Comparing agent fees and actual service for a Manila studio sale

[wide_meadow]

The proposals for my Manila studio are now in, and the fee comparison has created a different question: which agent will actually keep the sale moving? The expected price is around PHP 13,340,000. One low quote leaves several jobs outside the fee, while the highest covers marketing images, screening enquiries, negotiating offers and coordinating the transaction.

I want each agent to define the photography package, response standards, responsibility after an offer is accepted and assistance if a buyer pulls out. I also need the fee calculation, extra charges and any conflicts disclosed clearly. What else should be recorded in writing so that the service levels can be compared rather than merely described?

 

[teaAndCairn]

Ask for a task-by-task fee sheet, not another presentation. For photography, establish who pays, what is delivered and whether revisions are included. For buyer qualification and offers, ask what information is recorded and how quickly it reaches you. Most importantly, get the named contact for each stage and identify any work passed to someone else. “Full service” means little unless responsibility is assigned.

 

[emery_repairs]

Before comparing percentages, are all proposals calculating the fee on the same amount, and are photography or other expenses payable if the studio does not sell? Also ask when the fee becomes due and what happens if a buyer withdraws. Those answers could make the cheapest proposal less cheap—or show that the expensive one includes work you do not actually need.

 

[DirectRoom]

I would not put too much weight on a promised response time by itself. A fast acknowledgement can still lead to poor follow-through. Give each agent the same scenario: an interested buyer makes a conditional offer, then becomes difficult to reach. Ask for the exact sequence of actions, who updates you, and how they keep the listing status accurate.

Recent comparable sales are useful only if they explain why the units are genuinely comparable. I would also ask whether they represent or receive compensation from anyone else in the transaction, and how that is disclosed.

 

[FinnDale]

Turn the answers into a simple comparison table: fee basis, extra costs, photography deliverables, buyer-screening steps, offer reporting, named handler, withdrawal support and conflict disclosure. Then request a sample weekly update with private details removed. That should expose whether “closing coordination” is a defined process or just a phrase in the proposal.