Cambodia Business

This helpful guide is for people who are considering selling their property. Our agents provide a complete service from the initial consultation to the actual sale of your property. They will use their extensive knowledge of the market to help you sell your property.

Our agents are bilingual agent and can provide you with a lot of help on selling property.

The first question for most sellers is how much is their property worth. You will need to make an assessment of the value of your home which is the first step needed to help you sell your property.

Our agents can assess the current market price of your property by taking into account the property itself, the local environment, the condition of the neighbourhood, the price of the similar properties in the area and more. Our agents will also look at the current market trends in order to provide you with the best price possible.

In Cambodia, when you sell a property, there are also other costs that you need to take into consideration; these include things like agent commission, legal fee, transfer fee and relevant local taxes. Therefore, your net profit from the sale of the property is the amount minus any other fees and taxes that are applicable. It’s always advisable to ask about any such fees and taxes to your agent who will be able to give you the best advice possible. For you information, here is a list of the all the current fees and taxes that you will be liable for.

Agent Commission – Usually this is 3 to 10% of the final sale price and you must pay the real estate agent fee because they are responsible for the entire process of selling your property.

Taxes – You will need to pay a yearly property tax (0.1%), a stamp tax (4%) which is negotiable between the buyer and seller, and an unused land tax (2%) if your property is empty and not in use.

After your property has been successfully valued, you will need to enter into a mediation agreement with an agent who will be the intermediate for the sale of your property. There are two types of agreements and you are free to choose either one.

First is the non-exclusive agreement and here you can use multiple agents to advertise your property. The agent isn’t required to report any responses to you, if you decide to enter into this agreement.

Secondly is the exclusive agreement and here you can only use one agent to advertise your property. Here the agent must report any responses to you every 2 weeks or sooner.

For both types of agreement you can find buyers on your own.

There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages for both types of agreements.

- Ability to advertise ad widely as possible as multiple agents will be actively advertising your property. - The seller can try to find buyers privately and the seller is free to sell the property to this buyer. If the buyer finds a private buyer then they won’t need to pay any commission to the agent. Disadvantages include: - There is no requirement to report any responses. - The agents don’t often actively advertise the property because the chance of closing a contact is quite low. When it comes to an exclusive contract, the advantages include: - The agent will actively advertise the property. - The seller can still sell the property to a buyer that they found by themselves. Disadvantages include: - The seller is more dependent on the agent. - The seller has to pay the agent’s commission even if they sell the property to a private buyer. You will need to find an agent who can advertise your property on the general market to both local and foreign investors. This includes posting on bilingual websites, networking, social media, newsletters, office advertising and contacting existing customers. Moreover, the agent should share the progress of their marketing with the seller and provide a record of any inquiries and responses from any potential customer.

After a buyer has been found, the real estate agent will provide you with an “offer to purchase”. This will contain an offer of the price, transaction schedule, method of payment, and any other conditions as stipulated by the buyer. Once you and the buyer agree, then the contract will be signed and sealed.

You will need to notify the agent of the condition of the property so that they can prepare a sales contract. This is an important part of the process and the buyer needs to fully understand the current condition of the property so that any issues with the transaction can be avoided. When making the final sale, the property must be delivered in the condition stipulated in the contract.

The condition includes such things such as termites, leakages, and other damages. Moreover, any defects or malfunctions of equipment in the kitchen, bathroom, air-conditioning, water heaters and more must also be noted. Both of these are covered in the “Confirmation Note of Inspection of Premises” and the “Facilities”.

After both the buyer and the seller sign and provide a thumb print, the buyer must provide the seller with the deposit. At this point, all parties are bound by the contract and each party must fulfil any obligations written in the contract. If the contract conditions are violated, then a penalty may occur. It is important that each party understands any obligations they have and the real estate agent will be able answer any questions.

At this point the seller must provide all necessary documents to the Cadastral Officer and apply for the “registration of ownership transfer”. A hard title can take around 45 days and a soft title will only take around 3 – 5 working days to complete.

The seller will need to provide the title deed, ID and confirmation note of inspection.

The property will need to be delivered after the remaining balance has been paid. The seller needs to ensure that the property is ready to be delivered on the day of settlement. This includes settling any utility bills and clearing out any unnecessary items.

- The final confirmation of the property needs to be conducted with both the seller and the buyer present. - The buyer will pay the remaining balance to the seller. - When the remaining balance is settled, the seller will provide all of the necessary documents and the keys to the buyer. Then a “delivery confirmation” will be signed. - The seller must then pay the commission to the real estate agent and the cadastral officer and at this point the sale of the property will be complete.