My wife and I are in the process of buying land. We've agreed on the price with the seller and are scheduled to meet with them to sign the contract soon.
The initial plan we were told by our rep:
- We pay 2% of the agreed-upon price in cash as 土地契約金 at contract signing
- We pay 3% 仲介手数料 to the seller's agent in a few months when we do the land transfer (owner needs to demolish the existing house)
We were recently asked if instead:
- We pay all 5% upfront at contract signing
- Pay essentially nothing at land transfer (it seems like there might be still some small fees still)
Specifically, we were asked if we can do it this way because (1) reduces chance of either party backing out of the contract given it's a larger amount upfront (2) it simplifies our process since we don't have to prepare a large amount of cash both times.
At first, I thought nothing of it since we really like the land, the full amount of cash is sitting in my bank account doing nothing right now, and it's only a few months difference.
Is there anything we need to double check or be concerned about? Is this a normal request? I read on https://hikkoshizamurai.jp/estate/sell/sell-commision-discount/ that 仲介手数料 is usually paid 50% at contract signing, and 50% at handover. Should we perhaps propose this arrangement instead? If we do pay the 仲介手数料 upfront, in the event the seller backs out, do we get it back (in addition to the 手付金)?
by untoasted-glitch