Your buyer reserved a property. When is your referral fee payable?

Why a reservation does not settle the fee question

A buyer chooses a property and makes a reservation. That is progress, but it does not by itself answer when the referring agent is paid. Does payment depend on a signed contract, an initial instalment, the agency receiving its commission or another event? Read the terms for the specific transaction.

This matters before the introduction. If an agent expects payment at reservation while the local team works to another trigger, the disagreement already exists even if nobody has raised it.

A Nai Harn studio: a reservation, not an assumed payout

In the Phuket studio case, a buyer returning after years away compared neighbourhoods and changed the brief from a one-bedroom apartment to a studio. The selected 36 m² unit cost THB 4,320,000. The reported schedule was 50/50, with the second half due one year after receiving the keys.

The account confirms a reservation. It does not state a completed ownership transfer or a partner payout. Do not calculate an unstated referral fee from a programme average and present it as this buyer’s result. The payment schedule belongs to that case, not every Phuket listing.

A longer search: a contract and the first payment

In the ten-month follow-up case, the buyer’s funds were initially held in a bank deposit. Selection resumed as those funds became available. After the original option fell through, the team reviewed an alternative; the buyer signed a contract and made the first payment.

The source reports approximately USD 3,000 in partner commission. It does not establish a universal payout deadline after an initial instalment. Agree that deadline for your own transaction rather than treating the published account as a standard contract.

Two purchases: a case outcome, not an earnings forecast

The Pattaya case describes two purchases totalling THB 15.3 million over 30 days and USD 10,000 in partner commission. It illustrates why repeat-purchase attribution matters. It does not mean every introduction earns that amount.

Reported milestone	Accurate description	Avoid adding
Studio reservation	The buyer reserved a unit	An unstated partner payout
Contract and first payment	Those stages are reported; the source states a commission amount	A universal settlement deadline
Two purchases and commission	An individual company-reported outcome	An earnings promise for another agent

Five questions before the introduction

Agree buyer attribution, previous-enquiry checks, your calculation basis, the event that makes payment due and what happens if the buyer withdraws or chooses another purchase. Keep a written record you can refer to later.

Also agree where progress appears and whom to contact when an update is missing. Obtain the buyer’s permission before sharing contact details. An account record helps document the enquiry; it does not replace the agreement.

You can prepare before you have a buyer

Create a free partner account to explore the materials and discuss the terms. You do not need a current buyer to learn the process. When an enquiry arrives, submit the contact with permission and a detailed brief.

Use the referral fee guide for the calculation and payment discussion and the buyer qualification guide for the client conversation. The external registration portal currently uses Russian. Ask the IBG Property team if you need help in English.

Sources and image context

These accounts were supplied by IBG Property from its partner channel. The original studio message requires channel membership; public anonymised case pages are linked above. This article’s date is its publication date, not the transaction date. The residence rendering comes from the studio case materials and is not a current offer.