I sold my house without agent. Just use the same lawyer all settle very fast.

I am a real estate negotiator myself and here's my take.

Usually, the agent would have negotiated with you on the commission rate (government standardized it at 3% + 6% SST = 3.18%). But if your property is priced at 500K and above, usually the rate can be negotiated through to become 2.5% or even 2.0% - this depending on the terms between you and your agent.

Then, when signing S&P with the new buyer, he/she had to pay the balance 6.82% directly to you (this is the norm, unless agreed otherwise between yourself as the owner and buyer. Usually, some buyer would negotiate that they want to pay around 3%, do markup loan etc. depending on the financial stability of the buyer). By now, 10% would have been paid by the buyer (split between agency and owner deposit).

The balance 90% would then be paid to you once all the documentation and title transfer had been done. Usually for freehold, it is 'safe to say' that it would take up to 3 ~ 4 months for the whole transaction to complete.

In terms of lawyer, if you want the whole transaction to go faster (and a bit cheaper), then you may share the same lawyer. Make sure the lawyer stresses on fair agreement for both parties. Else, if you are too concerned for your own interests, feel free to hire your own lawyer.  :thumbsup: