Estate Agent fees for finding a rented apt.

[robert]

I agree he should have disclosed this fee to you before anything. It is a common practice for each the landlord and tenant to pay 50% of one months rent to the agent. Real estate agents are some of the best cheaters out there but at any rate you owe the agent money and in this case its 50% of one months rent. Refusing to pay and it could get ugly, fast.

[Lo Bo To]

I'm gonna take him to court. He is in the wrong. Last I checked an assumption of contract had no meaning. I would have made some sort of negotiation but since he won't then too bad.

[Toasty]

I'm gonna take him to court. He is in the wrong. Last I checked an assumption of contract had no meaning. I would have made some sort of negotiation but since he won't then too bad.

The fees are a standard rate in Taiwan. One month finder's fee, split between renter and rentee is always paid to an agent. This is why, much like DB, I don't use them. Your options here are to pay or decline the apartment. I predict failure in your proposed lawsuit as the fees are standard, acceptable practice here. Depending on how bad the landlord wants you to rent the place, s/he may also discreetly offer to pay the whole fee, then tell the agent to say he's waiving your fee, thus letting you feel as if you've won.

[finley]

Wot Toasty said. The agent probably didn't explain because he assumed you know how it works; I've done this once or twice (when necessary). Agents can be irritating, but if they've done a good job then they've earned their fee ... and I must say I consider the 50-50 split a fair arrangement. If you don't like them (and if you're not in a hurry, you really don't need one) then don't use them. You're not going to achieve anything by getting lawyers involved.

[The Daily Drucker]

Recently I used an agent. I was schooled on what to say and how to use an agent. Most importantly you have to use them to drive the amount of the rent down. If you give the agent, say 10% of the month's rent you can pretty much stand on their head to negotiate with the landlord to get that price down. They will have your back and you will get a "local" price for it if you know what you are doing. That 10% just means you are serious and if they get the rate you want their commission is as good as in their pocket. You would just pay the difference in the half months rent. If they do not get it, they return the money to you. It is not additional, its just good will called 斡旋 wo4xuan2. If you say this they will know exactly what you are talking about and know that this means business. I saved nearly 10k on my last apartment per month. It started at 38k and dropped to 33k, I offered 27k to the agent and paid the woxuan and the landlord wouldn't talk to me. I negotiated up to 28k and the agent got me a meeting. The meeting was a 2 hour battle all in Chinese and the agent was pushing for me to get it the whole time. It was almost like he was my pitbull. We got the price I was looking for and the relationship we built with the landlord was very good. They knew I wanted this place, and gave in!

I had a great apartment in Xindian I got on my own without an agent but its best to go on websites like yong qing or 591 and they both will tell you if there is a fee to pay right on the add. An agent is not too necessary when living in xin bei shi. Downtown Taipei is expensive and if you are looking for a new place with any sort of pingage it's rather tough under 50k. It is very legit and my agent informed me in Chinese and in English prior to moving forward.

My experience was fun and was the first one I closed in Chinese 100%. The agent help give me credibility and knew what buttons to push, I just made sure I followed through on pushing them.

[Lo Bo To]

I just spoke with a lawyer concerning this matter and he said that there is no way that the company can demand any fee from me at all cause there was no contract signed by me to pay anything.

But actually the Taiwanese woman that I was with was asked to sign a piece of paper after being told that it was for his companies reference to prove he had shown us the apartments but said nothing about a fee. But apparently it did say something about it at the bottom of the paper. She should have read it more carefully I admit and so does she. But according to my lawyer it's beside the point cause I never signed anything.

That's what I thought.

[Toasty]

I just spoke with a lawyer concerning this matter and he said that there is no way that the company can demand any fee from me at all cause there was no contract signed by me to pay anything.

But actually the Taiwanese woman that I was with was asked to sign a piece of paper after being told that it was for his companies reference to prove he had shown us the apartments but said nothing about a fee. But apparently it did say something about it at the bottom of the paper. She should have read it more carefully I admit and so does she. But according to my lawyer it's beside the point cause I never signed anything.

That's what I thought.

You would have signed a contract, which would have mentioned the fees, if you had agreed to pay. Your lawyer sounds like he was telling you that you don't have to pay when there is no contract involved and not that the fee itself is illegal. I doubt that he would take on your case and if he did, he would not do so on a contingency basis.

There is nothing unusual, illegal or untoward about an agent's finder's fee for renting an apartment, nor is the one you were asked to pay overly expensive. It is 100% standard. You were being treated fairly, like everyone else. Unfortunately-- and you're not going to like my saying so-- you and your lack of local knowledge are the only sources of conflict and misunderstanding in this case.

[Lo Bo To]

I just spoke with a lawyer concerning this matter and he said that there is no way that the company can demand any fee from me at all cause there was no contract signed by me to pay anything.

But actually the Taiwanese woman that I was with was asked to sign a piece of paper after being told that it was for his companies reference to prove he had shown us the apartments but said nothing about a fee. But apparently it did say something about it at the bottom of the paper. She should have read it more carefully I admit and so does she. But according to my lawyer it's beside the point cause I never signed anything.

That's what I thought.

You would have signed a contract, which would have mentioned the fees, if you had agreed to pay. Your lawyer sounds like he was telling you that you don't have to pay when there is no contract involved and not that the fee itself is illegal. I doubt that he would take on your case and if he did, he would not do so on a contingency basis.

There is nothing unusual, illegal or untoward about an agent's finder's fee for renting an apartment, nor is the one you were asked to pay overly expensive. It is 100% standard. You were being treated fairly, like everyone else. Unfortunately-- and you're not going to like my saying so-- you and your lack of local knowledge are the only sources of conflict and misunderstanding in this case.

Whether the fee is standard or not I believe is beside the point. I never signed anything with the real estate company. I only signed the lease with the landlord. I guess my Taiwanese friend is also ignorant of local knowledge as well then. But like I said. It doesn't matter about "common knowledge" in this case in my and my lawyers opinion. I never agreed to the terms with the real estate company cause I never signed anything with them.

[Toasty]

I just spoke with a lawyer concerning this matter and he said that there is no way that the company can demand any fee from me at all cause there was no contract signed by me to pay anything.

But actually the Taiwanese woman that I was with was asked to sign a piece of paper after being told that it was for his companies reference to prove he had shown us the apartments but said nothing about a fee. But apparently it did say something about it at the bottom of the paper. She should have read it more carefully I admit and so does she. But according to my lawyer it's beside the point cause I never signed anything.

That's what I thought.

You would have signed a contract, which would have mentioned the fees, if you had agreed to pay. Your lawyer sounds like he was telling you that you don't have to pay when there is no contract involved and not that the fee itself is illegal. I doubt that he would take on your case and if he did, he would not do so on a contingency basis.

There is nothing unusual, illegal or untoward about an agent's finder's fee for renting an apartment, nor is the one you were asked to pay overly expensive. It is 100% standard. You were being treated fairly, like everyone else. Unfortunately-- and you're not going to like my saying so-- you and your lack of local knowledge are the only sources of conflict and misunderstanding in this case.

Whether the fee is standard or not I believe is beside the point. I never signed anything with the real estate company. I only signed the lease with the landlord. I guess my Taiwanese friend is also ignorant of local knowledge as well then. But like I said. It doesn't matter about "common knowledge" in this case in my and my lawyers opinion. I never agreed to the terms with the real estate company cause I never signed anything with them.

No, the fee being standard practice IS the point. You didn't know about it, got upset when you found out how much it was, refused to pay and you're now threatening to sue. Nobody has mistreated you. Nobody has overcharged you. The one-month fee is what EVERY agent charges. If you don't like it, then you don't use an agent. It's that simple.

Why talk about this situation as if it were anyone else's fault? You didn't know about the fee and got upset when you found out how much it is. Case closed. Your agent did work and he deserves his fee, regardless of your ignorance. Pay up or find another place. Whatever you do, please apologise to the agent and the prospective landlord for letting your misunderstanding create a situation like this.

As for "your lawyer," he isn't yours. You haven't paid his fees yet, either. If you want to retain his services, you'll pay a heck of a lot more than if you had simply paid the agent.

[finley]

It sounds to me as if he's grumbling not about the fee per se, but because the agent still wants his money despite the deal falling through.

Normally the fee is payable when contracts are signed (that is, when the property is actually rented out). Agents don't normally charge a fee simply for saying "look, here's an apartment. Any good?".

The OP was certainly rude and naive, but he was under no obligation to actually put pen to paper, even if his reasoning was spurious, and the agent shouldn't still be asking for money. An apology might be in order though.