Buying your first home comes with plenty of costs, but one Malaysian woman was left wondering whether a RM13,000 “consultation fee” was supposed to be one of them.
Taking to Threads, @nursurayasm shared a breakdown of the charges she had received, asking fellow Malaysians whether the amount was reasonable.
Is it normal to buy a house and have the agent charge a consultation fee of up to RM13,000? Please help, everyone. This is my first time buying a house. Does this make sense?” she wrote.
Charges came up to over RM33,000
According to the screenshot she shared, the breakdown listed three separate charges:
- Legal fees SPA: RM11,441
- Legal fees LA: RM9,372.47
- LCF: RM13,000
The total came to RM33,813.47.
While the woman described the RM13,000 charge as a consultation fee, the breakdown itself only labelled it “LCF”, without explaining what services it covered.
RM220K house with a RM250K loan
Responding to commenters who asked whether she was buying a new or subsale property, the woman clarified that it was a subsale home priced at RM220,000.
She said the loan amount was RM250,000 and claimed she had been told she would receive RM30,000 in cashback.
However, she estimated that less than RM10,000 would remain after various deductions.
“It’s a subsale house. The house price is RM220,000 and the loan is RM250,000. They said I would get RM30,000 cashback, but after deducting this and that, I’m estimating I’ll get less than RM10,000,” she wrote.
She did not provide a full breakdown showing how the cashback and deductions would be calculated.
‘I’ve bought seven houses and never been charged this’
The post drew numerous responses, with several users questioning the fee and sharing their own experiences buying property.
One commenter said they had recently purchased their seventh home and had never encountered a consultation charge.
“I just bought my seventh house. Until now, I’ve never been charged a consultation fee,” they wrote.
Another said they had not encountered such a charge when buying either a new home or a subsale property.
Others urged the woman to ask exactly what the RM13,000 was for.
“LCF RM13,000? Try asking the agent to clarify what that’s for,” one user commented.
Netizens urge her to check the agent’s details
Several commenters also suggested requesting the agent’s full name, name card and Real Estate Negotiator (REN) number, then checking with the relevant authority.
After one user suggested making a report, the woman replied asking where she could do so.
The screenshots do not show whether she subsequently lodged a complaint, paid the fee or received an explanation from the agent.
They also do not include the agent’s response or the full terms of the proposed transaction.
