Can we skip the Letter of Intent (that's when the 2% booking fee paid to buyer done) ?
Means since buyer and seller sure to conclude the sale, why bother with LOI ? Can just sign the SPA when ready, and thus need to meet up just once to conclude the sale.

It is doable.

But at the same time, without the letter of intent, vendor or buyer can also suddenly U-turn and don't want to sell/buy to you as long as S&P has not been signed.

So it depends on mutual agreement and honour it.

Because agents want to lock in the unit, the buyer and the seller. If you read carefully you will notice the T&C. Buyer back out penalty. Seller back out penalty. At the end of the day, is the agents standing at a winning situation.

Normal agents will let you know if you dont pay booking and sign. Other ppl will take the unit up. So is up to you.