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Can someone clear this up please - agents fees question
Majik
Posts: 137 Forumite
Sorry for starting a new thread, but it is relevant.
I had a viewing (my first viewing) on my property today - looks like a no go. However, on their way out, the viewers bumped into a couple that were viewing the maisonette next door. They had a conversation outside, and on going to return to work, the other couple asked if I had time to do another viewing.
I showed them round and they seemed impressed. I gave them the details I had (a printoff from HouseNetwork) and a one page document I made up listing local services, floor plan etc, with my phone number on the back. I told them if they wanted to see it again or had any queries whatsoever, to drop me a line.
49 minutes later (yes, I knew how long it was after they left...) I had a phonecall asking for a second viewing. As we're going away this weekend, I told her the only time we could do it unfortunately was tonight. No problem - they want to come with her Mum this time.
Long story short (if only, eh?) - they've just left having put an offer in directly with me. They enquired whether they needed to go through our estate agent, and I said no, as they had nothing to do with it - they could go through me directly.
So...... was it okay for me to do that? (apologies for ignorance - first time seller) and secondly - if we accept and sell to this couple (after some negotiations
), do we owe our estate agents anything, as they have had nothing to do with the sale or contact at all, have they? The couple hadn't seen it online through the estate agents, and hadn't seen it due to the for sale sign.
A bit of reassurance and advice would be appreciated!
Majik
I had a viewing (my first viewing) on my property today - looks like a no go. However, on their way out, the viewers bumped into a couple that were viewing the maisonette next door. They had a conversation outside, and on going to return to work, the other couple asked if I had time to do another viewing.
I showed them round and they seemed impressed. I gave them the details I had (a printoff from HouseNetwork) and a one page document I made up listing local services, floor plan etc, with my phone number on the back. I told them if they wanted to see it again or had any queries whatsoever, to drop me a line.
49 minutes later (yes, I knew how long it was after they left...) I had a phonecall asking for a second viewing. As we're going away this weekend, I told her the only time we could do it unfortunately was tonight. No problem - they want to come with her Mum this time.
Long story short (if only, eh?) - they've just left having put an offer in directly with me. They enquired whether they needed to go through our estate agent, and I said no, as they had nothing to do with it - they could go through me directly.
So...... was it okay for me to do that? (apologies for ignorance - first time seller) and secondly - if we accept and sell to this couple (after some negotiations
), do we owe our estate agents anything, as they have had nothing to do with the sale or contact at all, have they? The couple hadn't seen it online through the estate agents, and hadn't seen it due to the for sale sign.A bit of reassurance and advice would be appreciated!
Majik
0
Comments
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Firstly, well done!
Secondly you will probably have an exclusory clause in your agreement which means that all sales made within a certain period (usually around 12 weeks) will be considered as a result of their marketing (for sale boards i guess in your case) and so if it ever goes to court you would be on a bit of a loser.
However, if you have no written agreement with the agent you don't need to pay them at all.0 -
Firstly, the offer is yours to accept or reject irrespective of whether you are using an agent or not - an agent is merely a communication link - any offer would still have to come to you for consideration, so your concern over having the offer made direct is academic.
If you and your buyer are agreeing terms, you just send the terms to your solicitor who will make it happen legally.
You are not clear on identifying your estate agent, but I assume you are referring to Housenetwork in this instance.
The question of whether you owe them any commission is purely dependent on the terms of your contract which tyou must read. Chant's comments that your contract will 'probably' have an exclusory clause stating you pay commission on any sale within the agency period is a pretty sweeping statement and is in fact most unlikely.
Only Sole Selling Rights contracts have such clauses and these are reasonably rare - these tend to be offered by dodgier agents (and I don;t just mean little ones!!).
The normal contract in widest use is a SOLE AGENCY contract which does *not* prevent you selling privately. If your agent is working under such terms and they have not introduced your buyer, that is, not had any communication with them, not arranged the viewing and not handled any negotiations over the offer etc., then it sounds like this buyer is entirely private so you won;t owe the agent any commission.
You must check the terms of your contract - did you (like most people) not bother to read this before you signed it....? :rolleyes:
I might be concerned with your comment: "(the buyer) ...hadn't seen it due to the for sale sign..." - if the agent asks where this buyer came from, how was it that they became aware of your property being for sale. You indicated that this was when you were seeing a previous set of buyers off the premises and got talking to someone looking at the house next door - if you have an agents sign outside the house and you have done no external advertising yourself, it might be pretty awkward to try and argue that the sign outside your house was not the thing that attracted this buyer... ??0 -
courtjester wrote: »You must check the terms of your contract - did you (like most people) not bother to read this before you signed it....? :rolleyes:
On the contrary, I read and reread the contract, and was just looking for some reassurance really - it is indeed a sole agency contract.
The other couple didn't see the sign - they were just chatting to the couple that left originally. I think I'm in the clear here - HN have done nothing to introduce the buyers.
In an ironic twist, I'm about to do a second viewing for the original ones...
Majik0 -
Whoa Hoo! Congratulations on all the interest!0
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HN will not require commission from you. I sold through them and they told me that if I accepted a private sale, there would been no fee as you pay the upfront fee of £233There are times when parenthood seems nothing but feeding the mouth that bites you Peter De VriesDebt free by 40 (27/11/2016)0
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