For second-hand home sales where the agent collects the payment, the funds must be deposited into a dedicated transaction account opened by the agency at a bank

No cost involved. The challenge is ensuring the payment goes into the designated account; this may require some discussion with the agent.

The regulation is plain: where the parties agree that a real-estate brokerage will collect and pay the transaction funds, the funds shall be transferred through the dedicated client transaction-settlement deposit account that the brokerage has opened at a bank. The purchase price goes into a supervised dedicated account, not the agency’s own account, and not some broker’s private account.

住房城乡建设部、国家发展改革委、人力资源社会保障部 (2011). 房地产经纪管理办法（令第 8 号，2016 年第 29 号令修改）第二十四条：「房地产交易当事人约定由房地产经纪机构代收代付交易资金的，应当通过房地产经纪机构在银行开设的客户交易结算资金专用存款账户划转交易资金。」第十八条「房地产经纪服务实行明码标价制度……在经营场所醒目位置标明房地产经纪服务项目、服务内容、收费标准」；第十九条「两家或者两家以上房地产经纪机构合作开展同一宗房地产经纪业务的，只能按照一宗业务收取佣金，不得向委托人增加收费」；第十七条代办贷款、代办房地产登记等其他服务「应当向委托人说明服务内容、收费标准等情况，经委托人同意后，另行签订合同」. http://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2011/content_1918920.htm

Given the substantial amount involved, never send payment via WeChat to an agent. Two common scenarios involving extra charges also apply: first, when two agencies jointly handle a sale, only one commission fee is allowed; second, services like loan processing or title transfer are separate and must be contracted individually with clear fee disclosures. All payments should be transferred via bank transfer with a purpose note, as outlined in item 6 (verifying property titles and mortgage status prior to signing). For where to pay for an off-plan home, see Item 10 on the presale-funds supervision account.