China-Singapore Jingwei client, April 11 (Xue Yufei) "After paying the deposit, I went to Xuhui's sales department to make the first payment. The property consultant said that there was a discount of 100,000 to 150,000. At that time, I I questioned it, but I did n’t understand it, I paid 100,000 yuan. ”Guo Xiaofeng (pseudonym) recently reported to the Sino-Singapore Jingwei client that he had received a 100,000 yuan e-commerce for a house he bought in Xuhui Fee, but the money was not included in the total house payment, but was taken away by a real estate brokerage company.
Photo of the new latitude and longitude Xue Yufei in the data map
"30,000 to 60,000", "50,000 to 80,000", "100,000 to 150,000" ... In the new housing market across the country, there are many marketing methods of "paying money to money", and the names are mostly e-commerce fees and group purchases. Fees, service fees, etc. However, because this money went to a third-party intermediary company and was not counted in the house payment, there has been controversy. Some people in the industry believe that the so-called e-commerce fee is no different from the tea fee, and "paying money with money" is mostly a gimmick. House buyers may not be able to enjoy preferential treatment.
100,000 e-commerce fees are not included in the total house payment
In August 2018, Guo Xiaofeng subscribed for a two-bedroom suite in the Xuhui City project in Fangshan District, Beijing, and paid a deposit of 100,000 yuan in the sales department on the spot. A week later, Guo Xiaofeng came to the sales department for the second time, preparing to pay part of the down payment.
The property consultant told him that there are now preferential activities, which can be "100,000 to 150,000", and then pay 100,000 yuan, you can deduct 150,000 yuan of the total house payment. Guo Xiaofeng said: "I was very doubtful at that time. In order to dispel my doubts, the property consultant also asked the financial staff to explain it, but still don't understand, I paid another 100,000 yuan."
Guo Xiaofeng (pseudonym) and Beijing Chenxin Real Estate Brokerage Co., Ltd. signed a settlement confirmation. Photo courtesy of interviewees
Guo Xiaofeng's UnionPay ticket and settlement confirmation on August 12, 2018 show that the recipient of this 100,000 yuan e-commerce fee is a company called "Beijing Chenxin Real Estate Brokerage Co., Ltd." (hereinafter referred to as "Beijing Chenchen Real Estate Brokerage Co., Ltd." Letter "). According to data from Tianyanzha, this company is 100% owned by Beijing Yisheng Leju Information Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Beijing Yisheng Leju"), and the latter is held by a natural person, Zhu Xudong, who owns 80% of the shares. Beijing Chenxin, Beijing Yisheng Leju and Xuhui have a subordinate relationship.
Further equity penetration found that a director of Beijing Yisheng Leju also serves as a director of Shanghai Longhui Commercial Factoring Co., Ltd., which is 50% owned by Shanghai Xuhui Enterprise Development Co., Ltd.
Why buy a 100,000 yuan e-commerce fee to a third-party company when purchasing a new house in Xuhui Sales Department? According to the settlement confirmation signed by Guo Xiaofeng and Beijing Chenxin, Guo Xiaofeng purchased the Xuhui City project house through the services provided by Beijing Chenxin, and agreed to transfer 100,000 yuan to Beijing Chenxin's account as a service fee paid to him. As for the content of the service, the settlement confirmation stated that it includes providing housing consulting services and negotiating preferential plans for developers and developers.
However, Guo Xiaofeng said that from the house inspection to the down payment, it is carried out in the sales department, and the e-commerce fee is also given by Xuhui Real Estate Consultant. From the beginning to the end, he did not know the people of Beijing Chenxin Company, nor did he provide it. Any service. He always thought that the money was called Xuhui or its affiliates.
After paying this e-commerce fee, Guo Xiaofeng also deducted 150,000 yuan from the house payment. But it was not until he got the house purchase contract that he discovered that the total house payment on the house purchase contract was 2.8 million yuan, which was lower than all the house purchase expenditures, and the less part was exactly 100,000 yuan.
The owners who participated in the "100,000 to 150,000" activity are not rare. Owner Li Min (pseudonym) said that they all thought that the 100,000 yuan was also part of the purchase price, but they did not expect to hit Beijing Chenxin's account. Later, some owners only got an invoice for the 100,000 yuan group purchase fee by complaining to the government department, and the issuing unit was still Beijing Chenxin.
Industry: E-commerce fees are similar to tea fees
In the new house market across the country, "money-to-money" marketing activities are very common, and salespeople have different names for such activities, such as e-commerce fees, group purchase fees, and service fees. Although the titles are different, they have almost the same operation method, that is, after the buyer pays this amount, they can deduct part of the house payment, but this money will be collected by the third-party real estate brokerage company and will not be counted in the total house payment .
Like Guo Xiaofeng, many buyers are wondering that they are buying new houses in the sales department, and many people have not contacted third-party real estate brokerage companies or accepted their services. Why is the real estate brokerage company charging this electricity What about sales?
In reports on government websites, complaints platforms and news media, it is not uncommon for home buyers to complain about e-commerce fees. The reporter of China Jingxin Jingwei saw on the message board of the People's Daily. At the end of March this year, some netizens reported that he bought a house at the developer of the West District of Wanlong Galaxy City, Changchun City, Jilin Province in the second half of 2019. "80,000 yuan" activity, but this 30,000 yuan is not included in the total down payment, which is an additional charge, the receiving unit is Changchun Yihong Real Estate Brokerage Co., Ltd.
Since March 11, 2019, Langfang City, Hebei Province has launched a special campaign to crack down on illegal sales by real estate brokers. Source: Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development
Last year, Langfang City, Hebei Province carried out a special action to crack down on illegal sales by real estate brokers, and found six problems with real estate brokers. One of them is: charging buyers for so-called "e-commerce fees" other than house payments. "Group purchase fee" and "consulting service fee", etc., mainly exist in the project of commercial housing sales adopting the agency sales model. The commercial housing agency will change the agency fee charged from the development enterprise to the house buyer without issuing an official invoice. A large number of follow-up complaints will be buried in the future.
Regarding the issue of e-commerce fees, an unnamed marketer told the Sino-Singapore Jingwei client: "A small part of the houses sold by developers are seen and sold by third-party intermediaries. These e-commerce fees may be It belongs to the intermediary. A large part of the house is sold by a real estate consultant, and the client does not know the third-party intermediary, but it still needs to charge e-commerce fees, and the money will be divided among the developers. "
The Sino-Singapore Jingwei client previously discovered in a visit to Gu'an County, Langfang City, Hebei Province, close to Beijing, that several local properties have launched various amounts of "Money for Money" marketing activities, and buyers must participate in this activity to purchase a house. A property consultant of a large real estate company said that almost all properties in Gu'an have e-commerce fees, and customers must also pay. The money will be used for daily marketing expenses and online channel fees. He also said: "We have so many people in the sales department and these expenses have to be spent, and they also need this money to operate."
According to the above market participants, in the new housing market, channel fees, property advisors and third-party intermediaries are all included in the housing payment, and should not be paid separately by the buyer. The e-commerce fee is the product of the chaotic stage of the real estate market and reflects Some problems of the internal management of the developer. The so-called e-commerce fee is similar to the tea fee during the hot market, and it is no different from the tea fee. "Making money to pay" is a gimmick, and buyers may not be able to enjoy the discount.
Yan Yuejin, a well-known real estate commentator, said that because e-commerce fees are nominally collected by third-party intermediary companies and are not included in the housing payment, subsequent disputes are prone to disputes and may involve tax evasion, tax evasion and evasion of government price limits. .
Analysis says it is difficult to recover e-commerce fees
In recent years, many places have banned developers or intermediary companies from charging extra fees for e-commerce and group purchases. The Guiyang Municipal Housing and Urban-rural Construction Bureau said in September 2019 that it is necessary to crack down on real-estate intermediaries ’price increases beyond the real estate agency ’s opening of the company ’s commercial housing sales, and to fabricate other than commissions such as e-commerce fees, platform fees, discount fees, and sincerity fees. Funding.
The Zhengzhou Housing Management Bureau issued a real estate consumption warning in February last year, saying that buyers should not pay “e-commerce fees”, “membership fees”, “information consulting fees”, etc. at will. If it is found that the development enterprise adopts the "e-commerce" and other cooperation modes, through a third party to sign a contract on the Internet to increase the price of the sale of the house or collect the "group purchase fee", "membership fee", "information consulting fee" and other fees, you can Immediately report to the price management department of Zhengzhou City, and report to the real estate department of Zhengzhou City.
However, in actual operation, if the buyer pays the e-commerce fee, it is not easy to return it. The Sino-Singapore Jingwei client saw on the message board of the People's Daily website that a house buyer complained at the end of November last year that he was charged an e-commerce fee of 50,000 yuan by a third-party intermediary company. However, the relevant local government department replied that the third-party platform sales company has issued a bill for the purchaser. According to the "Concession Confirmation" agreement, after paying the corresponding service fee, you can enjoy the purchase discount, and the service fee does not constitute the price of the house price. portion. Because agreements such as the "Confirmation of Preferences" are intermediary contracts, they belong to the scope of civil adjustment. If there is a dispute between the two parties, they can be resolved through litigation or arbitration.
Inquiries on the China Judgment Documents Network found that many home buyers have sued Beijing Chenxin for e-commerce fees. A civil judgment at the end of 2018 showed that Ms. Fei was succumbed to the purchase of the "Xiayuan Garden" developed by Beijing Xuhui Contemporary Real Estate Co., Ltd.
Beijing Chenxin charged a service fee of 40,000 yuan, but she had no contact with Beijing Chenxin before, and Beijing Chenxin did not provide any services after making the payment. Beijing Chenxin argued that Ms. Fei paid a service fee of 40,000 yuan to be able to discount 120,000 yuan on the basis of the total purchase price. The core content is to confirm the preferential policy.
Ms. Fei sued the verdict on service charges. Source: China Judgment Document Network
The court finally concluded that the total price in the "Beijing Commercial Housing Subscription" signed by Ms. Fei and the developer reflects the content of the 40,000 yuan, and the house price in the pre-sale contract is more favorable than the price agreed in the subscription book. Ms. Fei enjoys a discount on house purchase. Therefore, Ms. Fei advocated that Beijing Chenxin ’s claim to return the service fee had no contract and legal basis and would not be supported.
In this regard, lawyer Wang Jiahong, the executive director of the Beijing Gold Law Firm, believes that in practice, developers will cooperate with many e-commerce companies, and there are indeed cases of bundling e-commerce fees during the purchase process. The owner does not even know the e-commerce company. The presence. However, as long as there is a receipt, agreement or settlement statement between the owner and the third party company, the law generally believes that as a fully-capacity buyer, it is voluntary to pay relevant fees, and its legal consequences should be clear and understood. Therefore, it is often difficult for the court to support the buyer ’s claim to recover the e-commerce fee.
As for the prohibition regulations issued by many urban housing construction departments, Wang Jiahong told the Sino-Singapore Jingwei client that from a legal point of view, these regulations have a relatively low level of effectiveness, and there are no specific and clear punishment measures when implementing them. Not too deterrent. From the perspective of judicial adjudication, although the government department has issued a prohibition, the court in the lawsuit mainly considers that the purchaser is a person with full capacity. The legal consequences of payment should be clear and understood. Since it is willing to pay, it is difficult to support the owners ’claims. . In addition, because it is difficult for the competent department to specifically implement the policy, the court is difficult to support the buyers' appeals, and it also encourages the developers to violate the law and regulations.
Wang Jiahong also said: "If the buyer and the developer have signed a purchase contract, but in the performance of the contract, the developer's breach of contract leads to the cancellation of the contract, causing the buyer to check out. Under the circumstances, the buyer should first advocate to the e-commerce company, and at the same time require the developer to bear joint and several liabilities. "(Zhongjing Jingwei APP)
All rights reserved by Sino-Singapore Jingwei, without written authorization, no unit or individual may reprint, extract and use in other ways.