Real Estate Agent Explains The Role Of Real Estate Agencies In Ghana And Why They Take Service Charges

• A real estate agent in Ghana took time off to explain to YEN.com.gh why agents in Ghana took commissions and demanded registration fees
• He explained that many expressed displeasure when dealing with real estate agents because of the monies they had to pay
• However, the real estate agent emphasised that educating people on why agents took service charges would help them appreciate the role they played

Many Ghanaians have complained bitterly about the high cost of rent in the country and are further agitated that agents charge high amounts to get them a property. Raphael Odjerbio, the CEO of a real estate agency in Ghana called Rajo City Realty, spoke exclusively with YEN.com.gh to explain why agents charge property seekers for their services.

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Raphael explained that many had expressed great displeasure about the high agency fees charged by real estate agencies in Ghana, and needed to understand their operations adequately. He explained that the functions of real estate agencies included property search, marketing and advertising, and all these come at a cost.

According to the real estate guru, two fees are typically charged by agents or agencies. These are the registration fees and commissions.

Raphael explains why agents charge registration fees

According to Mr Odjerbio, the customer must have a contractual agreement with the service provider. He stressed that it should also be the case for any real estate business, which is why agents take a registration fee before the actual work begins. He told YEN.com.gh:

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The registration fee ranges from GH₵50 to GH₵150, depending on the agency you're dealing with. It serves the purpose of consultation service rendered as a customer may not necessarily end up renting or buying the properties you offer them.

Raphael Ojerbio explains why agents take commissions from property seekers

Raphael added that landlords ideally contract an agency to assist them in selling or renting their properties for an agreed commission. On the other hand, tenants also hire an agency to help them find a property to buy or rent.

He stated that this explained why agencies appeared to take a commission from the landlord and tenant. In such cases, some agencies split the 10% commission for both parties to pay 5% each.

However, the agent added that some landlords do not agree to pay the agency any commission; hence the complete 10% is taken from the tenant.

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Raphael advised that the general public do proper due diligence on any agent/agency they wish to contract before any transaction to avoid fraud.

Real Estate agent disapproves of National Rental Assistance Scheme: "It will not help Ghanaians."

In a related story, YEN.com.gh wrote about how Raphael Odjerbio, a real estate agent, disapproved of the National Rental Assistance Scheme commissioned by the government to help residents make monthly rent payments. Raphael expressed his displeasure with the recently introduced rent scheme by the government and gave YEN.com.gh rare insight into four reasons why he thinks the rent scheme won't work.

Source: YEN.com.gh