing up a contract and being present at its conclusion.
A specialist will help you competently evaluate all the advantages and disadvantages of the rented housing and check the technical condition of the equipment.
By contacting a realtor when renting or renting a residential property, the tenant saves a lot of time searching for a suitable option, and the owner saves on searching for a respectable and solvent tenant.
They ask for an advance and then don’t give it back
Sometimes before the transaction the buyer is asked to pay part of the amount. And if the deal falls through, they don’t give it back. In fact, if you refuse to purchase, you cannot be charged other than the intermediary's work, if such conditions were agreed upon separately.
How to deal with such deception?
Write down all amounts to be paid in the contract. Do not give any money if you are not sure that you will buy an apartment, and do not promise the realtor a fee for work that in reality will not bring you any benefit.
Size
How much should you pay a realtor when renting an apartment? The average fee is the amount of the requested rent. This is usually between fifty and one hundred percent of the estimated rent.
The amount of the commission may also depend on the type of transaction being made. The selection of housing can be carried out by one agency or together with a partner. If two agencies work for you at once, then you need to pay them 100% of the monthly rent . They will divide this amount among themselves.
The size of the commission also depends on the liquidity of the proposed option. Simply put, the more profitable the property in terms of price-quality ratio, the higher the commission.
Straw buyers
We are all designed in such a way that an object becomes more desirable to us if we see that there are other contenders for it. Unscrupulous realtors sometimes bring in “straw buyers” - people who play the role of those who want to buy the apartment you like. Using this as an argument (“The property is in demand, and they are willing to pay even more!”), the realtor will not only persuade you to buy, but also try to increase the transaction price or his commission.
How to deal with such deception?
Even if you see that someone else wants to buy an apartment, do not give in to emotions and do not let this fact influence your decision. Weigh the pros and cons, without taking into account real or perceived demand. If you see that your “competitors” are ready to engage in dialogue, it makes sense to talk to them carefully and try to find out how serious their intentions are. At the same time, evaluate whether these buyers are real.
Realtor commission: lower and upper limits
How much do real estate agency services cost today? The prices announced by different experts differ significantly and amount to 2-6% of the transaction amount. The percentage cost depends on the agency’s practice, the complexity of the service, the market situation and agreements with a specific client.
Experts provide slightly different data. According to Konstantin Manchenko, general director of the Teremok real estate agency (Pushkino city), the commission ranges from 2% to 5%. According to the director of the secondary market department at INCOM-Real Estate, Mikhail Kulikov, from 4% to 6%. Moreover, Kulikov clarifies that for difficult transactions (for example, if it was necessary to resettle capricious residents of a communal apartment), the payment may increase. Or decrease to 3 percent - if the realtor only sells vacant real estate.
But in the current situation, realtors are not angry. According to the managing partner of Metrium Group, Maria Litinetskaya, on average a realtor receives 2% of the contract amount. If the property is expensive, the amount is reduced to 1-1.5%, and for housing in the mass segment the commission is 2-2.5%. Thus, with the advent of the crisis and tougher competition among real estate agencies, realtors began to receive less for their services. Maria Litinetskaya concludes that if in 2013-2014 the broker was paid about 3%, today it is one and a half to two times less.
Some companies use a tariff payment system. According to Elena Mishchenko, acting Head of the city real estate department of the North-Eastern branch, if the transaction amount for an apartment does not exceed 6 million rubles, the realtor receives 150 thousand rubles, if the value of the property is more than 6 million - 2.5% of its value. When concluding alternative transactions (when one object is simultaneously sold and another is immediately purchased), clients are given discounts on purchases in the amount of 100 thousand rubles for each selected object.
According to the observations of Nikita Orlov, General Director of LIANA, Moscow, partner of the Megapolis-Service Kyrgyz Republic, in the capital, when concluding a simple transaction, a realtor receives 150-200 thousand rubles, a complex one, which is associated with an alternative, - 250-350 thousand rubles. In the Moscow region, the commission is smaller: according to the expert, in some cities of the region it is equal to 50-100 thousand rubles.
Private realtors who work in the Moscow region receive about 90-120 thousand rubles for a simple transaction and 180-200 thousand for an alternative one.
Working in contrast
In order to sell not the most profitable option, unscrupulous realtors may first offer several absolutely terrible ones. After run-down apartments in bad areas, even very average housing will seem very attractive to you. And since the realtor will not offer anything better (after all, his goal is to sell exactly this “average” option), the option will seem especially attractive.
How to deal with such deception?
Evaluate each apartment independently, without regard to those that were shown to you before. If the intermediary promises to find an attractive option, but over and over again leads you to "bedbug infestations", this is a reason to think about whether they are trying to deceive you.
What the lawyers will do:
- checking documents for the property and the seller/buyer;
- checking the seller/buyer using the database of debtors and court cases;
- checking the presence of arrest, pledge and other encumbrances on the property;
- checking the availability of the necessary permits to use the property for your specific purposes;
- prevention and minimization of identified legal risks;
- participation in negotiations with the seller/buyer;
- development and editing of contracts for specific real estate transactions;
- direct support of the process of concluding and executing a transaction.
“Tricky” viewing at a time favorable for the realtor
You can try to hide some of the accompanying shortcomings of the apartment. For example, noisy neighbors, unpleasant surroundings, unattractive infrastructure, and so on. Realtors do this by choosing the most favorable time to show an apartment. For example, if the neighbors are rowdy, they will show it during the day; if they have a small child who constantly screams, they will invite you to watch while the family is on a walk; If someone from the nearest apartment is learning to play a musical instrument, they will choose a time when he is not learning scales.
It’s more difficult with unpleasant objects nearby. It is difficult to hide a plant that constantly smokes and spoils the air of the entire area. But if there is at least a minimal opportunity to hide a flaw, they will definitely take advantage of it. For example, a kindergarten in the courtyard can become a test for residents of the lower floors when children go for a walk. Naturally, all apartment showings will be held during children's quiet time.
How to deal with such deception?
Try to agree on several viewings at different times (if necessary, under plausible pretexts, citing the desire to look at the finishing again or measure the kitchen). If you have the slightest doubt, it makes sense to come to the house at an “inopportune” time and look at the situation. Perhaps communicate with those who will be in the yard at this time. Nearby neighbors can be a valuable source of information. They will inform you about the unpleasant “surprise” in advance, and you won’t have to deal with problematic “additions” to the apartment later.
Stories about black realtors
Stories about so-called “black realtors” often appear in the media. They received their name due to numerous frauds during transactions, as well as outright deception of citizens. The basis of their “business” is to ingratiate themselves and, under one pretext or another, take possession of the property rights to real estate. They choose as victims the most legally illiterate: pensioners and people leading a marginal lifestyle.
This phenomenon does exist, but it is not on such a terrifying scale as the press describes. Most realtors still value their reputation, since reputation is the best advertisement in such a business.
Price and payment procedure for services provided
This section contains information about the cost of intermediary services provided. You should also indicate in what form and when the payment will be made. Payment can be made in cash or by bank transfer as agreed by the parties. So, the specified section looks like this:
The contract price is divided into a security deposit and the final payment amount after fulfillment of obligations under the contract. The amount of the security payment is 35,000 (Thirty-five) thousand rubles and is paid to the Contractor at the time of signing the document. The final payment amount is 63,500 (sixty-three thousand five hundred) rubles and is paid after the provision of real estate services. All payments are made in cashless form by transferring funds to the bank account of the real estate company.
