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Buyer's awol- agent not helping

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  • ajm410
    ajm410 Posts: 136 Forumite
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    tlc678910 wrote: »
    Hi, can you get it back on the market with the same agent so that they still get their fee when the house does sell?

    I could do, but I've just lost all faith in this agent to tell me the truth and serve mine (and not his own) best interests, so I am very reluctant to do so. That, in addition to a series of other failings on their part.
  • ScorpiondeRooftrouser
    ScorpiondeRooftrouser Posts: 2,851 Forumite
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    ajm410 wrote: »
    I could do, but I've just lost all faith in this agent to tell me the truth and serve mine (and not his own) best interests, so I am very reluctant to do so. That, in addition to a series of other failings on their part.

    Well, hard luck. You signed a contract with them. If you break that contract, expect to be sued.
  • ajm410
    ajm410 Posts: 136 Forumite
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    ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »
    Well, hard luck. You signed a contract with them. If you break that contract, expect to be sued.

    Sorry if I'm misunderstanding, but I'm not intending to break the contract but terminate it, which I am able to do by giving 28 days notice.

    I get they can bill me for any charges they may have incurred, which I would be happy to pay. But what would they be able to sue me for?
  • ScorpiondeRooftrouser
    ScorpiondeRooftrouser Posts: 2,851 Forumite
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    edited 25 March 2017 at 11:35AM
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    If you have a 28 day termination clause (most contracts I have seen don't) and are prepared to pay them for incurred fees and charges, then not much - unless you subsequently completed with the given buyer.

    If their argument is that the buyer is willing to proceed, then just to be sure, say you've changed your mind on price and it's now 200K more than you agreed on. The buyer will drop out within the 28 days. The Estate Agent can't do anything about this, and you wouldn't be able to proceed with anyone else within the 28 days anyway.

    Incidentally completing within 4 weeks was an entirely unrealistic condition anyway. That wasn't ever going to happen.
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 16,506 Forumite
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    ajm410 wrote: »
    I get they can bill me for any charges they may have incurred, which I would be happy to pay. But what would they be able to sue me for?

    Based on what you have quoted from the contract, and the EA's inaccurate response to your query - you can terminate the contract, with no fees due.

    You are not breaching the contract.

    You are not responsible for any of the EA's costs unless the contract says so. In your position, I would not make any kind of 'good-will' payment to cover the EA's costs.

    They are a business. They entered into this contract with their eyes open.

    It's probably just an individual employee who is annoyed that he won't now get his/her commission, and as it's the end of quarter, perhaps won't hit his quarterly target and get a quarterly bonus.

    (And making a 'good-will' payment to the EA firm to cover their costs won't count towards that employee's target, so he/she probably won't care.)
  • ScorpiondeRooftrouser
    ScorpiondeRooftrouser Posts: 2,851 Forumite
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    I have some sympathy for the agent - it has only been 3 weeks since the offer, and the buyer's solicitor, according to your first post , says it might take another 3-4 weeks to complete. That's still quick. However if you accepted the offer based on 4 week completion, just say that as it's taking longer, you now want the full asking price or nothing.
  • Hoploz
    Hoploz Posts: 3,888 Forumite
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    You've got two separate issues here and there's some confusion.

    1) the buyer. Has your solicitor not had any contact at all, or have they been in contact at first, sent a draft contract and not heard back yet?
    If the buyer's solicitor has not even introduced themselves after 3 weeks then this is not a ready and willing buyer!
    If they have been in contact but it's moving slower than anticipated, this isn't unusual and you just have to grin and bear it, annoying though it is.

    2) remarketing. It's pretty normal to get peed off with an EA. If people could just dump them every time then none of them would have any business! Bearing in mind it's often buyers and sellers which are the ones getting them into these situations. So what people normally do is give notice to end the contract, sit it out while the days and weeks go by, and start again with another agent later on if the first hasn't come up with the goods by then.
  • ajm410
    ajm410 Posts: 136 Forumite
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    Hoploz wrote: »
    You've got two separate issues here and there's some confusion.

    1) the buyer. Has your solicitor not had any contact at all, or have they been in contact at first, sent a draft contract and not heard back yet?
    If the buyer's solicitor has not even introduced themselves after 3 weeks then this is not a ready and willing buyer!
    If they have been in contact but it's moving slower than anticipated, this isn't unusual and you just have to grin and bear it, annoying though it is.

    2) remarketing. It's pretty normal to get peed off with an EA. If people could just dump them every time then none of them would have any business! Bearing in mind it's often buyers and sellers which are the ones getting them into these situations. So what people normally do is give notice to end the contract, sit it out while the days and weeks go by, and start again with another agent later on if the first hasn't come up with the goods by then.

    Thanks for your questions:

    In response to point 1) there has been no contact whatsoever with my solicitor by the buyer's solicitor.

    Re point 2) I think I'll take the advice above and demand the full price or nothing since the 4-week period hasn't been met, and give the EA 4 weeks' notice, after which I'll remarket it elsewhere. This EA just isn't worth all the stress they've been giving me. I have lost all confidence in them
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
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    Hoploz wrote: »
    If the buyer's solicitor has not even introduced themselves after 3 weeks then this is not a ready and willing buyer!

    Perhaps the buyer hasn't obtained a mortgage yet. We live in an impatient world. Not everybody works 24/7.
  • Hoploz
    Hoploz Posts: 3,888 Forumite
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    They would still have appointed a solicitor who should have made contact before now.
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