Why classic realtors do a lot more than “just open the door”
Many people look at a real estate commission and think:
“Nice job. Show one house. Shake one hand. Collect money.”
If only.
In the real world, especially in markets like Pattaya, Jomtien and Bangsaray, where many properties are offered as open listings, the life of a classic realtor is a little less glamorous.
Actually, sometimes it feels like running a restaurant where everyone eats the free bread, drinks the free water, asks for the full menu, keeps the table occupied for three hours… and then walks across the street to order dessert.
Welcome to real estate.
At Town & Country Property, like many traditional brokers, we often invest serious time, money and effort long before there is any deal, any signature, or any commission. And in many cases, there never will be.
That is the part most people never see.
The unpaid work starts long before a viewing
Before a property appears online, quite a lot has already happened.
We scout properties. We speak with owners. We inspect homes. We check access, layout, condition, location, price expectations, rental potential, resale value, and sometimes even whether the keys actually open the correct door.
We take photos. We prepare descriptions. We advise owners. We suggest improvements. We compare pricing. We upload listings. We promote on our website, related property platforms, social media, newsletters, direct client databases and sometimes through paid advertising.
In many cases, we make videos, arrange drone footage, prepare fact sheets, answer late-night messages, send location pins, explain ownership structures, check availability, coordinate with
tenants, owners, juristic offices, lawyers, accountants, cleaners, gardeners, pool boys, handymen and occasionally one confused uncle who “also has something to say.”
All unpaid.
No meter running. No hourly invoice. No “consultation fee” every time we answer a question.
Just work.
Open listings: first come, first served
The open listing system sounds nice and flexible.
The owner can give the property to many agents. Everyone can promote it. Everyone can try. The owner gets maximum exposure.
In theory, wonderful.
In practice, it often means that five, ten or twenty brokers may all spend time and money on the same property, but only one gets paid.
The broker who closes the deal first earns the commission.
The others?
They get experience.
Lots of it.
That is why open listings can be very frustrating. We may have inspected the property, photographed it, promoted it, answered dozens of enquiries, brought multiple prospects, done several viewings, followed up for weeks, and then someone else closes it with a client who arrived yesterday.
That is not always unfair. That is simply how open listings work.
But it does explain why real brokers sometimes look slightly older than their passport suggests.
Most listings never become income
Here is the truth many people do not realise:
Most listings we take in, we do not sell or rent.
Some owners change their minds. Some price too high. Some properties are withdrawn. Some tenants renew. Some buyers disappear. Some landlords decide to use the property themselves. Some deals collapse over financing, documents, furniture, pets, curtains, swimming-pool pumps, or because someone suddenly “has a feeling.”
Meanwhile, the broker has already spent hours, days, sometimes months.
No deal means no commission.
That is the risk we take.
Real estate is not paid labour. It is success-based labour.
And success-based labour means there is often a lot of labour before there is any success.
What commission entitlement actually means
Commission entitlement is quite simple in principle:
When a broker introduces, sources, negotiates, assists, or brings together a serious buyer or tenant and a deal is agreed, the broker becomes entitled to the agreed commission.
That commission is not a bonus. It is not a tip. It is not a “thank you if everyone feels happy afterwards.”
It is the professional fee for the work done to create the transaction.
In rental deals
For rentals, the broker’s work often includes marketing the property, finding and pre-qualifying a tenant, arranging inspections, negotiating rental terms, preparing or coordinating lease paperwork, assisting with payments, check-in, key handover, inventory checks, meter readings and sometimes ongoing advice between landlord and tenant.
The rental commission is normally due once a tenant has been secured and the rental agreement has been agreed, signed, paid, or commenced, depending on the agreed terms.
A common misunderstanding happens when a tenant later fails to complete the full rental term.
For example, if a tenant breaks the lease early, the landlord may be entitled to keep the security deposit according to the lease agreement. But that does not automatically mean the broker should refund the commission.
Why?
Because the broker did the job: found the tenant, created the deal, completed the process and delivered the rental.
The commission is not a lifelong guarantee that the tenant will never lose a job, change plans, get divorced, buy a dog, start a yoga retreat in Chiang Mai, or suddenly decide that Pattaya is “too sunny.”
Of course, every case depends on the agreement. But in normal business logic, the broker’s commission is earned when the rental transaction is successfully created.
In sales deals
For sales, the workload can be even heavier.
We may spend months farming for properties, advising sellers, checking documents, preparing marketing materials, arranging inspections, coordinating offers, explaining ownership structures, working with lawyers, helping with due diligence, negotiating deposits, assisting with contracts, and guiding both sides toward transfer.
Sales commission is normally due when the broker has introduced the buyer and the sale is agreed and completed according to the agreed commission terms.
Sometimes the entitlement starts once a binding agreement or substantial non-refundable deposit is in place. Sometimes it is paid upon transfer. The exact timing depends on the agreement between seller and broker.
But the principle remains the same:
If the broker is the effective cause of the sale, the broker is entitled to the commission.
Easy money? Not quite.
Yes, real estate can look easy from the outside.
Nice villas. Sea-view condos. Coffee meetings. Car keys. Handshakes. Big smiles.
But behind every successful deal are many invisible hours that nobody pays for.
The calls that go nowhere.
The viewings where clients arrive 45 minutes late, stay 8 minutes, and say, “We are just looking.”
The owners who want yesterday’s price in tomorrow’s market.
The buyers who love everything except the location, the size, the view, the layout, the furniture, the road, the neighbour’s dog and the colour of the kitchen.
The tenants who ask if a luxury pool villa can be rented for the price of a studio.
The paperwork. The chasing. The explaining. The re-explaining. The checking. The waiting.
And still, we smile.
Mostly.
Why good brokers matter
A serious broker is not just a person with a key.
A good broker protects time, filters nonsense, creates exposure, advises honestly, keeps transactions moving, prevents misunderstandings, and often saves both parties from problems they did not even know were coming.
We are part marketer, part negotiator, part consultant, part photographer, part therapist, part detective, part traffic controller, and occasionally, part magician.
Classic real estate brokerage is built on trust, effort and results.
And yes, when the result happens, commission is due.
Not because brokers are greedy.
But because the work was real.
The risk was real.
The investment was real.
And the deal did not happen by itself.
So next time someone says, “Agents make easy money,” please feel free to smile politely and invite them to spend one full week in our shoes.
One week only.
After that, they may happily pay the commission, and perhaps even bring us coffee.
About the Author
KC Cuijpers is the Managing Director & CEO of Town & Country Property Co., Ltd., a long-established real estate agency based in Jomtien, serving Pattaya, Jomtien, Bangsaray and the surrounding Eastern Seaboard. With decades of experience in hospitality, property development and brokerage in Thailand, KC is known for his straight-talking, practical and sometimes slightly cheeky view on the real estate industry.