Estate Agent Fees

athomick

I was hoping for a bit of advise on a disagreement I'm having with my estate agent.

We negotiated a sliding scale of fees (the lower the sale price, the lower the fee). For a sale of 144k - 146k I need to pay 1.25% and 146k - 148k 1.5%. I have received an offer of 147k to include the carpets so I have told the buyer that I accept it on the basis that the house is £145,999 and the carpets are £1000 making £146,999 for the house + fixtures and fittings.

I want to pay the estate agent 1.25% as the price of the house is below 146k. They want me to pay 1.5% as they say the fee is based on the total sale price of the whole estate (ie including fixtures and fittings). The contract uses the word "property" to define what the fee is based on.

Over £400 is at stake so who is right? Your opinions will be greatly valued.

Meeten

stick to your guns and pay them what you agreed (under your terms).

if they want the rest, then they can challenge you for it.
but then you can refer to the price that the stamp duty is paid on the 'property' and this should be the lower price.

SORTED .....

HTH

AndrewSmith

It all depends on what is being officially noted as the 'price paid'.

This is the figure that the solicitor will note on the Land Registry entry and the deeds. It will also be reflected in the amount of stamp duty the purchaser has to pay.

If the buyer is paying you £1,000 in cash as a separate transaction for the carpets then you are right.
If he is mortgageing the property based on an asking price of £146,999 then the estate agent is right. This is because you cannot include 'fixtures and fittings' for mortgage purposes.

Personally I have always taken as read that carpets and curtains are included in the sale price of a house as it is highly unlikely that they will fit another property. Thats how it has been in the properties I have bought and sold, I have bought and sold over 20 houses in the last 10 years.

I think you should have stipulated to the agent before signing the agreement that carpets and curtains were not included in the sale, it is generally accepted that they are. If a seller wanted me to pay an extra £1,000 for them I would say no, however if you can pull it off then best of luck to you.

The agent has done the job you asked him to and has got you an offer of £146,999. Don't move the goalposts after he has fulfilled his side of the arrangement.

As I said, it depends how and what is actually being paid.

Andy

Ian_W

Hi athomick,
I agree totally with Andy. If your buyer is mortgaging the property for the lower figure and he's paying cash for the carpets with them not included in the sale contract - fair enough, if it's the higher one - then the EA is right.

To be brutally honest it smacks of underhandedness on your part and if I was your buyer, and knew of this, I might just be tempted to gazunder you on completion day - £145,999 inc fixtures & fittings or no sale.

All too often posts on these threads are complaints about dishonesty/underhanded tricks from EAs - you haven't thought of becoming one - have you?

athomick

Thanks for the comments so far.

Just to make things clear the purchaser should not be affected by this problem as they offered £147,000 in the first instance and will pay £146,999 if the house and fixtures and fittings are split.

There is no land tax to pay on the house as it is in an exempt area but if there was it would be on the house alone and not f&f. Carpets are an established and accepted f&f.

One half of me thinks:

There is nothing wrong with this as the purchaser has offered the money for the house and the carpets so splitting the fees is logical and in fact lots of people do this. Also Estate Agents earn enough as it is!

The other half:

It is a bit like playing a naughty trick and if I was the Estate Agent I would be a bit peeved.

Mmmm