Daily Archives: 9 Oct 2009

1 agent for buyer, seller: OK, but get written consent

WE REFER to Ms Kwok Yoke Pui’s letter yesterday, ‘Agents shouldn’t take on dual roles‘. Housing Board flat sellers and buyers need not engage estate agents for their resale transactions, although there are benefits in doing so, such as leveraging on an agent’s network for expeditious sales or purchases.

A buyer and seller in a transaction should be represented by separate agents to avoid a potential conflict of interest.

While an agent should act and collect commission from only one party, the buyer or seller, it is also acceptable if the buyer and seller in a transaction agree to have the same agent represent them.

The agent should preferably obtain the written consent of both parties; the same should apply to two agents from the same company who are acting separately for sellers and buyers in the same transaction.

Both the seller and buyer should be aware and agree to such an arrangement. Continue reading

Atrium @ Orchard is SLA’s ‘top-seller’ at $840m

Atrium @ Orchard, a Grade A office building sold through the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), was the ‘top-seller’ in FY08/09, netting $840 million (US$599 million) for the State, SLA’s latest annual report said.

The other ‘top-sellers’ were, in order of the amount of proceeds gained from sales of government land to the private sector through other agencies: Trevista at Toa Payoh, The Peak, also at Toa Payoh, and Mi Casa at Choa Chu Kang.

Source : Business Times – 8 Oct 2009