Answer:
The function of the real estate broking industry is absolutely recognizable. However, due to the fact that a house transaction involves a broad range of professional knowledge and requires a long period of time in communication, people lacking enough experience and time often cannot keep all bases covered in the process of the transaction. The real estate broking industry, now with a scale, cultivates professional and experienced talent along with a lot of effective information accessible at its disposal and hence can process a house transaction much faster than an individual. With so many real estate companies, how can ordinary customers find a reliable and appropriate one? To manage the real estate broking industry, establish an order in the real estate transaction process, and promote normal development of the real estate trading market, our government announced the “Real Estate Broking Management Act” on February 3rd 1999, in which regulations toward qualification and code of conduct for the real estate companies and brokers are well in place. In the future, real estate companies must abide by the law when processing a property. The following are some criteria when selecting a qualified real estate company for your reference.
(1) Are the following certificates posted in an obvious place in the business operation site?
1. Company License and Business Registration (Copy)
2. Approval documents from competent authorities (Copy)
3. Real Estate Broker Certificate (Copy)
4. Association Membership Certificate (Copy)
5. Rate charging criteria and method (Copy)
(2) Are the following contracts and templates with signature of the real estate broker?
1. Real estate lease, sales authorization contract
2. Real estate rent and purchase agreement
3. Down payment receipt
4. Real estate draft advertisement
5. Real estate handbook
6. Real estate lease and transaction contract
(3) Are the rate charging criteria fixed?
According to Article 19 of the Real Estate Broking Management Act, “A broking agency or a broker shall not receive any price difference or other repayment. The broking agency should receive the standard repayment out of the real fixing price or rental specified by the central administration office.” By the regulation of the Department of Land Administration, the agreed service reward rate shall be specified in the authorization contract and the total service reward for a transaction shall not exceed 6% while that for a lease shall not be higher than 1.5 months.
(4) Is the company with a good image?
Brand and company image are the prioritized factors that should be considered by consumers when selecting a real estate company. A good real estate company should abide by the concept of legitimate operation, have a honest business culture, manage the business with integrity, make efforts to maintain its good reputation, and not sacrifice customer rights.
(5) Does the company provide peripheral services?
1. Computer inquiry
2. Free evaluation on the taxation
3. Free consultation
4. Free evaluation on the house price
5. Field visit and explanation on the house condition
6. Providing with houses at promotion
7. Coordinating a transaction
8. Processing property ownership transference
9. Financing and loan service
(6) Besides the nine items of basic service mentioned above, other additional service items also include providing market information, helping the seller filter buyers, inspecting the house before transaction, and helping the buyer and seller with mortgage application.
(7) Is the transaction safe and secure?
In the U.S. and Canada, they adopt the fair, just, and open escrow transaction system, in which the house purchaser hands over the payment to the real estate company, which will deposit the payment into a dedicated account. Once the house ownership is transferred and both parties have completed due procedures, the house and the payment will then be handed over to the seller. This escrow transaction system ensures the seller with further protection against any possibility of not being able to collect money once the house ownership is transferred to the buyer’s name in the past.
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